The head of the Civil Service spoke out yesterday about bossy leaders and the need for civil servants to be accountable, impartial and treated with respect.Kenneth Dill gave his speech to Hamilton Rotary less than two weeks after Premier Ewart Brown unsuccessfully tried to oust him from his job.Major Dill made no reference at the luncheon to Dr. Brown's letter to him of April 30 asking him to retire two years early on a full pension.

Nor would he answer questions afterwards from the press about the incident.But following his remarks, past president Owen Darrell appeared to allude to the failed bid to fire him in his vote of thanks.

Mr. Darrell said he knew a certain civil servant who could write jokingly as his own epitaph that he was "subservient to a Premier undertaking one of his dictatorial manoeuvres".The Rotarian added, to chuckles from Major Dill and the audience at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club: "But he is here."

Major Dill told the audience that Government had more than 6,000 employees, 1,800 of them classified as civil servants, working in ten ministries and departments.

He said a recent initiative to promote leadership within the Civil Service involved 15 high-ranking civil servants undergoing an "arduous" training programme to prepare them for executive level positions."It is said that, ultimately, leadership in a culture of change, will be judged as effective or ineffective, not by who you are as a leader, but by what leadership you produce in others," he said.

He added, repeating the phrase twice: "Leadership, as opposed to 'bossmanship', is now my clarion call." Major Dill quoted former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's contention that great leaders are almost always great simplifiers."We can get on with our jobs without unnecessary complications," said the top civil servant. "If we are to sustain a viable and effective public service, and indeed maintain a quality public service, we must reaffirm our role and core function, which is to provide an open and impartial Civil Service, which must always put people's interests first."We must reaffirm and demonstrate on a continual basis the value of the public service, stressing integrity, objectivity and accountability."

He said mindsets needed to be changed within and outside the Civil Service, including "changing the mindset that accountability is non-existent".He said the service needed to stick to the ethos behind its 'At Your Service, Bermuda' logo and be projected as having a performance culture "that is transparent, that is fair, that is just and that is ethical".

Major Dill told the luncheon: "Accountability at all levels is imperative; and reward for high performance and outstanding achievement must be the norm."He said the service had been working to change over the past two years and a more collaborative approach was now the focus.The 63-year-old, whose public service career has spanned almost 40 years, spoke of the benefits of becoming a civil servant. "There is job security for hard working, disciplined, determined and dedicated civil servants," he said.

He concluded:"We must value our employees; treat them with dignity and respect; listen to and when practical act upon their recommendations."

Rotarian and former civil servant Jim Brock was the only member to ask a question. He said he felt it was no longer the case that Ministers made policies and civil servants carried them out. "Am I right?" he asked.Major Dill replied:"The Government makes the policies, the civil servants implement the policies and that continues today."

He told the Rotarians he was asked "many weeks ago" to give his talk, adding that his brother Barrett vice-president of Hamilton Rotary checked more recently if he was still planning to attend. "I asked him if that was a trick question," he said.

The Premier's bid to sack him last month prompted criticism from the Opposition and a letter of support for Major Dill from Civil Service chiefs. Bermuda's Constitution would allow only the Governor, on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission, to fire the head of the Civil Service.