Conversation: Professor Caron Beaton-Wells; Dean and CEO, ANZSOG

Caron Beaton-Wells is the first woman and non-public servant to lead the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). The Melbourne-based school was formed to provide education, research and advisory services that meet government needs and enhance the quality of public sector leadership and management across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. We spoke with Caron during her first weeks in the position.

 

What are your leadership priorities in your new role as Dean & CEO of ANZSOG?

 

I started in the role in February this year and am focused on ensuring that ANZSOG continues to support public sector capability development in specific areas of need across both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

The School is responding to a broad consensus in public services across jurisdictions that they need to rebuild in-house capacity. In addition, prepare leaders for new and, in some cases, unprecedented challenges through evidence-based insights with new tools for translating insight into action.

 

First Nations:

I am particularly committed to building on ANZSOG’s increased focus on First Nations-related capability challenges. We are again running our Working with First Nations executive leadership program, which started last year and gave 180 public servants an introduction to First Nations culture and enhanced ways of working in partnership with First Nations communities.

 

We are also launching a micro-credential with Charles Darwin University on Policy in an Indigenous Australian Cultural Context, providing a deeper understanding of First Nations culture and how history has shaped relationships between government and First Nations.

 

And following the success of our First Peoples to All Peoples conference last year which brought together 900 people in Brisbane, we are in early planning for a repeat of the event in 2025.

 

International:

It’s important for a world leading school of government to engage with regional partners and a big part of our work is with Indo-Pacific countries, supporting Australia’s soft diplomacy and engagement in the region.

 

We work regularly with schools of government in Singapore and Malaysia and last year we hosted delegations from Vietnam and South Korea to learn from governance in Australia. We are also currently working with Cambodian Government and we are planning a resumption of our exchange program with the Chinese Government.

 

Digital:

It is no longer possible to be an effective public sector leader without knowledge of the digital world and how it is affecting government. This year we will launch Public Leadership in the Digital Age to give senior leaders a grounding in modern public sector leadership at a time of transition and transformation from data and AI.

 

How does the approach to education differ at ANZSOG compared with more a corporate oriented institution such as Melbourne Business School (MBS)? As Dean how does this effect your leadership decisions?

 

There are considerable parallels between MBS and ANZSOG: both are independent entities affiliated with universities, and both straddle sectors – academia and in the case of MBS, the business community/private sector, while in the case of ANZSOG, the public sector.

 

As a business school, MBS’s MBA programs focus primarily on knowledge and skills relevant to shareholder (and increasingly, stakeholder) value, whereas ANZSOG focuses on helping governments deliver public value.

 

That said, the need for leadership development and skills is universal and many of the challenges currently facing leaders are the same across sectors.

 

The importance of learning as a lifelong journey is also increasingly widely recognised given the transformations taking place in our economy and society, necessitating upskilling and reskilling as people change roles and undertake multiple careers, combined with adaptiveness and resilience in a period of constant rapid change.

 

This means the Higher Education model needs to be and is being disrupted, to provide greater opportunities for learning to a wider range of the population and in diverse forms.

 

For smaller, more targeted providers like MBS and ANZSOG that are autonomous and often more responsive and agile than their larger cousins (universities), the demand for and opportunities presented by this have been recognised and reflected their operations and offer for many years. So, in that sense, we have a headstart.

 

What do you consider the greatest challenges facing public sector leadership in Australia and globally? In an environment where the independence of the public service is under attack, what role can ANZSOG play?

 

The biggest challenge is rebuilding capability and capacity after decades of corrosive under-investment, so that public services can tackle significant social, economic and environmental challenges. That’s long-term work which will take decades.

 

The other major challenge for public services is learning to work better with the private and not-for-profit sectors who are often dealing with the same problems and have knowledge, experience and capability to share.

 

More specific challenges for the year ahead include:

• Many public services across Australasia are operating in an atmosphere of tighter budgets, as governments are trying to reduce deficits. It is challenging to rebuild capability while at the same time maintain BAU service delivery.

 

• Understanding AI and its threats and potential for enabling government to deliver greater public value – ANZSOG is helping to ensure that all leaders have an understanding of digital and can harness its potential in a way that delivers on public expectations, while safeguarding against risks that erode public trust.

 

• The uncertainty created by upcoming elections (Qld Oct 2024, WA March 2025 and a federal election next year), together with new governments in NZ and Tasmania. ANZSOG’s programs support public servants in developing the skills to work seamlessly across the political divide, maintaining objectivity and impartiality while being responsive to the political sphere.

 

There is a growing focus on public sector independence, and supporting the development of ‘craft skills’ which enable public servants to manage the demands of their political masters. Robodebt has been a wake-up call that has led to greater focus on these issues. While not making specific comment on any jurisdiction, it is generally recognised that there will be particular challenges for the public sector in any jurisdiction that has had long-term government by one party.

 

There is criticism that the political class lacks genuine diversity. Do you see similar challenges in the leadership of the public sector?

 

There is a strong focus on diversity across Australian public services as they strive to build and support workforces that better reflect the spectrum of people that they serve. In particular, there is a focus on improving practices for attracting, recruiting, retaining and promoting people from First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as people with disability.

 

The gender pay gap in the public sector is lower than the national gender pay gap, and continuing to narrow, and at executive or senior executive levels, in a number of jurisdictions there is parity or close to parity in gender representation. The picture is similar on government boards, reflecting the 50% target set by the APS for example.

 

Meanwhile, on the inclusion front, there is also a concerted effort to enhance the cultural competency of the public sector workforce, an initiative being mirrored at ANZSOG.

 

You have spent much of your career in competition and consumer law and in academic leadership positions. If your life had taken a different direction, what might you be doing now?

 

In my younger years, I had designs on being a concert pianist! Once I went to university, I had ambitions in international diplomacy and, quite unrelatedly, investigative journalism (I dreamt of being the next Jana Wendt!).

 

But as is so often the case, career paths can’t always be designed, planned or controlled and I have no regrets of having followed the paths that have opened up to me along the way; the most important thing is that I have kept growing and in every career move I have made, I have looked for the opportunity to stretch myself and make a difference to the organisation that I am part of.

 

 

About Professor Beaton-Wells

 

Professor Beaton-Wells, a leading competition policy, law and regulation academic, was previously internal Dean of The Melbourne Business School and held leadership positions at The University of Melbourne. She is also an honorary Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne and a lay member of the Australian Competition Tribunal.

 

 

 Rohan A. Carr

May 2024