Digital technology and data revolutionise government operations, raise public expectations, and redefine service delivery methods. Public sector agencies face increasing demands to dismantle organisational silos, enhance data utilisation and address intricate social challenges. As citizens become more informed and demand better services, public sector leaders must quickly reassess their strategies and service delivery models.
Public Spectrum recently caught up with Mark Sowden, an independent strategy consultant, facilitator, and leadership coach. With deep experience in managing complex public sector transformation, Sowden provides critical insights into how agencies can unlock the potential of their data and technology to better serve the public.
Sowden has led a diverse range of sectors, such as Statistics New Zealand, Housing and Urban Development, the environment, and Treasury. He built robust, skilled teams, and he led significant organisational transformations. His career highlights a commitment to leveraging data and strategic approaches to achieve tangible results. He managed the intricacies of public sector frameworks and provided services that spanned various agencies.
1. What inspired you to pursue a leadership role in the public sector?
The ability to make a difference, either to people, organisations or New Zealand as a whole. I am motivated by roles where I can make a difference to an organisation, and that organisation can make a difference to the lives of New Zealanders. As a people leader, I love helping individuals and teams grow, develop and achieve things they didn’t think they could do.
2. What has been the most significant learning experience in your career?
Becoming Government Statistician and Chief Executive of Statistics New Zealand in 2020. It was my first chief executive role, and I learned the importance of an organisation having both a really clear strategy and the operating model and architecture underneath that strategy to help people in the organisation understand how to make the strategy real and what it means for them. So many organisations suffer from that “missing middle” between the strategy and what individual people do every day.
3. What keeps you motivated during tough times?
Keep progressing towards the big picture goal. I always try to keep that goal in mind and make progress towards it on at least one thing each week. It’s a good reality check about what’s really important when there is a lot of drama going on.
4. What is the biggest misconception about working in the public sector today?
That we are not innovative. In my experience, if you give frontline staff a clear problem to solve and the licence to think differently, you get a lot of excellent innovation. You’ve just got to give them the explicit mandate to think differently and question the existing ways of doing things.
5. What do you think is the hardest challenge facing the Australian public sector?
If it is the same as the New Zealand public sector, it is about how to provide services to those people who cross our own organisational boundaries. We are generally pretty good at delivering standard “transactional” services to our customers. But where we are faced with New Zealanders who have high and complex needs and who require services across a range of (particularly social service) agencies, our organisational boundaries get in our and their, way. This, together with the current fiscal austerity push, is combining to create a really challenging next few years for social service agencies but potentially also the drivers for really thinking about things differently.
6. What emerging public sector technology or trends do you believe will have the most significant impact in the future?
The availability of digital technology and data and the ability to use it. This means that our customers are far more informed than ever and have much higher expectations of how they will interact with us. But it also provides us with many opportunities to understand and change the way we do things. AI is the most obvious example of this, but we can also get a long way by using the data we already have to anticipate our customers’ needs better and understand opportunities to run our organisations differently.
7. What advice would you give to emerging leaders in the Australian public sector?
Two things. Firstly, be curious and take every opportunity that comes your way. The best leaders I have seen are those who have the breadth and depth of lived experience across a range of organisations, sectors, and issues. In my experience, those leaders are well-equipped for the high ambiguity and fast pace of change that is the new norm in our world today. Secondly, embrace and understand AI, what it means for your current and future roles, and how you can work with it to improve what you do. If we try to ignore AI or are too risk-averse, it will “be done to us,” but if we get ahead of it and are ready for it when it comes, we will get the best out of it for ourselves, our organisations and the people we serve.
8. Tell us about your role or organisation.
My five-year fixed term as a government statistician came to an end in March of this year, so I am currently contracting as an independent strategy consultant, facilitator, and leadership coach for a number of New Zealand public sector organisations.
Justin Lavadia is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum with a diverse writing background spanning various niches and formats. With a wealth of experience, he brings clarity and concise communication to digital content. His expertise lies in crafting engaging content and delivering impactful narratives that resonate with readers.
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