Ambode challenges civil servants on effective decision management

...create entrepreneurial public service, says Utomi

AgegePulse Magazine

The Lagos state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has challenged the state's civil servants to be proactive in decision making process for quality service delivery to the public.

Governor Ambode said this became imperative for the civil servants, so as to incorporate organisational behaviour, hone thier effective decision abilities which are rational, informed and collaborative for the overall interest of the state.

Ambode gave this indication at a two-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions for some top management officers on how to improve their critical thinking skills.

The governor, who spoke through the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson-Oke, explained that the training was designed to achieve a paradigm shift required for high impact decision in the state civil service.

While delivering a keynote address, on the 'High Impact Decision Making Programme for Directors in the Lagos State Public Service', Benson-Oke said government is concerned about improving the state civil service, in order for her to meet up with the current trends and compete favourably with thier counterparts in any part of the world.

"Every responsible government places premium on the establishment, maintenance and sustenance of a modern, robust, effective public service. In most democracies, the public service represents the permanent government that must be equipped to adequately advise the government of the day, implement government programmes and effectively communicate the reasoning behind government-sanctioned programmes to the citizens.

"The net effect is that, if public servants are well equipped to discharge these tasks, the programmes of government will be effectively implemented," he said.

He added that decision-making is a huge responsibility which drives relationship between government and the public, hence, the need for continuous training of the teeming work force which formed the path towards a renewed and foremost state civil service.

The governor said the state was investing in Infrastructural renewal projects and would continue with the training and re-training of its workforce for it to key into developmental strides of the government.

In his words, "As to the matter of decision-making styles, the need for senior officers to develop a decision-making style that will make the proper implementation of government policies very effective will be tuned to achieving intended goals can never be overemphasised."

He stressed that attainment of higher positions in the civil service involved a lot of making decisions, and to climb the corporate ladder and be effective in new roles, managers must learn new skills and behaviours to create the way they use information and the way to create and evaluate options.

One of the resource person at the training, Professor Pat Utomi, stated that the Lagos state government was creating an enabling environment for their staff to allow them perform optimally in the public service career.

Professor Utomi, who commended the initiative said that the world had gone digital and complex, and as such; individuals, the private sector and government could not be left out.

He said, "We are now in a digital world. A world that is volatile, competitive and ambiguous. It means that anybody who is in this environment must be very sophisticated in gathering and processing information, and also making a choice out of hundreds of thousands of options that are before such a decision and the maker. It also involves training yourself to be capable to take this kind of decision that can affect million of lives."

He, however, advised government to create an entrepreneurial public service that can work with the stakeholders and essentially align with their needs towards achieving its set goals.

Earlier, the Director of Training, Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mr. Ayodeji Aruna, implored the participants to use the training sessions judiciously to upgrade thier skills and train their subordinates for optimal performance of the state civil service.