This article is written by Tanya Waugh, Strategic Advisor, Ontario Public Service.

“Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

In the finest tradition of public servants, I would like to revise Benjamin Franklin’s words and instead suggest that: “Nothing is certain — period!"

As public servants, we have all taken various routes to get to where we are now. For me, it started with a course catalogue from York University in Toronto, where I first learned about the existence of a bachelor of public administration.

“A perfect route into a steady 9-5pm job,” I thought to myself. After that, I pursued a master’s degree in public administration to really solidify my knowledge.

And yet, nearly a decade later, it turns out my career has been anything but “steady”, nor my knowledge anywhere near “solidified”.

After achieving my goal of securing a permanent job with the Ontario Public Service, I was immediately thrust into new challenges, navigating scenarios the public service had never dealt with before.

At the strategic planning level, I helped my organisation navigate a new major review process called Program Review, Renewal and Transformation, now referred to as Multi-Year Planning.

I took on important policy issues, such as enabling Indigenous peoples to have their traditional single naming practices legally recognised, following a recommendation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

I was even involved with figuring out how the legalisation of marijuana would impact road safety. And as I write this article, I'm on yet another special assignment — being a Mum!

In all of these scenarios, it was incredibly frightening to breach uncharted territory. Each new case was riddled with uncertainty. Yet, every time I somehow delivered my best, evidence-based advice in a timely and professional manner.

Your principles will see you through

While on maternity leave, I am thinking about all of you. Public servants around the world dealing with the complex and multifaceted impacts of Covid-19.

Despite the extraordinary uncertainty we face — as individuals, communities and countries — the wheels of the public service machine continue to turn. Policies and programmes continue to be implemented in a timely manner, reacting quickly to a near-constantly changing situation.

I realise that we are fundamentally born to navigate unchartered territories.

As I sit back and watch my daughter (now ten months), I realise that we are fundamentally born to navigate unchartered territories. New challenges and problems are a constant feature of life and certainly our work as public servants. But these hurdles do not stop us in our tracks, rather they force us to adapt and grow.

Throughout a life and career filled with plenty of challenges, I have held tight to three critical principles which have always seen me through.

1. See each challenge as an opportunity for growth; never shy away from it

In 2015, when I was asked to support my organisation’s multi-year planning process, I helped set up internal structures and processes to navigate a process the organisation had never gone through before.

Not only that; but, I was also the newest member of the team.

In government, change can sometimes seem to occur at an alarming rate. And I can only imagine that since Covid, we have had to make quick adjustments to meet pressing policy and program needs.

I used my newness as a strength, instead of looking at it as a weakness. I asked lots of probing questions about what we were doing and why, I implemented new planning tools that I learned from either school and previous jobs, I presented a new look and feel to the work that the team was doing and offered a new perspective.

2. Seek opportunities to collaborate with others, ask for help and be open to other perspectives

Developing policies to ensure Ontario’s roads were kept safe ahead of marijuana legalisation was an interesting challenge, as I was neither an expert on road safety nor marijuana.

But, I am an expert in navigating government policy approval processes as well as in translating complex policy and program issues so that decision makers and ultimately those impacted by government policy can understand the proposed changes.

I learned very quickly that in order to be successful, I needed to talk to and collaborate with people at all levels of the organisation. Also, that I needed to accept feedback from decision makers and end-users because my job is ultimately to serve.

I listened carefully to those perspectives in order to ensure that concerns were addressed in order  to move the organisation towards its collective goal.

3. Always seek to improve. Utilise evaluation tools to review your work from time to time and learn the right lessons

In government, change can sometimes seem to occur at an alarming rate. And I can only imagine that since Covid, we have had to make quick adjustments to meet pressing policy and program needs.

Beginning the evaluation process can be as simple as asking the right questions, such as what our goal(s) are, how will the goal(s) be met, are the right people and resources in place to ensure success and can the results be directly attributed to the change implemented for future evaluation?

Ultimately, start with why. And then make sure you have the right benchmarks, data, key performance indicators and systems in place to measure success.

I’ve applied these same principles to my job as a Mum. It's been amazing watching my daughter achieve each milestone from sitting up, crawling, cruising and now learning to stand on her own two feet. One of my first thoughts was "wow, she makes learning to sit up look so hard." This is just it, when you're working on something it seems hard to overcome. But, it is possible to outgrow, surpass or complete a milestone or task.

I am certain that this list will expand as my career evolves. But for now, these three principles have enabled me to shift my thinking about problems and helped me overcome a number of them. I hope they do the same for you. — Tanya Waugh

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(Picture credit: Unsplash)