From left: (Sitting) Director, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Ayodeji Aruna; Permanent Secretary, Office of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mrs Folasade Ogunnaike; Chairman, House Committee on Establishments, Training and Pension, Hon Adedayo Famakinwa; Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke; Director Accounts; Deji Koko and Chief Executive Officer, Vitech Trainers, Lekan Okediji and employees of the State at the event.
INTEGRATING CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS LEADERSHIP INTO THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MODEL OF THE LAGOS STATE CIVIL SERVICE
(Being the Keynote Address delivered by Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, FCArb, the Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions at the Opening Session of the Workshop tagged: ‘Integrating Contemporary Business Leadership into the Corporate Governance Model of the Lagos State Civil Service’ organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in conjunction with Messrs. VITECH Trainers on Tuesday, July 11, 2017)
PROTOCOL
1. Without an iota of doubt, all stakeholders agree that the delivery of value to citizens is the fundamental objective of any democratically-elected government. In contemporary times, the delivered value must be delivered to the highest possible standard because citizens have become sophisticated and exposed to the standards of governance in other climes such that their expectations have been conditioned to demand and insist on compliance with global trends in governance and public administration at all levels of governance. Meeting these expectations is the central challenge for governments in contemporary times.
2. It is gratifying to note that in Lagos State, we have a government that has boldly embraced this challenge of modernizing governance and innovatively approaching the task of public administration. Led by His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the present administration in Lagos State is poised to examine those areas, processes and institutions and practices that need to be overhauled or remodeled in order to achieve this end.
3. In approving this training, His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has let us into a portion of his broader vision for governance in Lagos State. From my priviledged and vantage position, I can confirm that it is a vision of a Lagos State where government objectives, processes and services meet the contemporary global standards and reasonable expectations of the citizens.
4. It is therefore my great honour, pleasure and priviledge to attend the opening session of this 2-Day Training Programme tagged, ‘Integrating Contemporary Business Leadership into the Corporate Governance Model of the Lagos State Civil Service.’ I heartily welcome you all and hope that this will mark yet another milestone in Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration’s quest for excellence in governance.
5. In a review of the most recent developments in the field of business leadership, the number of business leadership styles and trends (informed by principles) have been noted. The first is the Transformational leadership theory which is a recent addition to the literature but of which more research has been conducted “than all the contingency theories combined.” The theory distinguishes between transformational and transactional leaders. Transformational leaders lead employees by aligning employee goals with the leader’s goals. Thus, employees working for transformational leaders start focusing on the company’s well-being rather than on what is best for them as individual employees. However, transactional leaders ensure that employees demonstrate the right behaviours because the leader provides resources in exchange.
6. This training will examine the different theories and contemporary approaches with a view to identifying the ones that will fit into Governor Ambode’s robust vision for the Lagos State Civil Service.
7. Making further distinctions between transformational and transactional leaders, the commentators point out that While transformational leaders rely on their charisma, persuasiveness, and personal appeal to change and inspire their companies, transactional leaders use three other methods. Contingent rewards mean rewarding employees for their accomplishments. Active management by exception involves leaving employees to do their jobs without interference, but at the same time proactively predicting potential problems and preventing them from occurring. Passive management by exception is similar in that it involves leaving employees alone, but in this method, the manager waits until something goes wrong before coming to the rescue.
8. Many people have opined that transformational leadership is more effective. To my mind, the key factor may be trust. Trust is the belief that the leader will show integrity, fairness, and predictability in his or her dealings with others. According to the commentators cited, research shows that when leaders demonstrate transformational leadership behaviours, followers are more likely to trust the leader. “The tendency to trust in transactional leaders is substantially lower. Because transformational leaders express greater levels of concern for people’s well-being, and appeal to people’s values, followers are more likely to believe that the leader has a trustworthy character.”
9. Another theory on management is the Leader-Member Exchange Theory which proposes that the type of relationship leaders have with their followers (members of the organization) is the key to understanding how leaders influence employees. Leaders form different types of relationships with their employees. In high-quality LMX relationships, the leader forms a trust-based relationship with the member. The leader and member like each other, help each other when needed, and respect one another. In these relationships, the leader and the member are both ready to go above and beyond their job descriptions to promote the other’s ability to succeed.
10. In contrast, in low-quality LMX relationships, the leader and the member have lower levels of trust, liking, and respect toward each other. These relationships do not have to involve actively disliking each other, but the leader and member do not go beyond their formal job descriptions in their exchanges. In other words, the member does his or her job, the leader provides rewards and punishments, and the relationship does not involve high levels of loyalty or obligation toward each other.
