📢 A message from the author

Greetings fellow public servants – it is because of the ability to share our stories and ask questions openly on these types of platforms, and the positive impact that had on my wellbeing at work, that I got inspired to write about our experiences in a fictionalised way. So, to say thanks to all of you who share your stories and advice, I am offering my e-book for free from 15 to 19 June on Amazon Kindle, the book is called ‘Dear Minister - Letters from a Public Servant’, by Amber Guette (Ambiguity) if you want to check out reviews before downloading it.

Yours in Service to the public,

Amber G.

This article is written by Janine McGruddy–pen name Amber Guette (pronounced ambiguity). Janine has a passion for public service, transparency and the importance of speaking truth to power. She has been researching the lives, trials and tribulations of public servants in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. An ex-CEO of Transparency International New Zealand, Janine has made it her life’s mission to write the book that she could never find when she started working as a public servant in 2010. Janine has a master’s in strategic studies and is an alumni of the International Anti-Corruption Academy.

Every aspect of daily life in a democracy improves when public servants carry out their roles with integrity and competence.

Over a decade ago when I joined the public service, I tried to do what I had always done when I wanted to try and make sense of things, and looked for the books that told our stories–public servants' experiences of serving both ministers and the public. All I could find was very dry academic writing and great satire such as ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘In the Thick of It’ but they did not offer me solutions. So in the spirit of “if you cannot find the book you want to read you have to write it”, I did just that.

As a new public servant, I was rather disturbed at some of the behaviours I was seeing, and I wanted to understand why good public service matters? In the words of an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report, “Government competence encompasses the ability to deliver quality public services, to respond to citizen needs and to effectively manage social, economic and political uncertainty.” Trust is defined by the OECD as “a person’s belief that another person or institution will act consistently with their expectations of positive behaviour”. Every aspect of daily life in a democracy improves when public servants carry out their roles with integrity and competence.

The letters in ‘Dear Minister’ are the result of researching and following public servants’ experiences under Westminster government systems for more than ten years to better understand what it means to be a public servant.

The fictitious country that this book is set in, ‘Hooseland’, is a large developed western nation with a population of 42 million. The names of government departments and processes are generic, but recognisable by public servants working in these environments. The letters are the end result of real experiences and stories I have been told or read over that time.

It has been amusing to find that public servants reading the letters often think they recognise individuals. When I asked who the individual was it was always wrong. That is because if I have learned one thing since I started my research, it is that we share many issues and characteristics across our public service systems. There are people like the characters in these letters everywhere in our public service (or indeed any large organisation).

No character is based on any one person, but rather is a hybrid of multiple characteristics that fit that type of personality. This is the outcome I wanted–recognisable, but not identifiable. The goal is not to name and shame, but to shine a light on behaviour, good and bad, and to offer public servants the knowledge that they are not alone in their experiences. So, everything you will read here has happened at some point somewhere in our wider public service–this is not pure fiction, but rather ‘faction’ or fictionalised facts. Public service matters and our stories matter–that is the basis of these letters.

What started out as Amber sending a once-a-month report from the frontlines to a minister, hoping naively that if they knew the truth things might improve for public servants, turns out to be the biggest battle of her life. This book comprises letters from the first four of an eight-year timespan, a second book covering the last four years is under production and I hope to get it done by this time next year.

I am very proud of being a public servant, and an important part of our mandate as public servants is to try to ensure the long-term good of the public. Yes, it is our role to ensure that our political master’s policies are brought to life, but it is also our job to provide evidence-based policy advice on how to do that. They, of course, as elected representatives have the final decision on what happens, but in order for us to fulfil our mandate with integrity they should not be allowed to do so in willful blindness to the consequences of those decisions.

In a world where climate change deniers are not just the lunatic fringe sitting alongside the 'flat earthers' and deep state alarmists, world leaders have the power to accelerate or slow down the pace at which humans auto-genocide, and evidence-based policy is more essential than ever.

Some might say that if I care so much about public service why am I exposing our foibles? Simple, for the same reasons a true patriot will criticise their country–because they believe it can, and should be better. Nothing like a bit of sunlight to start a conversation on how we can be better.

The letters celebrate those public servants that go the extra mile, work to understand the context and big picture of their work, serve with empathy, humour, treat people with dignity, and take pride in what it means to be a public servant. They also delve into the not-so-great behaviour, because if we do not shine a light on that nothing will ever change.

So, what do I think public servants should aspire to? Simple–protecting the public good. At our best the guiding principle should be that we are not simply professionals, in it for our own gain, but for the public good above all else.

Yours in service to the public,

Amber Guette

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