Running head: WHICH PEOPLE MAKE GOOD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS?

Which People Make Good Government Officials?

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date
WHICH PEOPLE MAKE GOOD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS? 2

Which People Make Good Government Officials?

Government officials are required to uphold high integrity and leadership to serve the

people justly and with equity. The government officials are representatives of the state and are

thus required to serve the interests of the people first and not their selfish welfares. Currently,

many government officials, especially in developing nations, are veering in corrupt deals, thus

promoting poverty among the people they serve. Government officials are either nominated,

elected, appointed or selected depending on the law's requirements. Officials act as a bridge

between people in the grassroots and the government. Government officials require several

positive traits to handle the serve the people to their satisfaction.

The first most crucial trait government officials should exhibit is integrity. Most

government officials in high offices are exposed to public resources which they are supposed to

use to deliver better services to the public. Honesty is required of the public officials to use the

resources to the public’s gain as required and not to enrich themselves. As public officials apply

to serve in public offices, they are interviewed on their integrity and ethics to ensure they will

exclusively serve public interests. Persons of integrity have a high standard of trust (Engelbrecht

& Mahembe, 2017). Public officials should be able to account for their actions. Government

officials need to reject corrupt deals and report lawbreakers they to relevant authorities for

punitive measures. Positive results are yielded when integrity and trust are the driving force.

Excellent communication skills is another vital attribute government officials should

possess. In their duty, public officials need to communicate with other parties such as their

seniors, juniors, and even the public. According to Khan and fellow scholars(2017), good

communication enhances the ease of passing information understandably. Officials need to be

able to communicate correctly with their team to figure out how to provide better services to the
WHICH PEOPLE MAKE GOOD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS? 3

public. A team that maintains respect in their communication fosters an attractive working

environment(Apak & Gümüş, 2015). Also, officials should maintain good listening skills to

enables others to communicate their view. Good government officials should show good

communication abilities to develop a better relationship with others.

Moreover, government officials should be creative. In contemporary times, governments

face challenges daily. Smart government officials device ingenious ways to solve these problems

that would otherwise escalate to bigger problems. For example, when the Corona virus first

emerged, creative officials devised the lockdown measure to curb its spread. Public officials

should be calm during challenging times and lead others toward solving problems. Creative

government officials rank high in their duties (Soegoto, & Kadisi, 2017); officials should also

promote creativity among team members. The best officials are those who use not only

established problem-solving procedures, but they should also incorporate inventive solutions.

In conclusion, any person holding government jobs should uphold positive traits to serve

public selflessly. Integrity, trust and good morals should be seen in their deeds. Public officials

need to abhor corruptions for them to perform well. Also, officials should be good commutators

to ensure they can pass information coherently to the public, and workmates. Listening to others

provides public officials with new ideas or feedback that can help in decision making. Creative

officials ensure challenges are solved before they escalate to unimaginable levels. Government

officials in leadership positions ought to encourage their teams to be innovative so that they

perform better. Public office holders should be morally upright individuals.

WHICH PEOPLE MAKE GOOD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS? 4

References

Apak, S., & Gümüş, S. (2015). A Research About The Effect of The Leadership Qualities of

Public Administrators on the Motivation of The Employees. Procedia - Social And

Behavioral Sciences, 210, 368-377. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.384

Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2017). Integrity, Ethical Leadership, Trust and

Work Engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

Khan, A., Khan, S., Zia-Ul-Islam, S., & Khan, M. (2017). Communication Skills of a Teacher

and Its Role in the Development of the Students' Academic Success. Journal of

Education and Practice, 8(1), 18-21.

Soegoto, A. S., & Kadisi, R. E. (2017). Entrepreneurial Government Attitude Towards The

Performance of Local Government Officials. Etikonomi, 16(2), 207-220.