Dr Tony Peloso, 10 November, 2022 | Peter Fletcher, Director for Communities, Justice, and Child Protection at Territory Families, Housing, and Communities
Middle management is all about people, and the public service is no exception. Effective team-building requires a commitment to best practice in leadership. For Peter Fletcher, a former youth outreach officer and child protection practitioner and now a manager within the Northern Territory government, the PSMP provided an opportunity to develop a new framework for staff development at his workplace.
As Director for Communities, Justice, and Child Protection at Territory Families, Housing, and Communities, Peter understands the importance of building trust within teams.
“We’re nothing without our people in a big organization like Territory families, and developing people is one of the things that I get the most enjoyment out of in my job,” he says.
Every PSMP participant completes a capstone workplace project in which they conduct an investigation into an operation or procedure at their workplace that they feel is impacting on operational effectiveness. Peter’s workplace project focused on evaluating and refreshing his department’s staff supervision framework. His project was so successful that it is now being implemented.
The title of his project was Conversations, Coaching and Capability. “It’s a reflection of the key trends I picked up throughout the PSMP journey,” he says. “Conversations are the starting point, the building blocks for the foundations required for building trust and developing good rapport and relationships within teams. Coaching is one of the most written about and researched leadership styles in contemporary history. And capabilities is about showing the agency what can be gained in terms of operational performance through investing in your people early.”
Of the four units that make up the PSMP, it’s no surprise that Peter’s favourite was Unit 2: Managing Self and Others. The program also introduced him to a number of useful strategy and management tools that Peter will be able to continue using back at Territory Families.
“The public value scorecard gets you to stop and look up from your desk and consider how you are going to improve or contribute to public value,” he says. “The strategy journey map is all about stopping and taking stock. It’s easy in a busy public service job to be very focused on outcomes and efficiency, and the map gets you to stop and think about the strategy of what you’re trying to do.
Peter’s advice for anyone considering the PSMP is to understand the commitment involved. “If you’re going to take it on, be ready to lean into the program,” he says.
“It’s a big piece of work, but it’s certainly worth the investment of your time and effort.”
Hear about Peter’s PSMP journey here: