Issue 10

Highlights of 2011December 2011

APS Human Capital Matters: Highlights of 2011December 2011, Issue 10

Editor’s note to readersWelcome to the tenth edition of Human Capital Matters—the digest for time poor leaders and practitioners with an interest in human capital and organisational capability. This edition—the last for 2011—provides an overview of the 2011 issues and highlights one article from each.

Human Capital, as conceptualised in the APS is a very broad topic that covers every aspect of the workforce that contributes to organisational capability; this breadth of topic is strongly reflected in the range of topics addressed in the nine editions of Human Capital Matters that have been published this year. These dealt with Human Capital (Issue 1, March), Innovation (Issue 2, April), Mature Age Workforce (Issue 3, May), Workforce Planning (Issue 4, June), Foresight, Scenarios and Planning (Issue 5, July), Employee Engagement (Issue 6, August), Performance Management (Issue 7, September), Leadership Development (Issue 8, October), and Disability (Issue 9, November).

Issue No. 1 … dealt with Human Capital, more specifically, how the shift from people management to human capital management presaged in the APS reform blueprint, Ahead of the Game, might be achieved. One article, by Gary Banks, discussed how Australia’s human capital agenda could be advanced through educational reforms and altered governance and regulatory arrangements.

Gary Banks, ‘Advancing Australia’s “Human Capital Agenda”’, Public Administration Today, No. 23, July–September 2010, pp. 12–22.

The author discusses the human capital focus of the COAG reform agenda within the context of human capital’s importance to Australian growth and development. He begins by drawing a distinction between the role of education in equipping people to do particular things (e.g. specific skills or technical competencies) and its role in fostering more generic analytical, discovery and communication capacities (e.g. the ‘foundation skills’ of literacy and numeracy). Recent Productivity Commission research supports the view that generic (or foundation) skills are more influential in shaping labour market outcomes. Developing these and maintaining them to a high standard has significant implications for public policy.

Quality improvements in education, for example, are linked strongly to higher levels of productivity and workforce participation. In its multiple dimensions human capital also drives the creation and application of knowledge, which is at the centre of economic growth. Banks argues that, although Australia is relatively well-placed in the table of human capital knowledge and skills dispersal, it needs to do more if it is to successfully address formidable challenges such as the demands of its ageing population.

A major initiative to support this is the Commonwealth-States ‘National Partnership’ aimed at improving the quality of teaching and leadership in Australian schools. The author devotes particular attention to what he terms ‘the fundamental drivers’ in developing and maintaining high-quality human capital education and teaching programs: the quality of teachers and teaching; and the governance and regulatory arrangements that influence how effectively the education profession can be utilised ‘at the coalface’.

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Banks is convinced that the COAG human capital reform agenda has the potential to be ‘transformative’ and that the focus of his reflections on human capital—specifically, good governance and sound teaching—are not merely ‘items on a list of reform areas’ but rather ‘pre-conditions for attaining many of the goals of the reform program itself, including improved foundation skills, higher school retention and more balanced socio-economic outcomes’.

Gary Banks AO has been Chairman of the Productivity Commission since 1998.

Issue No. 2… which focused on Innovation, provided a variety of perspectives on how more innovative policy and service delivery approaches could be devised and implemented across the public sector. A report by the UK National School of Government’s Sunningdale Institute explored what models of innovation and innovation support exist in the public sector, and when they are and are not effective. It also recommends ways in which innovation can be better supported in future.

Sunningdale Institute, “Beyond Light Bulbs and Pipelines: Leading and Nurturing Innovation in the Public Sector” (Report), 31pp.

The UK Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) commissioned the National School of Government’s Sunningdale Institute to explore what models of innovation and innovation support exist in the public sector, where they are and are not effective, and to recommend ways in which innovation can be better supported in future. The report’s authors based their inquiry on a comprehensive literature survey and interviews with 17 experts on innovation working in government and non-government bodies. These included the Whitehall Innovation Hub, the Young Foundation, and the Cabinet Office.

