I have realised as I have gone through my career, and indeed as I brought up my children, that the methodical and scientific thought processes that I use are not used by everyone. People think in different ways and reach understanding through a range of steps. Nothing new in that realisation. But the badge of being a specialist and an expert does seem to hold people back from their full potential.
I remember watching an episode of Yes Minister (a BBC British political satire for those too young for this reference!) when a civil servant is talking to a minister. He reveals that he is an economist at a specific level in the department and says something like – “I won’t progress much further” to which the minister asks, “Why not?”. “Alas, I’m an expert…” is his response.
For some reason, that scene has stuck with me over the years. It’s perhaps a self-limiting belief and in the early 1980s, when Yes Minister was written and on our TV screens, it may have been a commonly held Civil Service view. Indeed, I recall a senior in one department essentially saying the same to me – as you are a specialist you do not have the skills or potential to be a senior civil servant. Pleasingly I don’t see this so much now, and as the Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser at the Home Office I am keen that experts flourish and progress in their roles.
A superpower?
Today, I strongly believe that I work in a Civil Service that recognises and champions expert skills in science, technology, engineering and maths. In many ways these skills are superpowers that make the Civil Service more capable and more innovative.
In the Home Office, and wider Civil Service, we want scientists and engineers to join us. We want people to support policy making and operational delivery who understand the rationale behind scenarios, who understand scientific data in different policy and operational use cases.
We want those who can bring scientific method and rigour to operational delivery, policy development and innovation more generally. Evidence-based policy making over policy-based evidence making.
A strong Civil Service
Scientific skills make the Civil Service stronger. Many scientists and engineers may join as specialists, or via a specialist entry scheme – like I did through the science and engineering Fast Stream programme. This is not surprising as people gravitate to what they enjoy, and what they know and have spent years studying.
But the view that a specialist can only ever be a specialist is narrow and outdated. To progress in the Civil Service, I believe you must be open to becoming ‘rounded’. If you stay within your specialism, you can hit a ceiling.
Of course, many people love being the specialist. But for those specialists who want to progress further, science and engineering can still come to the fore. The ability to use that skill in roles outside your specialism brings different and important perspectives to bear. The ability to challenge data and evidence using scientific skills, the benefits of structure and analysis, combined with the behaviours of a forward-thinking civil servant, create a strong capability we should all celebrate.
It is not just the UK Civil Service that values the need for scientific minds at the most senior levels. This is playing out across boardrooms and leadership roles in industry, both in the UK and overseas, where considerable effort is going into attracting people with the skills to steer organisations toward a prosperous, innovative future.
Opportunities
One of the great things about the Civil Service is the range of opportunities it gives you to develop and progress. You can move into roles that help you to learn and grow beyond your area of expertise, whilst staying anchored to your science or engineering roots.
For me, that key role was heading the Policy team at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), where I built a team of dedicated policy specialists and developed relationships with a wide range of specialist engineers who wanted to make a difference. The richness of collaboration and expertise oozing from the IET’s membership was transformational from a career perspective.
Championing experts
So, if you have a scientific background, the Civil Service is a great place to use that expertise – and also to grow and develop throughout your career. In the Home Office I want a diverse range of people helping to deliver for our people, our partners and the public.