Secretaries generally work very long hours, in the office and at home. Most spend at least half a day every weekend just trying to catch up on the previous week’s work and prepare for the week ahead.

Each secretary has an individual style, but all struggle to balance the responsibilities involved and to stop the urgent getting in the way of the important. Those I admired most put great effort into preserving a medium to long-term perspective and fostering a depth of knowledge and analysis to draw on, avoiding the danger of being overly reactive.

This can be done in various ways: having a strong team of able officers, insisting on ‘due process’, ensuring robust information systems, constantly testing the analysis provided, exhibiting a healthy scepticism and an understanding of practical realities. Usually all of these are required, though the mix will differ with each personality.

Setting priorities is always a challenge. In most portfolios, it is simply impossible to keep on top of the detail, and it is dangerous to try. Equally, however, never delving into details can leave a secretary (and the minister and department) vulnerable when things go wrong. Rolling up the sleeves is, in my view, an essential quality to ensure a minister’s priorities are addressed and to demonstrate to staff from time to time the importance of getting the details right.

Establishing priorities also involves taking advantage of cycles. Parliamentary breaks are a useful opportunity to review longer-term strategies. Trips abroad (possibly with the minister) are a time to reflect on policies and performance in the light of international experience. When things go wrong (which happens to all secretaries sometime), it is all hands to the pump, and there is little if any time to reflect on the crisis or to attend to all the other responsibilities not in crisis.

Families inevitably suffer, though most secretaries attempt to set aside some regular period for families, whether through an annual two or three-week holiday, or a Sunday evening dinner, or chauffeuring the children to Saturday morning sport.

Sharing the experience with peers in informal settings also relieves the pressure of work. It is not always possible to discuss issues within the department, or with family and friends, but I have always found having lunch regularly with some other secretaries with whom I share views on the Public Service provides great reassurance. There is a risk, however, that such networks present barriers to newcomers.