The authors found there to be no shortage of innovative ideas and practices in the public sector. However, they concluded that innovation is not just about “light bulb” moments of creativity, but that sustained co-ordination is required in order to make something of them on a larger scale. Therefore, innovation must be considered as a linked process from initial idea generation or identification, through scaling up and development, to launch and diffusion, with the latter stages just as important as the former.

The authors emphasised that, while innovation is important, a one-size-fits-all approach should be avoided because different settings require different sources and forms of support. The report contains a framework for analysing innovation and supporting it, and defines four types of innovation—product, process, position, and paradigm. The latter, on which the authors focus, includes the main internal and external factors exercising greatest influence on the innovation process.

The report argues that successful innovation also requires good strategic leadership, and an acknowledgement that frontline employees have considerable discretion in determining the progress of innovation approaches; the primary driver is not always central decision-making. The report’s principal finding was that as yet no clear government-wide strategy for innovation is well enough articulated to provide an enabling framework adequate to addressing the innovation challenge across the public sector.

The authors also concluded that government could benefit more from innovation approaches currently emerging if it provided stronger corporate support for innovation. In addition, the authors identified an under-developed innovation capability amongst senior civil servants as a key contributing factor to the weakness of central government’s innovation strategy. In order to

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foster and disseminate innovation expertise and enhance motivation to pursue more innovative approaches, they recommended the establishment of a unit along the lines of Denmark’s MindLab.

The Sunningdale Institute is a virtual academy of leading British thinkers on management and governance. It is managed by the National School of Government, the UK Civil Service’s centre of excellence for learning and development. The report’s three authors were Professor John Bessant of Exeter University, Professor Sue Richards, Director of the Sunningdale Institute, and a Sunningdale Institute researcher, Mr Tim Hughes.

Issue No. 3 … examined the main themes surrounding the management of, and provision for, the Mature Age Workforce. Included was a summary-analysis of the latest edition of a major OECD report, Pensions at a Glance, which explored the ramifications for OECD governments and economies of populations living longer.

OECD, ‘Pensions at a Glance 2011: Retirement-Income Systems in OECD and G20 Countries’ (Report), OECD, Paris, 2011, 325pp (Executive Summary only is available via hyperlink; report purchasable at <http://www.oecd.org>.

The theme of this report, the latest edition of the OECD’s Pensions at a Glance series on the global ramifications of an ageing population, is pensions, retirement and life expectancy. It examines why people are living longer and the (already emerging) serious implications of this for OECD governments and economies. In most OECD countries, declining birth rates mean that non-working over-65s will continue to account for an ever larger proportion of the population than they do today. In 2000, for example, approximately 33% of people in OECD nations were aged over 65; by 2050, this is forecast to rise to 41%.

To address this issue, around half of OECD countries have already started, or are planning to start raising ‘pensionable ages’, that is, the age at which people qualify for a full pension. By 2050, the average in OECD nations will reach just under 65 for both sexes—nearly 2.5 years above the current age for men and four years for women. Over the second half of the 20th century, the average pensionable age in OECD countries fell by two years, before beginning to rise again in the 1990s. If today’s forecasts are accurate, by 2050 it will be about three months above what it was in 1948—64.6 years.

The report explores the incentives different countries have introduced to encourage people to work longer; how governments plan to ensure that there are enough jobs for older workers, and devotes five special chapters to the major issues of this public policy challenge. More countries are analysed in this edition than previously, including four new OECD members (Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia)—43 nations in total.

Issue No. 4 … looked at Workforce Planning. The research for this issue was designed to inform a broader APSC research and evaluation program that aims to identify systemic workforce challenges, test critical hypotheses about the future APS workforce, and establish benchmarks and other metrics for tracking progress over time. The issue included a summary of an article by Benoit Freyens, in which he reviewed the workforce planning literature in the Australian and global public sectors, along with progress made by APS agencies against benchmarks set by government recommendations and public audits.

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Benoit Pierre Freyens, ‘Managing Skill Shortages in the Australian Public Sector: Issues and Perspectives’, ‘Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources’, Vol. 48, No. 3, December 2010, pp. 262–286 (purchasable at <http://apj.sagepub.com/content/48/3/262.full.pdf+html>)

Freyens reviews the workforce planning literature in the Australian and global public sectors, as well as progress made by Australian public sector agencies against benchmarks set by government recommendations and public audits. The article also includes an analysis of the main public sector recruitment challenges, particularly in retention (e.g. ageing among older generations, mobility among younger generations). Freyens notes the sense of urgency about APS agency workforce planning emanating from bodies such as the Management Advisory Committee and the Australian Public Service Commission, as well as the mixed responses of agencies to these concerns.

