Lagos charges public servants to possess right attitude to work

The Lagos State Government has charged public servants in the state to possess the right attitude to work in order to boost productivity.

Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pension, Dr. Benson Oke gave this charge on Thursday at a 2-day training programme tagged: ‘Changing Attitude for Improved Performance for Middle Level Officers,’ organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in conjunction with Messrs. Human Capital Management and Solutions Limited at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

He said the training was all about helping participants understand and appreciate how ways of behaving, feelings and opinion about work could affect performance, stressing that possessing the right attitude to work is a soft skill that was not taught in universities and other formal schools.

“This is therefore an attempt to help our middle level officers learn and appreciate the soft skills represented by the expression, ‘attitude.’ It also represents the commitment of the government of Lagos State to fully assist the civil service to appreciate and acquire the benefits that ‘soft skills’ training bring to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the effectiveness of the institutions of the civil service.

“You will attain better performance heights if you possess good communication skills. This doesn’t mean you have to be a brilliant orator or writer. It does mean you have to express yourself well, whether it is writing a coherent memo, persuading others with a presentation or just being able to calmly explain to a team member what you need,” he said.

Oke stated that the participants were also expected to have the skills to solve problems as organisations wanted people who could be left on their own to figure out how to resolve conflicts, avoid chaos and ill feelings.

According to him, they were also expected to be able to identify and spot potentials for conflicts before they festered into full-blown crisis, adding that the ability to persuade, negotiate and resolve conflicts was crucial if they planned to move up.

“As you may have observed, these soft skills have everything to do with one’s attitude. Attitude is so important that most other coveted attributes flow from it,” he said.

The commissioner asserted that possessing the right attitude by public servants would lead to career success, productivity, good leadership, team work, good decision making, motivation, interpersonal relations and stress management.

However, the training focused on attitude change for improved performance, acquisition of change management skills, ability to act as vanguard for change in the Civil Service, development of common values on attitudinal problems and ethical conduct and value re–orientation.

-Kazeem Ugbodaga