What government leaders’ greatest challenge will be in the coming years – interview with Israel Pastor Sainz-Pardo
Release Date: 06/29/2023
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Leading Questions
The US presidential election is the most consequential taking place in the ‘year of democracy’. This special episode of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, taken from a webinar held on 19 November, looks at what public servants will be doing to prepare for the incoming presidential team led by President Donald Trump. In this podcast, webinar chair Siobhan Benita discusses the work that civil servants will be undertaking for the government transition with , non-attorney partner and director of government and public affairs, Shaw Bransford & Roth, and Richard...
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Leading Questions
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Leading Questions
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Leading Questions
In this special edition of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, which is based on a GGF webinar held in September, we look at the key issues in the upcoming United States presidential election. Join Siobhan Benita as she discuss the key issues of the campaign with Dr Thomas Gift, the associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on US Politics (CUSP) at UCL, and Kevin R. Kosar, a resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Listen to this podcast to find out: The key issues shaping the campaign. The policy priorities being set out by the...
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How to empower civil servants to deliver government missions, with Dr Dan Honig
Leading Questions
In a new episode of Leading Questions, Richard Johnstone, the executive editor of Global Government Forum, interviews Dr Dan Honig, professor of public policy at University College London and Georgetown University, about his new book, Mission Driven Bureaucrats. Subtitled Empowering People To Help Government Do Better, Honig’s book explores how civil servants can be empowered to drive better government performance. Honig argues that many public sector organisations are too focused on compliance – what he describes as an attempt to keep those who might want to do ill from doing it. Such an...
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UK general election: how to get ready for the next government - BONUS EPISODE
Leading Questions
Welcome to this special edition of Leading Questions in which we look at the key issues in the UK general election and how civil servants will be working to get ready for the next government. The general election will be held on 4 July, with parties setting out their vision for the future of the country. That means that right now, civil servants are working on ‘day one’ documents for new ministers who will be appointed after votes are cast. These briefings will highlight the key issues that the next government will have to deal with, and set out the path to implement key policies. ...
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Flipping the script in government with former Bank of England chief economist – Andy Haldane
Leading Questions
In this, the last episode of Leading Questions series 3, talks about thriving on leading through crisis and the challenges and opportunities “when the old is broken and the new is yet to be forged”. Having spent 32 years at the Bank of England, latterly as chief economist, headed up the UK government’s Levelling Up taskforce, founded the charity Pro Bono Economics, and spent the last two years as chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, Andy has a range of roles and experiences to draw on. Yet though he has been very honest publicly about his organisations’ successes and failures...
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From COVID-19 to Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Estonia’s top public servant Taimar Peterkop's tips for dealing with crises
Leading Questions
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Leading Questions
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What government leaders’ greatest challenge will be in the coming years – interview with Israel Pastor Sainz-Pardo
Leading Questions
Podcast host Siobhan Benita speaks know-how and knock-backs with the deputy director of learning at Spain’s National Institute of Public Administration. Israel Pastor has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior manager in the Spanish state administration – including stints in the health, environment, finance and justice departments – affording him a broad perspective on leadership and what it takes to make the organisation you’re in charge of better. Having studied hard to get through a rigorous selection process whereby people with no...
info_outlinePodcast host Siobhan Benita speaks know-how and knock-backs with the deputy director of learning at Spain’s National Institute of Public Administration.
Israel Pastor has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior manager in the Spanish state administration – including stints in the health, environment, finance and justice departments – affording him a broad perspective on leadership and what it takes to make the organisation you’re in charge of better.
Having studied hard to get through a rigorous selection process whereby people with no prior professional experience can become an executive member of the civil service – entering at grade 26 of 30 – Israel found himself leading a team in an unfamiliar organisation whilst still in his 20s.
He advises others who find themselves faced with such a baptism of fire, to “find your references, your mirrors and your mentors” and to have the humility to learn from less senior colleagues.
Entering any new high-ranking position requires vision, the ability to connect disparate projects and programmes, and the resources “in your backpack” to make improvements, he says. And as listeners will find out, it is these capabilities, along with a focus on shining a spotlight on the work of his teams and being attentive to colleagues’ needs, that epitomise his leadership style.
Also describing his current work leading the civil service’s learning and development programme, Israel shares his view on what leaders’ greatest challenge will be in the coming years and how to overcome it, and touches on much more besides: on frank discussions with political bosses; pushing back against the stereotype of the lazy civil servant; overcoming stress; the importance of institutional communication; and remaining faithful to your public service calling.
Don’t miss this episode featuring a man who has been determined from a young age to be the best public servant he could be.