The author observes that, although agencies generally know their workforce well, they often have insufficient knowledge of external sources of skills. In many instances, they fail completely to grasp the organisational constraints and objectives that shape workforce demand. Nevertheless, the case studies included in this paper suggest that some ‘strategically exposed’ agencies have made significant progress in workforce planning implementation. Strategic risk continues to represent an important driver of such implementation.

Freyens argues that innovative approaches to preparing for imminent workforce capacity shortfalls are urgently required, but he concludes that this remains a low priority for most agencies. Accordingly, he recommends that agencies develop cost-effective models of workforce planning that are both simple to use and tailored to their specific needs. Yet, he insists that such modelling must go beyond the baseline workforce analysis generally conducted today. It must, for example, take account of strategic directions and objectives together with resource, demographic and macroeconomic constraints. The author cautions that these approaches have to acknowledge the limits to what workforce planning can deliver—long-term social demands, policy objectives and political factors, for example, are beyond the limits of most planning models.

The author’s findings suggest a need for more policy research designed to solve the practical difficulties posed by inadequate workforce planning and unexpected skill shortages. Such research, he argues, should be structured so as to:

better advise how to integrate the HR function and the workforce planning process into strategic planning;

determine the appropriate mix of incentives and resources needed to promote workforce planning implementation;

develop simple and effective ways to capture external labour market information and assimilate its dynamics; and

establish the exact relationship between leadership commitment, organisational culture and planning outcomes, and the factors determining leadership commitment.

Benoit Freyens is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics, Faculty of Business and Government, University of Canberra.

Issue No. 5 … provided an analysis of thinking and practice in the area of Foresight, Scenarios and Planning. Some publications summarised in this issue have been used by the Australian Public Service Commission in its own human capital environmental scanning work. Among these is that by the

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Australian Davos Connection and KPMG, which seeks to assist leaders of all sectors in identifying risks Australia is likely to face in the coming decades.

Australian Davos Connection, in collaboration with KPMG, ‘Australia Report 2010: Risks and Opportunities’, 2010, (Report).

The report is intended to assist leaders of all sectors in identifying the risks Australia is likely to face in the coming decades. The publication analyses national risks and opportunities and how they intersect. It is designed to shape public policy, inform business decisions, and enhance consideration of risk management in the national agenda. The report is based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

The study commenced with a risk articulation exercise based on discussions with risk management professionals, economists and actuaries. On the basis of these discussions, the authors defined five principal risk categories—economic, political, environmental, societal and technological—and 47 key risk areas. This process was followed by a survey of leaders in the public, private, academic and third sectors which canvassed their views about the key risk areas. These are set out on pp. 22–24 of the report (in this context, the two diagrams on pp. 3 and 4 dealing with the ‘Risk Landscape’ and ‘Risk Linkages’ (or ‘Risk Connectivity’) provide a useful thumbnail summary of the report’s findings).

The survey outcomes were then used to support a number of discussion groups and workshops charged with critically evaluating the risk landscape and identifying opportunities. The authors emphasise the volatility of global and Australian risk patterns and stress that today’s risk landscape is likely to be ‘unrecognisable’ ten years from now. Accordingly, they propose to update this report annually in order to keep pace with developments.

The Australian Davos Connection (renamed the ADC Forum in 2010) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1996 by the Australian members of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to assist the latter in implementing its governance, economic and social objectives. KPMG is one of the world’s leading professional services networks. Its member organisations employ more than 135,000 people across some 140 countries.

Issue No. 6 … analysed the much-debated subject of Employee Engagement, in particular, the key definitional questions which have long surrounded it as well as engagement measurement in a number of countries. One article summarised the comprehensive review of engagement in the United Kingdom undertaken by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke (2009).

