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Written on July 1, 2009 by Kelvin Teo
A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and Shell Petroleum
How different is the civil service CEP system as compared with the one in Shell Petroleum?
(photo credits:ThuanND)
SINGAPORE – The current estimated potential or CEP in short is an estimate adopted by our civil service to gauge the highest appointment or level of work an officer can handle competently before retirement. It is also a tool currently used by the Shell Petroleum to assess leadership potential of its employees, based on a framework of desired leadership competencies so that the company can better judge the shape and needs of its talent pool for senior leaders.
The CEP system has a list of qualities which are divided into various categories. It was claimed on the Public Service for the 21st Century (PS21) website that the CEP qualities adopted by Shell are similar to that adopted by the Civil Service. The lists of both organizations are shown below:
Shell:
Capacity – 1. Analysis and judgement 2. Capacity to learn 3. Creativity and innovation 4. Manage uncertainty
Achievement – 5. Drive and enthusiasm 6. Resilience and courage 7. Target setting and delivery
Leadership qualities – 8. Honesty and integrity 9. Respect for others 10. Vision and communication
Civil service:
Intellectual qualities – 1. Helicopter quality 2. Power of analysis 3. Imagination and innovation 4. Sense of reality
Achievement – 5. Achievement motivation 6. Socio-political sensitivity 7. Decisiveness
Leadership – 8. Capacity to motivate 9. Delegation 10. Communication and consultation
What was interesting was the claim that the CEP qualities adopted by Shell is similar to that of the civil service, which on closer inspection shows succinct differences.
First and foremost, it is interesting that the civil service includes “helicopter quality” among its list of qualities. A person with a good helicopter vision is supposedly able to comprehend the big picture easily. No one is denying the fact that having a helicopter vision is important for a leader. A helicopter is quite a suitable analogy because it is a flying machine with the ability to land and take off vertically. The helicopter pilot may have an aerial view of things when he is high in the skies, but he cannot see the finer details on the ground. Thus, he has to land his helicopter so that he can truly experience the events taking place on the ground. It is like looking at a forest from the top, where only the canopy of the tree tops can be seen, and going to the ground in order to see what is really happening on the forest floor. Staying too long in the helicopter is like staying in an ivory tower, one is not aware of what is happening on the ground…
Shell’s CEP has a quality in the intellectual capacity category which is not among the list of our civil service CEP – managing uncertainty. Any commercial entity is vulnerable to uncertainties, which is why it is important for its appointed leaders to be able to manage them. It is interesting that such a quality is absent from the list of qualities in our civil service CEP. One can only speculate that there is a list of protocols or standard operating procedures that civil servants have to abide by in response to different scenarios. But surely, even the civil service will encounter uncertain scenarios. And if the circumstances of these uncertain scenarios are beyond the scope of the standard protocols and operating procedures, how would a good leader in the eyes of the civil service respond?
Under the achievement category of the list, the civil service CEP has a quality – sociopolitical sensitivity, which is absent from Shell’s list. Such a quality is redundant because civil servants are supposed to conduct themselves with integrity, impartiality and honesty. They should endeavor to deal with the affairs of the public sympathetically, efficiently, promptly and without bias or maladministration. After all, such is expected of our civil servants. Thus, expecting them to be sociopolitically sensitive is moot.
Still on the achievement category, the Shell CEP has one quality which is missing from the civil service CEP – target setting and delivery. This quality can be reflected from the performance evaluations of employees, particularly in delivering on the targets they have set. Such a quality is important because it is line with the operation interests and growth of a commercial enterprise like Shell. However, leaders of non-commercial enterprises should also possess such a characteristic too. Put it this way, the ability to set goals and deliver on them is an important characteristic all leaders should possess be it in a commercial setting or otherwise.
Thus, the CEP system adopted by our civil service has its differences from that adopted by Shell, and is not as similar as what was claimed in the PS21 website. Certain qualities such as the management of uncertainties plus target setting and delivery are integral to Shell’s needs to stay nimble and continue to grow.
8 Comments on "A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and Shell Petroleum"
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A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and … | Quality Solutions on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 4:19 am
[...] Read the rest here: A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and … [...]
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 2 Jul 2009 on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 11:15 am
[...] rape and the presumption of consent – groundnotes: Citizen Shoppers – the kent ridge common: A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and Shell Petroleum – Yawning Bread: Extortion rackets as a symptom of political malaise – TOC: Should the use of [...]
Just Me on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 5:21 am
I find more intriguing that the leadership qualities as spell out in Shell's is not the same the Civil Service's.
"8. Honesty and integrity 9. Respect for others 10. Vision and communication".
These are of uppermost important for the leaders of the civil service.
I do not fully agreed on "Such a quality is redundant because civil servants are supposed to conduct themselves with integrity, impartiality and honesty. ……..our civil servants".
They have to be worded and drive that into their brain, and not just as it is expected, but the civil servants must abide by it.
