Tips for new advisers in government
What I wish someone had told me. Now sharing for interest!
Here are some tips that I accumulated over my five years on/off in senior advisory roles in the UK government. I shared these with some recent appointees, but have since been encouraged to share on here also. Enjoy!
You will instantly feel very powerful and it will be a big rush. But real power is what you choose to do. Lots of what you do will be invisible. You will spend a lot of time giving glory to others in order to have your way. The more you do this the more effective you will become.
Don’t get sucked into ‘blob’ debates - the civil service needs to be worked like a muscle, not worked around. Find good officials that are knowledgeable, responsive and speak truth to power (you). If someone responds to you with “actually that’s wrong” and gives a great argument why – with evidence – then add them on WhatsApp.
Government work often moves far too quickly for anything to be high quality, and really important stuff heads towards No10. Things will already be moving fast without your involvement, and there will be big initiatives that seem like juggernauts that you can’t stop. Don’t be intimidated. Stick your beak in. Ask difficult questions. Set the tempo by asking for personal briefings, weekly meetings, and so on. Ping officials with IMs and WhatsApps relentlessly. Things are only set in stone when they are announced (and, even then, not always!).
You will learn to trade in your relevance, and this will be one of your biggest fights. The private office can fight on your behalf but you will need relationships of your own. You need to insert yourself into discussions. Borrow ministerial authority extensively for this purpose.
The private office is normally home to the most fantastic and energetic people to work with, and you should work through them as much as possible. You will form great allegiances and friendships.
You don’t have to be involved in everything under the sun, but you do need to ensure that you know who is keeping an eye on stuff if you are not paying close attention. If you don’t trust them, grab it. It is always better to ask a question than assume it’s all ok.
Don’t engage with stakeholders for the sake of it. If someone wants a meeting, make it a phone call that you can hang up on. If someone wants a call, ask them if there’s anything they can send you to read. Find officials that you can palm people off onto. You must always protect your time from distractions. Oh – and don’t bother with ministerial roundtables. Nobody ever tells the truth, because that would be rude.
Lean on your own network of people in the real world who you can trust to tell you the truth and to give you high quality info, intel, and advice. Value discretion and candour.
Don’t pick fights. Drama is a distraction.
Unexploded bombs are best left alone.
Do your box work. Reject written submissions that don’t pass muster. The private office will try to limit the number of times you do this, but don’t pay attention.
(One of the most fun things you can do is to let a submission go forward, but nuke it in your box note. Such things can become the stuff of Whitehall lore! But better in general to reject bad subs.)
Some officials like to hide behind slide decks. Ask for the detailed Word document that lies behind the slides – then watch the blood drain from their face.
If you are new to government, give yourself permission to be a bit crap at first. It could take you six months before you have any idea what you’re doing.
Sometimes stopping bad shit from happening is its own reward.