One example that really confirmed to me the importance of executive leadership was when I first became commissioner. The evaluation that had been done of the Department of Public Works gave it a rating of “poor”. The minister at the time was shocked at this, and there was a change of senior executives in the department. The next evaluation that was done was “fair”, and then the evaluation that followed that was “good”. It was because, first, the minister and then successive deputies since have taken the issue seriously and taken the measures necessary to ensure that they lived up to their responsibilities.
The other example that always impresses me is the National Arts Centre. When you go to the National Arts Centre wicket to buy a ticket, you are greeted with active offer, with somebody saying hello, bonjour. When you go to a concert, the person who takes your ticket greets you in both languages. Usually, even the parking attendant downstairs will greet you in both languages.
What I think this is testament to is that the use of both languages became understood as a value of the organization and something that people were expected to do. It shaped their hiring process and their training process. In the same way that certain private sector organizations say, “This is how we greet customers”, this became very much a part of the culture of the organization. When the use of both languages is part of the culture of the organization, it becomes ingrained.