11. The point of highlighting these theories is not just to bring them to our consciousness but to prepare and whet our appetites as we begin this training. It is my hope that, after this training, many of you would be in a position to advise the government on the specific reform steps that are necessary to align current practices in the Lagos State Civil Service with contemporary trends in business leadership.
12. Before embarking on such a venture, however, it is useful to bear in mind the specific practical and empirical illustrations of the expectations from the citizenry from the government. At the end of the day, reforms must be informed by the expectations of citizens. First and foremost, the overriding observation today is that citizens expect the government to comply with global best practices in democratic governance. To this end, I would hope that the ultimate suggestions and initiatives that would come out of this training would be along the lines indicated below:
a. The compilation, release and maintenance of a resource that essentially acts as a citizens’ manual. This should be a quick-
reference resource that details the necessary steps and requirements for citizens to quickly complete official procedures. It should also provide information on which government office is responsible for each transaction and should provide the respective contact information of key stakeholders. Among others, such an initiative will:
i. Improve government efficiency. Providing the necessary information for common processes and procedures in an easy-to-use resource can reduce the number of people in lines at government offices, and allow government staff to spend more time helping citizens complete processes and less time providing instructions. As a result, government staff can be more efficient and productive.
ii. Increase citizen satisfaction – By providing citizens with the information they need on how to process a request in an easy-to-use resource, citizens can adequately prepare to complete their transactions and processes in one visit. These officials to ensure that citizens have a positive experience interacting with the government.
b. Another best practice is that of public rendering of accounts. This is a practice whereby government publicly reports to and informs citizens of government expenditures and investments over a given period of time. This forum is similar in structure to a town hall meeting and is open to all citizens. These forums are another way in which citizens can see how their government is investing public funds. These exercises can be participatory and allow citizens to ask questions and comment on government spending, or non-participatory, where government simply presents information to the public.
c. Doing this can help create citizen buy-in. By creating opportunities to inform and discuss public finances with citizens, the government can foster an informed and involved citizenry. Providing citizens with information regarding government budgets can contribute to constituents feeling they are part of a community development process, and as such cultivate citizen buy-in.
d. It will also increase government transparency and accountability. Informing citizens of government spending, especially if done on a regular basis, is an effective way for government to fulfill its responsibility of being transparent and accountable. These types of initiatives can also reduce outside opportunities for negative speculation looking to undermine the work of a particular administration.
e. Another obtainable best practice is participatory budgeting. This is a practice whereby a government reserves funds from the annual budget and allows citizens to determine the allocation of these resources. Working alongside government representatives, citizens discuss and determine community needs and priorities, and subsequently identify projects (or programs) to address these. Participation is not limited to organized civil society, but rather is open to all citizens.
f. This approach engages citizens in the decision-making processes of the government. Providing citizens a direct voice in the budgeting process allows for their meaningful involvement in decisions that directly affect their communities. By allowing citizens to participate in prioritizing development projects in their communities, the government can additionally foster citizen buy-in and ownership of local projects which can significantly increase acceptance of development initiatives within a community. Furthermore, this approach will:
i. Improve government transparency. Citizens’ involvement in the budgeting process can help reduce citizen speculation and misinformation regarding the work of government. In addition to heightening transparency of the management of public funds and decentralizing certain aspects of decision-making, participatory budgeting allows for meaningful citizen participation.
ii. Improve government responsiveness – By developing a methodology to directly engage and consult with a broad group of citizens on government expenditures, government can use real-time information to inform its planning process as well as respond to citizen needs in a direct and transparent way.
13. These are some of the practical approaches that are now regarded as contemporary best practices globally. The value to be derived from them are not quantifiable. But, as always, we must take great pains to carefully domesticate them taking care to avoid importing practices that are not workable under our local circumstances. Beyond this, however, we must be challenged to aspire to the high standards of governance that the citizens expect from the government.
14. As the ones responsible for the formulation and execution of government policies, the officers of the Lagos State Civil Service will extensively benefit from this training. I urge you to wholeheartedly embrace this training and open your minds to the new ideas that will be proposed.
15. As always, I wish to thank all the people who have worked tirelessly to ensure the realization of this training including the principal officers at the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions and other departments and offices that have been involved in organizing this training. We are also glad to have Messrs. VITECH Trainers as the facilitators of this workshop. Once again, we all are indebted to the visionary and passionate leadership of His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, the Governor of Lagos State. His interest in the progress of our dear Lagos State is beyond dispute.
16. Once again, it is my pleasure to open this workshop and to wish you a rewarding time.
17. Thank you for your kind attention. God bless you.
Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, FCArb
Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko l’o je wa l’ogun.
