I read a newspaper article today commenting on how employers are currently seeking and recruiting for staff who have ‘likeability’ as well as technical ability in their field. The description of traits linked to ‘likeability’ fell very much into the domain of what Daniel Goleman labelled Emotional Intelligence in his 1994 book of the same name. Goleman had the same conclusion as the newspaper article; organisations want employees who get on with others, have a positive approach, are good to be around and get the job done. Good social skills, empathy for others and a level of self-awareness are important traits for developing and maintaining effective relationships in and out of work.
When we work in the public sector our role is to support and provide service to a range of stakeholders. This includes serving the public, the Parliament, our Minister and the government of the day, our cluster/agency, other organisations and our colleagues. We are responsible for providing relevant, responsive and quality service and we do this in a way which reflects our core values. While every agency and Department is different, the NSW public sector has some common principles we all work with which make it a good place to work and to receive service from. Learning how it all works can make the transition to the public sector easier.
There seems to be ongoing change for many of us at the moment. For all of us there is a change of government that some will like and some will not. A number of our clients are implementing changes to the way they deal with clients and customers and others are undergoing restructures. At a personal level we currently have a friend changing jobs and another who has made some big changes in their career. One of us has moved from a spacious house to a smaller unit and another is looking at buying their first property. Interestingly even when we seek out and drive some of these changes it can take some time to readjust and at times be frustrating and unsettling. When change is forced upon us and is not what we wanted it can be pretty tough to cope with.
