Renowned international academic, researcher, author, teacher, consultant and thought leader Professor
Paul 't Hart was in Perth last week at the invitation of the Public Sector Commissioner to present SES Spotlight: The Global Edition.
A guru in public administration, leadership, policy evaluation and accountability, he shared with 450 senior executives his work on looking at the shifting tectonic plates of world order and what it may mean in the local context.
“I’m here to rattle you,” the Professor of Public Administration at Utrecht University said.
“Not for its own sake but to help you get a grip on why there is such a chaotic array of events happening and to investigate messy geopolitics.”
He went on to set out 3 fundamental fragmentations: the fragmentation of power centres, the fragmentation of power arenas and the fragmentation of world views. His presentation covered the long term forces driving a profound shift away from liberal, Western style alliances and institutions prevalent since WW2 and their far reaching implications.
He then posed questions to a public sector CEO panel of Mike Rowe (Department of Communities), Jodie Wallace (Department of Training and Workforce Development), Kylie Whiteley (WA Police) and Rebecca Brown (Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation). They shared their insights and perspectives on which elements of this changing world order were most relevant to their portfolios and the WA community.
Public Sector Commissioner Sharyn O’Neill PSM closed the Spotlight by asking everyone in the room to consider how sensemaking, systems thinking, foresight, alliances and clarity can help them and their agencies respond to the challenges and changes we are experiencing.
The Spotlight series brings together the Senior Executive Service to build shared purpose and a future enabled public sector.
