1. Ethics, integrity, values and respect are intertwined concepts. What does being an ethical manager mean? Why are ethics especially important when working in the Civil Service.

2. You are the supervisor of area that approves government funded projects. A very well-connected business leader has submitted a proposal that does not meet the funding criteria. You know that any refusal of the proposal will have ramifications for your ministry, and you can expect questions to be raised by your minister. What to do?

3. Being a strategic manager is not necessarily easy. What do you see as the barriers to strategic leadership? What can you do about them?

4. In dealing with your manager, is there an ideal place to sit on the spectrums. In addition, what are your top tips for managing upwards?

5. A strategic manager is only as good as the team they lead. Do you agree with this statement? Explain

6. Listed below are some typical roles of a strategic manager - different 'hats' they may need to wear at different times. Discuss and identify what roles you often, sometimes and rarely perform, and why. a. Route finder and target setter b. Facilitator c. Coach, trainer and mentor d. Motivator e. Manager of external relations f. Conflict resolver

7. Patrick Lencioni, an American management consultant, identifies 5 characteristics of dysfunctional teams. Identify things you can do to address each of these negative characteristics and turn them into positives.

a. Absence of trust

b. Fear of conflict

c. Lack of commitment

d. Avoiding accountability

e. Inattention to results

8. Imagine that you've brought together the brightest people in your agency to solve an important problem. You have high hopes for the group, but they fail to work well together and can't produce the needed analysis. One person is very critical of other people's ideas. Another person hardly contributes at all and just agrees with a more dominant colleague. Another makes sarcastic comments at unhelpful times. Assuming you can't disband the team, how would you help them improve the way they work with each other?

9. Just like individuals, teams feel pressure. What are some of the signs that teams are under pressure and what actions as a strategic manager can you take to make your team more resilient?

10. Strategic managers know how and when to delegate - and when not to. What are the benefits of delegation? What are the barriers to effective delegation? How do you delegate effectively?

11. Strategic managers appreciate that people's intrinsic motivations can be quite different from their own. List as many factors that motivate staff as you can think of and reasons why understanding their motivation is important.

12. The culture of an organisation is determined by the worst behaviour its managers are willing to tolerate. Dysfunctional culture inhibits clear, strategic thinking. List ways that can build a healthy workplace culture.

13. conduct an interview with a senior manager in your agency and ask them the following questions: What were the biggest changes that you found as you became more senior in your role? What do you consider to be the most important characteristics of being a strategic manager? Have you ever experienced or witnessed a failure of strategic management, and if so, what were the factors that led to that failure?

14. Strategic managers embrace views other than their own and call on a wide array of people to help them make good decisions. People build professional networks for different reasons. list possible reasons. 15. It is often said that a crisis does not develop your character. Rather, a crisis reveals the true character you already have. Descriptions of good strategic management often start with a requirement for strong communication skills. What are some things you need to think about in communicating with your team when you and your team are working under pressure?

16. In principle, there are 6 ways of dealing with conflict: Flight Fight Give up Evade responsibility Compromise Reach a consensus Strategic managers are of value to society because they can create agreement for policies and projects that add genuine public value. describe a workplace situation where you have dealt with conflict using 5 (Compromise) or 6 (Reach a consensus). Come up with a tip or strategy for resolving conflict.

17. As a strategic manager, you set the example of how to deal with stakeholders. What are top 5 tips for effective engagement with external stakeholders on controversial policy issues.

18. What are your options for handling the situation where one of your team has a bad relationship with a key stakeholder and that conflict is hindering progress on an important policy initiative?

19. What are some styles as a manager and problem solver?

20. Everyone has unconscious biases that impact how they see situations. As a manager, you need to be recognised as impartial and fair. You also need to know when bias is clouding your own or others' judgement, whether it is about a person or a policy problem. How can you become more aware of your own biases, and how can you foster a workplace that is freer from bias?

21. How do you recognise bias in the workplace? What are your own biases? If you were presented with a report that contained data, what would you look for to ensure the data, and report, would withstand scrutiny?

22. As a manager, what is your personal appetite for risk? How does this affect the way you and your team work? In the public sector, the tolerance for failure can be low, but the demand for innovation and speedy delivery is high. Civil Service executives are expected to embrace and manage risks of many kinds. Easy to say, but why is it hard to do? What are all the types of risk you need to be aware of working in the public sector?

23. Read the quote below about the challenges of public service. 'Public service is a fraught endeavour. There are no clear solutions to the complex and intractable issues the public sector is tasked with managing. Rising inequality, shifting demographics, a changing economy, global uncertainty and the impacts of climate change make every challenge a wicked problem. And that's before fractious politics, limited resources and unblinking public scrutiny are factored in. The pressure to provide just outcomes is immense.' - Vanessa Pigrum, CEO, Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership What are your top tips for strategic management in a high-risk area of public policy?

23. choose a scenario from the list below. Discuss the key steps of a strategy to deal with the challenge you have chosen.

Scenarios a. The new policy initiative you are responsible for is already opposed by a deeply hostile and powerful stakeholder group. You are in charge of developing the Ministry's consultation strategy. b. You have just started working in a policy area that you know nothing about. You are being relied on to make a major, significant decision but you know you don't know enough to make a good decision. What do you do? c. You have been appointed to head a whole-of-government Fijian Civil Service task force. You can assemble the team of your choice and determine how the team will work and on what. d. A scenario of your choice.

24. 'It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.' - Charles Darwin Strategic managers maintain their energy and commitment even when the wind changes or the going gets tough. Come up with a list of tangible actions to help build your own resilience when under pressure.

25. You have an innovative idea that you know is valuable but will be met with resistance. What tips would you give someone seeking to persuade senior decision makers and external stakeholders to take on a new initiative or idea?

26. Strategic managers are expected to be smart and innovative. But innovation is not an end in itself. Innovation is not intrinsically good - think about biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Is being innovative the same as being strategic? If not, what's the difference? list as many differences.

27. You have been appointed to a special task force that has been asked to consider the major external issues likely to affect the delivery of government services in Fiji over the next 5 years. Identify what you think the top 5 issues will be. Some information from: The Pacific Forum Top business issues in 2023 UN Sustainment Goals This information is included below to start your thinking, but come up with your own view of the issues affecting government.

28. settle on one of the issues identified in the previous exercise. Analyse the issue, including: its characteristics the drivers/causes underlying it threats and opportunities it presents, including possible future scenarios any other important factors.

29. Come up with the outline of a whole-of-government strategy to deal with the issue from the previous 2 activities. Identify the key stakeholders and Ministries involved and their roles. What are the key steps to be undertaken? Consider at least 2 possible scenarios for how your issue unfolds in the future (for example, small/large in scale, less/more bleak in impact, slow/fast impact).

30. The world is changing fast in many ways, including politically, technologically, environmentally and socially. With so many influences and influencers afoot, what can and should Civil Service managers do to remain the core source of sound, strategic advice to government?

31. distil the core characteristics of a strategic manager into no more than 5 succinctly written points

32. What is your strategic management coat of arms? Draw a coat of arms to depict the qualities you consider most valuable to you as a strategic manager. Some coat of arms examples are shown below. A rough line drawing is fine!