By BOSEDE OLUSOLA-OBASA
Dear Public Servant, Someone Entrusted You With More Than a Job. I know that phrase—public servant can sound like a title on an appointment letter.
But it is actually a profound responsibility.
Someone gave you access to a public office, public resources, public information, public infrastructure or public authority. Those things don’t belong to you. They have been entrusted to you. And that changes the meaning of your work.
A citizen who walks into a government office is not doing you a favour by asking for a service. The citizen is approaching an institution that exists, in part, to serve the public. That citizen may be frustrated. The process may genuinely be difficult. Your workload may be heavy. Your salary may not reflect your expectations. Your own organisation may have failed you. All of that can be true.
But the person standing before you did not necessarily create those problems. This is where character becomes important. How do you treat the person who has no influence? How do you respond when nobody important is watching? Do you make a citizen return unnecessarily because you can? Do you demand what the process does not require? Do you delay what should be done today? Or do you ask yourself:
“How can I make this person’s experience better within the limits of my responsibility?”
Public service is one of the places where service attitude has enormous consequences because poor service does not merely inconvenience an individual. It can weaken confidence in institutions. It can increase the temptation to seek shortcuts. It can encourage people to believe that rules are only for those without connections. And when that happens repeatedly, society pays the price.
So, dear public servant, please don’t underestimate the power of your daily interaction. You may think you are processing a document. Someone else may experience it as dignity or humiliation. You may think you are simply doing your job.
Someone else may experience it as government working or government failing. Your position gives you authority. But remember: Authority is not ownership. It is stewardship.
And perhaps that is the question worth carrying to work tomorrow: “What should excellent public service look like if I remember that the public is the reason my office exists?”
Enjoy the rest of your week.
In all you do, Mind Your Character.
I’m Bosede Olusola-Obasa, Character Development Trainer, Corporate Culture Strategist and Best Service Attitude Advisor.
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