Hourglass Leadership Pathway for Civil Servants

From the process of working back and forth between assumptions about the parts and the observed behavior of the whole, we improve our understanding of the structure and dynamics of the system. – Richard Hamming, “The Art of Doing Science and Engineering”

In traditional professions like engineering and medicine, the leadership pathway narrows like a funnel - as you progress, you gain more in-depth knowledge about increasingly specialized areas. In contrast, the leadership pathway for civil servants takes the shape of an hourglass. They begin as generalists, then develop expertise in a few domains (such as finance or urban planning) before looping back to become expert-generalists. Let’s explore what occurs in both bulbs of the hourglass and the challenge posed by the narrow neck in the middle. 

Infographic by Anannya Sharma

In the lower bulb, civil servants gather a wealth of experience through direct, hands-on interactions with reality. These experiences (or practices) include lessons about what worked, what didn’t, and under which conditions. When faced with a new situation, they draw from these experiences, searching for similarities with past scenarios, which they use to make new decisions.

However, these experiences are situated - specific to time, location and the decision maker. In senior posts, civil servants are called upon to make decisions across situations. Mid-career, civil servants face a challenge: How do they make their particular experiences more useful in the larger world?

Mental models provide the crucial link. A mental model is a representation of how the world functions, often consisting of one or several ideas. These models don’t claim to offer absolute truths, but instead provide frameworks that work across different contexts and time periods. The best mental models describe phenomena accurately and make reliable predictions, which is essential because decision-making relies heavily on predicting outcomes. For civil servants, mental models are a critical tool.

So, how do civil servants add value to their own experiences and the experiences of others? First, by learning the right mental models and understanding how these models relate to each other. Instead of starting with past experiences, they begin with universally applicable models. Along the way, they incorporate their own and others’ experiences in the models. This is a shift from inside-out (experience led) to outside-in (model driven) decision-making. Continuing with the inside-out approach at senior levels leads to jaded, recycled decisions.

A vital part of the outside-in process involves connecting the right model to the right experience. Failing to do this leads to the common complaint made by civil servants that theory (including models) is not useful in real-life decision-making.

Let’s examine how social capital models work for self-help groups (SHGs). In SHGs, women repay loans through frequent installments in a group setting. Close social ties allow the group to impose social sanctions on members who break informal norms, such as failing to make payments. The appropriate mental model here is the bonding variety of social capital, which helps civil servants understand how close social ties influence loan repayment and under what conditions. When problems arise, this model offers insights into why corrective actions are needed.

When SHGs expand into business activities, additional models come into play. Now, SHGs must manage tasks like sourcing raw materials, overseeing transportation, and marketing products. To achieve this, they must establish connections with people and entities beyond their immediate group, such as government bodies and private companies. Bridging social capital models help explain how these "weak" ties function. Policymakers use these models as starting points and relevant experiences help to ground their decisions.

Therefore, the path for civil servants to become expert-generalists involves accumulating a variety of field experiences by making decisions again and again. Next, they must learn the right mental models - a challenging step represented by the neck of the hourglass.

Finally, civil servants gain expertise by consistently applying the correct model to the appropriate experience, allowing them to do things differently, yet correctly.