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Public Servants and Bureaucrats
Oct. 7th, 2009 10:20 amIn the public service field, there are two types of people you encounter. The results of the encounter are frequently quite different, and it's good to understand the difference in mind set and approach to make it easier to navigate the twisted paths infested with brambles and syncophantic wolverines.
The first type is the Public Servant. This is a person who picked their field because they felt a genuine need and desire to help people. They care, and they will do whatever they can to help someone to get the assistance they need. The really good ones in this category are masters of the tunnels and mine shafts of the process in which they work, and can sometimes pull truly amazing results out of the rules. Their main concern is in helping their clients or consumers or whatever get what they need.
The other creature in this environment is the Bureaucrat. This is a nasty little troll-like creature that took the job to put food on the table or is a disillusioned or burned out Public Servant. They are devoid of imagination, and they wear the rules like a shield. They frequently spout rules about why this or that can't be done, and they are far more concerned with keeping their job and covering their butt than in helping anyone. One often thinks they'd be happy if they din't have to help anyone with anything ever again. Running into one of these types will lead to frustration, despair, and anger, but the chances of actually getting anything done is far less than the chances for the aforementioned negative emotions.
Public Servants can, when run through the mill too often by Bureaucrats, become Bureaucrats themselves. Bureaucrats never become Public Servants, because they don't care about anything but themselves or their rules, and they are, at best, soulless and at worst mean-spirited and vindictive. This means that, like the old saying about the presence of a bad apple in a bushel basket, Bureaucrats will in time destroy all but the most dedicated Public Servants, converting them to their own kind like something out of a bad horror movie.
What can you do? Well, one thing the Bureaucrat doesn't like is attention. If you run into one of these creatures it's best to find out who their supervisor is and to document every frustration, dropped task, and attempt at stonewalling. If you're lucky then your Bureaucrat's supervisor is a Public Servant, and this will not go over well with the supervisor. If you're not lucky, and this happens all too often as the process of rising through the ranks often converts Public Servants into Bureaucrats, then at least you have good documentation. Also remember that nearly every Bureaucrat has a boss, and if you get high enough up the chain of command you'll eventually hit people who are public officials, and these people are very concerned about media attention. And anyone can publish a press release that can go out on the wire services.
There will always be Bureaucrats. And the sad thing is that they actually feel they're doing what they should be doing and often feel like they fill an important part of our society. They are, of course, wrong, in that they have taken something and used it to keep from doing their job instead of doing it. And though they're frustrating, there are ways to deal with them. Remember the words of Aristotle. The opposite of a Monarchy isn't a dictatorship or democracy, it's a Bureaucracy, for in a Monarchy or Dictatorship there is still someone in charge, while in a Bureaucracy there is no one in charge.
The first type is the Public Servant. This is a person who picked their field because they felt a genuine need and desire to help people. They care, and they will do whatever they can to help someone to get the assistance they need. The really good ones in this category are masters of the tunnels and mine shafts of the process in which they work, and can sometimes pull truly amazing results out of the rules. Their main concern is in helping their clients or consumers or whatever get what they need.
The other creature in this environment is the Bureaucrat. This is a nasty little troll-like creature that took the job to put food on the table or is a disillusioned or burned out Public Servant. They are devoid of imagination, and they wear the rules like a shield. They frequently spout rules about why this or that can't be done, and they are far more concerned with keeping their job and covering their butt than in helping anyone. One often thinks they'd be happy if they din't have to help anyone with anything ever again. Running into one of these types will lead to frustration, despair, and anger, but the chances of actually getting anything done is far less than the chances for the aforementioned negative emotions.
Public Servants can, when run through the mill too often by Bureaucrats, become Bureaucrats themselves. Bureaucrats never become Public Servants, because they don't care about anything but themselves or their rules, and they are, at best, soulless and at worst mean-spirited and vindictive. This means that, like the old saying about the presence of a bad apple in a bushel basket, Bureaucrats will in time destroy all but the most dedicated Public Servants, converting them to their own kind like something out of a bad horror movie.
What can you do? Well, one thing the Bureaucrat doesn't like is attention. If you run into one of these creatures it's best to find out who their supervisor is and to document every frustration, dropped task, and attempt at stonewalling. If you're lucky then your Bureaucrat's supervisor is a Public Servant, and this will not go over well with the supervisor. If you're not lucky, and this happens all too often as the process of rising through the ranks often converts Public Servants into Bureaucrats, then at least you have good documentation. Also remember that nearly every Bureaucrat has a boss, and if you get high enough up the chain of command you'll eventually hit people who are public officials, and these people are very concerned about media attention. And anyone can publish a press release that can go out on the wire services.
There will always be Bureaucrats. And the sad thing is that they actually feel they're doing what they should be doing and often feel like they fill an important part of our society. They are, of course, wrong, in that they have taken something and used it to keep from doing their job instead of doing it. And though they're frustrating, there are ways to deal with them. Remember the words of Aristotle. The opposite of a Monarchy isn't a dictatorship or democracy, it's a Bureaucracy, for in a Monarchy or Dictatorship there is still someone in charge, while in a Bureaucracy there is no one in charge.