Maybe those of us who had dealing with civil servants, may have better understanding on their mindset. When they fault, the first thing they practice is CYA. They would also refer them as just guidelines.
I had encountered a principal of a secondary school, when CHerA, you would see the total lack of the leadership qualities that had spell above. A principal are suppose lead the teachers to teach these values. So what can you expect of the new generation.
Many netizens may not agree with me here, as many of them in this sphere are also top civil servants, and some of them may not abide by the value of Shell's leadership qualities.
BryanT on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 6:47 am
Kelvin agrees that having a helicopter vision is important for a leader. But he alludes to the possibility that a person with a helicopter vision would not be able to "see the finer details on the ground". It is not fair to compare taking a broad view of things to trying to staying in an ivory tower. Assessing a person's ability to have a broad picture does not preclude requiring him to dwell on details when the need arises. I'm not here to defend the govt's system but by being one-sided, Kelvin has slanted analogy to a pointless degree.
With a twisted logic, Kelvin also concludes that just because "managing uncertainty" is not one of the factors under the PSC's list does not mean that it is "absent from the list of qualities in our civil service CEP". I agree that managing uncertainty is important to everyone, not just civil servants. But it perhaps does not occur to Kelvin that if we list down all the qualities civil servants should have, the list becomes unwieldy. As with many things, organisations need to priority what their focus is, including the qualities of their leaders. The same argument applies for the absence of "target setting and delivery" in the civil service list.
Kelvin states that "civil servants are supposed to conduct themselves with integrity, impartiality and honesty", so requiring them to have sociopolitical sensitivity is moot. I fail to see the connection between being sensitivity and the aforementioned qualities. Is Kelvin wielding a large broom or perhaps being insensitive?
Kelvin is perhaps being playful in saying that the CEP system adopted by our civil service has its differences from that adopted by Shell and that perhaps the claim in the PS21 website is misleading. Must adoption of a system means wholesale import of the ingredient as well, when it is obvious that the organisation objectives are dissimilar? I would be very surprised (and worried) if the qualities used by the vivil services are identical to those of Shell.
Kelvin_Teo on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 7:07 am
Dear Bryan:
I did categorically mention that a helicopter is capable of vertical take-off and landing. Thus, it will be common sense for a leader to know what is going on the ground, especially one who makes decisions that concerns the ground. I am sure you don't wat an out of touch leader do you?
The point on sociopolitical sensitivity is moot because all civil service departments are supposed to be impartial and non-biased when it comes to dealing with individuals of different political affiliation or social background, simply it is their job to do so… I have a question to ask you then ->what do you think of the socio-political sensitivity of the folks at election departments?
There is no playfulness on my part. The question you should be asking is if such differences has eroded their effectiveness in moulding leaders and identifying leaders per se, or it doesn't have any impact.
Sincerely yours
George on Fri, 3rd Jul 2009 2:29 am
To my knowledge, the Civil Service copied the CEP idea from Shell. Shell was already using it before the CS came along looking for ways to assess its officers.
There are rather questionable premises in the CS CEP assessment system. For instance, if you are in the SAF, your immediate superior is supposed to assess your likelihood of attaining the rank of Colonel by a certain time – ie your so called maximum potential. Let's say, you are an army major and you are assessing your subordinate officers who may be a 2Lt, Lta and Cpt in rank. This requirement begs the obvious issue of how is it imaginable or possible for someone who is junior in rank (in this case, a major) be able to assess or by any stroke of imagination tell if his subordinates have the potential of a colonel? Furthermore, what if this major, who is ranked by his superiors, is assessed to be NOT of a colonel's CEP? The obvious difficulty here, as far as the MINDEF ranking system goes is how could a fellow who has not attained the rank of a colonel tell if his subordinates may or may not attain this rank in the future. Also, it seems to be a little more than absurd for this right to 'crystal ball gazing' be given to someone who has been potentially assessed to be on not colonel rank?
There are lots of 'blindspots' in the CS assessment system, but everybody is going about it to humour the system and the bosses. The lower rank officers knows too well the system is really targetted at the scholars and high fliers and wranglers, the rest are just part of the 'supporting contingent'- need to bestow and provide an image and mirage of a proper system and superficial respectability. For the rest, what really matters is still the old boys network.
Panzer on Fri, 3rd Jul 2009 7:51 am
The CEP system looks good on paper and in theory. In practice, it is as good as the people who implement it. I've gone through the system before and the reality being practised is far from what the system is meant to achieve.
The reality in both public and private sector is still: it's who you know and who you are that counts for as much as what you do (or get your people to do).
Hard work only gets you so far. Hard work + connections and membership in the right clubs get you further.
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 27 on Sat, 4th Jul 2009 11:36 am
[...] rape and the presumption of consent – groundnotes: Citizen Shoppers – the kent ridge common: A comparison of CEP qualities adopted by our civil service and Shell Petroleum – Yawning Bread: Extortion rackets as a symptom of political malaise – TOC: Should the use of [...]