David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, ‘Engaging for Success: Enhancing Performance through Employee Engagement’, (Report for the UK Government), July 2009, 152pp.

This review of employee engagement throughout the UK concluded that a greater focus on employee engagement and broader awareness of its elements and benefits could improve outcomes for public and private sector organisations and individual employees. It is based on extensive survey and workplace research as well as assessments of several engagement initiatives. The report is a detailed and resource-rich analysis of the subject.

The authors found many examples of successful engagement practice in business (e.g. the Tesco supermarket chain) and in government (e.g. the London Ambulance Service), and concluded that the challenging economic situation had prompted a growing understanding of the need for better cross-government collaboration in delivering public services. A key tool for achieving this was innovative employee engagement strategies. The report referred to the Civil Service’s intention

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to carry out a service-wide survey of employee engagement covering some 500,000 civil servants. The October 2009 survey was the first such survey; a second was conducted in 2010 and the third is planned for September–October this year. These have been coordinated by the Employee Engagement Team within the Cabinet Office.

The report discusses the literature suggesting that engagement is measurable (pp. 10–11), and that it can correlate with performance levels (pp. 11–12) and innovation (pp. 12–13). However, the authors are cautious about making definitive links in these cases, though they note the evidence that government departments with high engagement levels perform well in capability reviews (p. 13). The report’s core recommendation is that government should work with other sectors to raise national awareness of the advantages of high engagement levels—not by means of legislation or regulation but through culture change initiatives. It prescribes three approaches to begin the process.

First, provide more tailored support to organisations wishing to foster engagement, for example, web-based assistance to facilitate easy access to best practice experience and research as well as coaching and advice. Secondly, better align existing government engagement development mechanisms in order to deliver engagement outcomes. Thirdly, through conferences, workshops, regional road shows and the publication of research papers extend knowledge and understanding of engagement. These three activities are designed to make possible a nationwide discussion of the topic—one involving all key stakeholders as well as individuals.

David MacLeod held senior positions in the UK private sector (e.g. Dulux, ICI) before becoming an adviser to the British Government on change management. Nita Clarke, Vice-Chair of the MacLeod Review, has served as a ministerial adviser and is now Director of the Involvement & Participation Association.

Issue No. 7… which examined recent thinking and practice in the field of Performance Management, revealed the breadth of the subject and attempted to give readers an idea of its main elements. Corporate Leadership Council research which identified six significant weaknesses of contemporary performance management (and how they could be addressed) was the subject of one article in this issue.

Corporate Leadership Council, ‘Driving a High-Performance Culture: Ten Key Insights from CLC Research’, August 2011, (Report), 35pp.

This research brief sets out in diagrammatic form the results of research conducted by the Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) into trends in organisational performance. It also outlines suggested approaches to addressing current deficiencies and forging a more responsive performance management culture. Six areas of weakness are identified at the outset:

In today’s challenging environment, organisations are being called upon to do more with less.

Employees and managers face significant change at a time of global economic uncertainty.

The economic downturn continues to adversely affect employee engagement, in particular levels of discretionary effort.

Organisational and management understanding of the link between hiring the right staff and providing them with a well-resourced working environment is not always as strong as it should be.

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Major barriers exist to enhancing performance (e.g. manager-centric approaches to administration, poor performance management systems, employees often not understanding organisational goals, innovation and risk taking being stifled).

Performance-building should include all actors within the organisation (manager, team, employee) rather than being overly-focused on the manager.

In order to address these areas of weakness, the CLC recommends that organisations implement the following approaches:

Hire for the right fit. Create greater clarity between roles and objectives. Clarify the link between pay and performance. Help managers provide constructive feedback. Provide high-impact on-the-job learning opportunities. Empower employees to have a greater impact on the organisation. Build connections that allow employees to better execute work activities. Align employee interests with job opportunities. Remove organisational barriers to manager effectiveness and impact. Redirect leader behaviours so as to meet changing business needs.

The Corporate Leadership Council is a US public administration research organisation which works through its constituent groups, chiefly the Corporate Executive Board and CLC Human Resources, to conduct, disseminate and implement the outcomes of its best practice HR research.

