The time management styles of deputy ministers in Canada: Towards a taxonomy

Deputy Ministers in Canada play a critical role in defining all aspects of policy and operations for their respective departments and also contribute significantly to their government's collective initiatives. While there exists a solid understanding of the roles and functions of Deputy Ministers, there is little perception of how individuals actually shape the position in terms of time management. Understanding how senior executives in Canadian public service organize their time is critical to an appreciation of how they prioritize their functions. Using results from a 2020 survey, this study documents how Deputy Ministers in Canada divide their weeks in terms of personal work and meetings. This study goes further to discern a taxonomy of five time-allocation styles of Deputy Ministers: Operational, Balanced, Managerial, Strategic and HR-Focused. Au Canada, les sous-ministres jouent un role crucial pour definir tous les aspects des politiques et des operations de leurs ministeres respectifs et contribuent aussi considerablement aux initiatives collectives de leur gouvernement. Bien que les roles et les fonctions des sous-ministres soient bien compris, l'on saisit tres peu la maniere dont les individus influencent reellement ce poste en termes de gestion du temps. Comprendre comment les cadres superieurs de la fonction publique canadienne organisent leur temps est essentiel pour apprecier la facon dont ils priorisent leurs fonctions. A partir des resultats d'un sondage de 2020, cette etude documente comment les sous-ministres au Canada organisent leurs semaines en termes de travail personnel et de reunions. Nous poussons l'etude plus loin pour percevoir une taxonomie de cinq styles de repartition du temps des taches des sousministres :operationnel, equilibre, gestionnaire, strategique et axe sur les ressources humaines.
INTRODUCTION Deputy Ministers (DMs) in Canada are called to fill many roles within a very heavy work schedule. Many have already noted an important decline in the time available within [...]