Pause pressed: five ways to prepare for what's next as a civil servant

Surprise victory? Landslide? Continuation? Coalition?

Nobody knows what result the UK's 4 July General Election will bring.

But having worked in the civil service through elections delivering all the above flavours, I thought I’d offer five pointers to help you navigate this liminal time and get yourself and your team ready to welcome a new government.

Rest. You probably haven’t had much (any) of this lately. And there won’t be much the other side of the election either. So now is the time to enjoy half term (if that’s relevant to you), have a few lie-ins, finish work at a sensible time. Basically, do whatever replenishes and restores you so you can go into the next phase on better terms. Make sure your team rest too.

Review. The time to pause for thought is right now. There are probably spaces in your diary that have suddenly emerged as projects are put on hold and enquiries slow. They will quickly be filled by requests for incoming minister briefings, aiming to cater for increasingly wild visions of possible next flavours of government. So now is the time to take stock. What's going well for you, your team and your work? What can you celebrate? Where do you need to press the reset button, especially on how you work? What boundaries need renegotiation if (when!) there’s been a slow and sustained creep towards long hours or busywork?

Relationships. Whatever happens in July, if you're in the same job you'll almost certainly be dealing with the same people within and beyond your department. Pick up the phone, have a chat, refresh the connection, whatever it takes to (re)build the social glue you’re going to rely on in the second half of the year. (But do make sure you’ve checked the guidance about what conversations you can have in this pre-election phase.)

Radical ideas. Whoever’s in charge next faces an extremely tough task, attempting to deliver change on many fronts with virtually no funds and beleaguered workforces. There will be a market for radical ideas. What can you do to be ready? What are the ‘out there’ things you’ve seen or heard about which might be worth exploring further? What are the things policy partners have been trying out ‘under the radar’ that might usefully be developed? What assumptions need revisiting? What if you and the team had half a day with some sticky notes and pens and worked through some good, thought-provoking exercises? And what research can you do to better understand what really helps and what’s simply pie in the sky?

Reality. The radical idea loops and what-iffery that everyone will increasingly be engaging in can send things off down giant rabbit-holes. It’s important to keep one foot in the real world. What is the reality of life for the people you’re most aiming to help? What are the outcomes – or at least principles – that really matter (and probably matter whatever flavour government is in charge)? What is the real state of play for policy partners, intermediaries and front-line folks? Knowing your starting point more precisely will help you re-programme the SatNav better when the time comes to move forward again.

That time will be here before you know it.

In the meantime, enjoy this peculiar, in-between phase.

It’s not a total pause: the background hum of business as usual continues.

But the overlying hubbub of policymaking, Parliament and government (as opposed to Party) communications will be eerily quiet.

If you can fill the space intentionally, you'll feel so much more ready when Play is pressed again and the Whitehall machine and its cogs across all the other government hubs gears up once more.

PS. If you’d like to do some gentle reflection and review in the company of others, The Quiet Space is open 12-1 on 14 June. It’s free, and you’re most welcome. Bookings here.

PPS. my apologies to newsletter folks who aren't civil servants. This issue felt important to write at this point. I hope it might be of interest to you too if you find yourself in a liminal space at work. And perhaps if you work with civil servants it's useful to peek under the bonnet and see what they might be up to.