Issue No. 8 … explored the major questions and issues in the large field of Leadership Development. The articles in this issue deliberately do not enter into definitional discussions about leadership; nor do they debate whether leaders are born or made. Rather, they focus on the development of leaders through the exploration of three questions: What is the nature of leadership for a changing world? What capabilities do leaders need within this evolving context? How do we best develop these capabilities for individuals and organisations? The introductory section also outlines the latest developments in fostering APS leadership and leadership development, namely, the role of the Secretaries Board, the APS Leadership Development Strategy, and the Australian Public Service Commission’s Strategic Centre for Leadership, Learning and Development. A detailed summary-analysis of the Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (2010) is included in this issue.

Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, ‘Advancing Leadership Theory and Practice’, Chapter 1 of Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana (eds), ‘Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice’, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, 2010, pp. 3–27.

This wide-ranging book has been written to fill a major gap in leadership publishing, teaching and analysis—‘to stimulate serious scholarly research on leadership’ (p. 3).The editors argue that, notwithstanding the myriad of books and articles written about leadership theory and practice in the broader marketplace, there is a dearth of rigorous research, journal articles and doctoral programs dealing with leadership as a discipline. This publication, based on the Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium, ‘Leadership: Advancing an Intellectual Discipline’ (2008), is designed to assist in framing an agenda for future research by bringing together contributions by eminent scholars in fields as varied as economics, sociology, history and international relations.

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The volume explores leadership comprehensively and from many directions, among them its development as a discipline, the areas leadership research most needs to address if it is to develop as a well-grounded subject, the fostering of individual leaders and the most critical challenges facing today’s leaders. Any review of a book of this length (822 pp) must perforce be selective; accordingly, it is proposed to examine a number of key chapters from its five sections which reflect the main strands of today’s leadership thinking, especially as they relate to the development of leaders.

Section 1 looks at ‘The Impact of Leadership’ (pp. 3–119). Its four chapters examine the question, ‘Does leadership matter? And if so, in what way? (p. 10). Chapter 2, ‘When Does Leadership Matter?’, (pp. 27–65), analyses the extent to which leadership can influence organisational performance. Its authors conclude that, although leadership influence can vary considerably across organisations (in this case companies), it is almost invariably a significant factor in improving organisational performance. Chapter 3, ‘Revisiting the Meaning of Leadership’ (pp. 65–107), explores two contrasting major foci of leadership scholars; for one group, leadership has become too tightly connected to a concern with improving organisations’ economic performance or efficiency; for the other, economic considerations are important, but just as significant are elements such as infusing trust and meaning into the leadership-employee relationship.

Section 2 examines ‘The Theory of Leadership’ (pp. 119–335). The contributors to its eight chapters review and discuss leadership research across the major disciplines of organisational behaviour, psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, economics, history and political science. Surveying leadership research in organisational behaviour from the mid-twentieth century to the present, the authors of Chapter 5 (pp. 119–159) identify a ‘“definitional quagmire”’ (p. 12) characterising interpretations of the personality of the leader, the process of leadership, the impact of leadership, and leadership performance. The authors of Chapter 6, Jennifer A. Chatman and Jessica A. Kennedy (pp. 159–183) examine the main psychological perspectives on leadership, with particular reference to the key capabilities needed to support effective leadership in organisations and at the group level. Chatman and Kennedy posit three critical capabilities for organisational leadership that are distinct from the commonly cited personality or intelligence dimensions: a leader’s diagnostic abilities, behavioural flexibility, and unambiguous signalling of intentions. At the team level of leadership, the authors describe three key tasks: convening the group and developing identification, coaching group members, and setting group norms. Walter A. Friedman, in Chapter 11 (pp. 291–305) claims for history a central role in providing perspective for the study and teaching of leadership. The international relations theorist, Joseph S. Nye, Jr in Chapter 12 (pp. 305–335), identifies the interconnection between leadership and power and advises leaders to combine the use of both hard (coercive) and soft (attractive) forms of power—in effect, to meld these into a form of ‘“smart power”’.

