"In just a few years there were two major earthquakes which reduced our second largest city to rubble, the Christchurch mosque shootings, a volcanic eruption which killed 22 people, and a global pandemic. These events made me ask: how do we equip public leaders to better serve citizens in these moments of immense crisis?"
Rebecca Kitteridge has fifteen years of leadership experience in New Zealand's public service. With a legal and constitutional background, she has served in roles at the heart of government, including Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Director-General of Security and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, Secretary of the Cabinet and most recently Deputy Public Service Commissioner.
Now she is bringing that experience to the Blavatnik School of Government as Professor of Practice in Public Policy and Co-Director of Executive Programmes with Professor Emily Jones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB-t_re3RD4
Learning from a "transformative” executive programme
Rebecca first came to the Blavatnik School as a participant in the Executive Public Leaders Programme. It provided a “reset moment”, she reflects.
“I was struck by the level of curation and care. The interconnections between the sessions meant that our learning was constantly reinforced. The locations of the sessions - from Blenheim Palace to Stratford-upon-Avon to Oxford colleges – also added a sense of dynamism. You're drawing on the whole history and ecosystem of Oxford. It opens your mind in a way that's difficult to replicate elsewhere."
Participants learn alongside peers from around the world who share many of the same experiences. She is still in touch with some of her peers seven years later.
"I came back with ideas that I could immediately put into practice”, Rebecca notes, in areas including mitigation of decision-making biases, effective communication and boosting team performance. “It was transformative.”
She was also able to subsequently join in-person events in New Zealand and remote events in Oxford with global leaders, which helped her feel connected to the School and its community, as well as to keep learning throughout her career.
Leading through change and crisis
One of the professional initiatives Rebecca is most proud of was the change programme she led with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service in the wake of public controversies and loss of trust in the intelligence community.
What made the change work? “Genuine co-design", she says. Rebecca compares unleashing the potential of her staff to uncorking a bottle of champagne: all the ideas bubbled to the top. “Public servants have the potential,” she says, “we just need to get out of their way”.
She believes that anyone can be a leader wherever they are in an organisation. Whether leading reform, responding to crises or improving public services, success depends on creating environments where people are encouraged to take initiative, challenge assumptions and contribute ideas.
"If you can communicate why change is needed, engage honestly with people, and create opportunities for them to feel heard and shape the future, you achieve much more than if change is imposed."
Further change was needed following the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019. “The job of a national security agency is to keep people safe” she says. “We were grappling with urgent, foundational questions about if and how this could have been avoided."
This time the change involved the wider community. “The mosque attacks made us rethink our approach to national security. We worked much harder to get alongside our different communities and to work with them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrejd7oJrpo
A home for global public leaders
As she moves from an alumna to a co-director of the Blavatnik School’s Executive Programmes, Rebecca is keen to seize the opportunity to help more public leaders around the world.
She is particularly excited by the opportunity to connect real-world experience with cutting-edge research. Throughout her career, she has drawn on evidence and scholarship to inform her work, whether in national security, public sector reform or organisational leadership. At the School, she sees an opportunity to deepen that relationship further.
"What is remarkable about the School is the combination of practical experience and rigorous research," she says. She points to the work of colleagues such as Christian Schuster, Professor of Management and Public Policy, as an example of how academic insights can strengthen public leadership in practice.
For participants, that combination offers the best of both worlds: learning from experienced practitioners grounded in the latest evidence about what works.
Equipping leaders for an evolving world
Rebecca joins the School at a time when public leaders face mounting challenges. Constitutional norms are being tested in many countries. Trust in institutions is under pressure. Social media has transformed the environment in which public servants operate. Yet she remains optimistic.
"The master’s students and executive programme participants I encounter are incredibly impressive. They have a genuine desire to make the world better."
"In our executive programmes, we work with people who will influence the lives of millions of citizens. Whether they're working on climate change, national security, public services or economic development, the skills they hone here will help them lead through complexity."
"It's a difficult time to lead”, she acknowledges “which makes me even more thankful for all our students and alumni dedicating themselves to a world better led, better served and better governed. It's terrific to be a part of that mission.”