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The Career Monster at large in the UK Civil Service
By Robert Price
One of the problems facing the UK civil service is the creation of a ‘Career Monster’. These individuals eliminate the rise of potential rivals by undermining their self-confidence in order to dilute their credibility. The problem this causes the civil service is a significant one, in that the Career Monsters eliminate the rise of imaginative thinkers. It might be argued by outsiders that civil servants do not need to possess imagination to accomplish their jobs. This is a massive underestimation of the people employed within the civil service. Between the 1950’s and 1980’s the UK civil service was globally recognized as a leading example of how a civil service should operate. Copies were distributed throughout Africa and other continents because they worked so well. However from the mid eighties a ‘new order of things’ came into being in the UK whereby a decision was taken that the role model for the civil service should mirror a business model. The idea was that everything would change in favour of the civil service being managed as a business rather than as an administrative chain for running the country, something which it had excelled at for many years. What this meant to civil servants was destructive in that it eventually eroded the once loyal, long-term workforce, the backbone of the nation, into a fresh mindset of individuals who preferred movement, not only internally but also externally i.e. moving between departments and seeking jobs outside in business. This movement diluted the civil service knowledge base and was a bad move, something history should recognise. As a modernization case it fell appropriately into the well of ‘if it works don’t repair it’, but they did. The days when people could be promoted because of their unique understanding of the arenas in which they had spent many years were gone. Replaced by the ‘overall manager’ who had studied and mastered business management theory, but who could never be primed to comprehend the intricacies or complexities involved with civil service administration in a majority of arenas. This was the seed that triggered the creation of the Civil Service Career Monster. The Career Monster is someone who might not survive well in the business world even though they ‘model’ themselves as a civil service business counterpart. They are aware of this and choose to hide in the shadows of the civil service focused on self recognition that is not usually deserved, except in their own eyes. They live and work screening colleagues, identifying potential rivals and subtly steering those they fear into avenues that inevitably and abruptly delay or stop their promotion. Career Monsters are good at befriending people in authority they have to be because this is one of the ways they gain promotion. There are many terms that aptly describe Career Monsters who use this technique b…n nosing is but one that springs to mind. By gaining the trust of authority figures they also become empowered in the sight of other colleagues and thereby begin to have power over others. The Career Monster is totally self absorbed with their promotion prospects. As they rise on the promotional ladder so they are more able to dislodge the rise of other potential or future rivals by creating obstacles to discredit or dilute their credibility. For the civil service this is not good working practice as it reduces the number of individuals available within their ranks capable of providing imaginative and constructive responses to incorporate fresh technologies in sometimes very ‘dry’ areas of work. The mistake of the eighties civil service management was in their belief that the removal of long-term, loyal staff from areas of necessary administration, that in themselves were not critical was right, it was in fact wrong. What it achieved was to create an environment in which loyalty and understanding became diluted. For a civil service to function efficiently and effectively there remains a need for human long-term interaction in arenas of administration that are not yet capable of being fully computerised. In addition and as many people acknowledge today, computerization has its own faults, for example computerised banking is not a total solution that many had hoped and expected it to be, and has created new problems that require human interaction. For the Career Monster computerization is simply another tool for them to hide behind. The answer the civil service should consider is a return to the promotion of employees in fields who are long-term experienced with a recognized ability to manage. It will undoubtedly be a surprise to discover just how many such individuals exist. Will this eliminate the Career Monster? Probably not, but it will likely reduce their number which can’t be a bad thing.
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Sounds like the "dumbing down of America" has swum across the pond. Too bad.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
I know it was a generally accepted opinion in the eighties that the UK kept 10 years behind the US in regards government fads.
Thank you for sharing this situation, Robert. Too many times, companies and governments don't recognise the importance of dedication.
Best wishes.
Frederick
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