Section 3 explores ‘The Variability of Leadership’ (pp. 335–433). The section’s three chapters comprise three papers which look at the question as to whether key characteristics and/or capabilities are required to ‘make’ an effective leader, or whether there is no one ‘universal model’ of good leadership—that generally leadership must be seen as being contingent on any given situation and the leader concerned. However, as the editors point out in their introduction, it is difficult to envisage what leadership is if it is not largely composed of a core set of functions and behaviours that straddle most situations. Their approach for addressing this (one explored in each of the three chapters) that looks at both what is core and what is contingent across a range of important situational and personal contingencies. The contingent factors and influences dealt with are: the extent to which contingent leadership varies across national and cultural boundaries (Chapter 13, pp. 335–377); contingencies that stem not from the environment but from the identity of the leader, in particular, perspectives of leadership effectiveness based on gender

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identity (Chapter 14, pp. 377–411); and the need for employees’ values and expectations to align with those set by the leader, (Chapter 15, pp. 411–433).

Section 4 discusses ‘The Practice of Leadership’ (pp. 433–657). Its six chapters examine some of the most significant practical challenges facing leaders. These include: how to cope with the complexity of the CEOs role, how to build effective senior leadership teams, how to lead in an age of globalisation, how to make critical leadership decisions, how to mobilise social movements that can address some of society’s most pressing problems, and how to drive innovation. The editors identify (pp. 20–21) one major theme from this section. While the word ‘leader’ evokes an image of someone with capacity and skills of a high order—someone who can organise, mobilise and drive change—the reality is that today’s leaders must contend with all manner of constraints—the expectations of myriad constituencies, internal and external pressures, difficult employees, their own personal limitations, and the availability of the necessary resources to drive the change agenda such as time, information and money. This tension between ‘agency and constraint’ (p. 21) accentuates the importance more than ever of how to develop leaders best suited to today’s world. This is the focus of Section 5.

Section 5 (Chapters 22–26) examines ‘The Development of Leaders’ (pp. 657–789). Scholars of leadership still concern themselves with the age-old question: Are leaders born or made? Most are in agreement that they are made, though innate factors can influence predisposition to development as an effective or an outstanding leader. Some scholars focus on what have been defined as the ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’ dimensions of becoming a leader. The former concerns the cognitive capabilities, or the ‘multiple intelligences’, the leader needs. These include five types of intelligence: analytical, practical, social, emotional, and contextual. ‘Doing’ emphasises the behavioural or skills dimensions of becoming a leader, for instance, developing better problem solving, communication, conflict management, or adaptive skills. A contrasting approach within this context is the focus on ‘being’. Advocates of ‘being’ emphasise that leadership is more a matter of developing the identity of a would-be or existing leader so that he or she interacts to a greater extent from that identity or sense of being (Chapter 22, pp. 657–679). The authors of this chapter (H. Ibarra, S. Snook, L. G. Ramo) argue that fostering leadership skills is inextricably linked to the development of the leader’s self-concept or identity as a leader.

Although their emphasis varies, leadership scholars generally agree that ‘knowing’, ‘doing’ and ‘being’ all contribute to leadership development. In answering the question, then, as to how leaders can be developed from these (and other) standpoints, the papers in this section suggest that the task can (and should) be approached in multiple ways. Evidence indicates that experience is a key factor in shaping an individual’s leadership capacity. Morgan W. McCall, Jr, in Chapter 23 (pp. 679–709) stresses the importance of organisations ensuring that their employees get the right experiences at the right time in order to accelerate their development as leaders. This is not to downplay the importance of formal leadership initiatives argues Jay A. Conger, who reviews a half-century of structured leadership learning and development initiatives which have been designed to build leadership capability (Chapter 24, pp. 709–739). In Chapter 25, pp. 739–769, Bruce J. Avolio explores how scholars and practitioners can best accelerate the development of positive leadership. Finally, in Chapter 26, pp. 769–789, Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey apply adult development theories to the concept of leadership development. They assert that both thinkers and practitioners have overemphasised leadership and underemphasised development in their analyses. Their solution? To anchor prescriptions for developing leaders more firmly in what is known about how best to develop the ‘meaning-making’ self in adulthood.

