ABSTRACT
The idea persists of the top civil servant as the 'generalist' being wafted aloft on a first class mind unsuited to the technological demands of the day. The Northcote Trevelyan Report of 1854 sought to improve the quality of government by introducing competitive examinations and allocating entry into three grades: clerical, executive and an elite administrative grade which would submit advice to ministers. This latter grade became the elevator to high office in the civil service, its recruits drawn mostly from the best of the Oxbridge graduates, often in arts, classical subjects or politics, philosophy and economics. Applied to senior appointments from the private sector this was actually doing the opposite of the successful companies who took care to nurture and grow their executive timber. Those entering in mid-career on the other hand found it easier, including learning how to manage those motivated by belief in public service not financial incentive.