Jay A. Conger (Chapter 24) divides leadership development approaches into four categories (based on an extensive survey going back to the middle of last century):

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1. Individual skill development.2. Socialisation of the corporate vision and values.3. Strategic interventions that promote a major change throughout an organisation.4. Targeted action learning approaches aimed at addressing organisational challenges and

opportunities.

There would appear to be a greater role for more imaginative approaches such as ‘Knowing’ Doing, Being’. Organisations could also strengthen the leadership development equation by increasing the focus on fresh ways of working. Approaches might include leaders inspiring staff through initiatives designed to engender more trust, and increasing scope for employees to innovate. Such approaches have been canvassed in this book which is in itself a considerable innovation in the scholarship of leadership. It will surely prompt widespread changes to organisational and individual practice and enable leaders and aspiring leaders to better serve their organisations and the public.

Nitin Nohria is Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School.

Issue No. 9 … examined disability, both in the workplace and more broadly within a human rights context. An article summarising the findings and recommendations of the World Health Organisation and World Bank Group 2011 report on global disability policies and practice is included in this issue.

World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank Group (WBG), ‘World Report on Disability 2011’, WHO, Geneva, August, 2011, 350 pp (report, excluding appendices, pp. 1–271).

This report, the first of its kind, extends the framework for change established by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008). The report explains that more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, nearly 200 million of whom experience considerable difficulty in functioning. In future, the WHO and WBG argue, the higher risk of disability in older people as well as the global increase in chronic health conditions such as diabetes and mental health disorders will present considerable challenges for disabled people, governments, health systems and employers. In order to achieve for disabled people the quality of life that lies at the heart of the 2015 Millenium Development Goals, the report emphasises the need to further empower people with disabilities and to remove the barriers they are required to confront.

Accordingly, the report makes several recommendations for all stakeholders at the local, national and international levels—governments, civil society organisations and disabled people’s representative bodies—to create enabling environments; develop rehabilitation and support services; ensure adequate social protection; devise inclusive policies and programs; and enforce new and existing standards and legislation to benefit both people with disabilities and the wider community. Professor Stephen Hawking, in his Foreword, states that the report will be an invaluable tool for policy-makers, researchers, practitioners, advocates and volunteers working in disability. The report’s coverage of international disability challenges and work designed to address them is highly comprehensive, and in many respects exhaustive, providing as it does definitions of disability, a global picture of disability, and the implications for the disabled of factors such as general health care provision, rehabilitation services, assistance and support

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opportunities, the key constituents of positive ‘enabling environments’ for the disabled, and the role of education, work and employment in improving the lives of people with a disability.

As well as identifying gaps in knowledge about disability in global jurisdictions and stressing the need for further research and development, the report makes nine recommendations for disability reform, to be implemented individually and/or collaboratively by: governments; United Nations agencies and development organisations; disabled people’s representative bodies; service providers; academic and other research institutions; the private sector; the community; and people with disabilities and their families.

Recommendation 1: Enable access to all mainstream policies, systems and services. Recommendation 2: Invest in specific programs and services for people with

disabilities. Recommendation 3: Adopt a national disability strategy and plan of action. Recommendation 4: Involve people with disabilities. Recommendation 5: Improve human resource capacity. Recommendation 6: Provide adequate funding and improve affordability. Recommendation 7: Increase public awareness and understanding of disability. Recommendation 8: Improve disability data collection. Recommendation 9: Strengthen and support research on disability.

The World Health Organisation is the principal body directing and coordinating health policy and activity within the United Nations system. The World Bank Group refers to a collection of five financial organisations which make development loans to nation-states, in general poorer ones.

About Human Capital MattersHuman Capital Matters seeks to provide APS leaders and practitioners with easy access to the issues of contemporary importance in public and private sector human capital and organisational capability. It has been designed to provide interested readers with a monthly guide to the national and international ideas that are shaping human capital thinking and practice. The first issue of Human Capital Matters for 2012, to appear in February, will examine Workplace Bullying.

Comments and Suggestions WelcomeThank you to those who took the time to provide feedback on earlier editions of Human Capital Matters. Comments, suggestions or questions regarding this publication are always welcome and should be addressed to: humancapitalmatters@apsc.gov.au. Readers can also subscribe to the mailing list through this email address.

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