The Four Attributes of a Statesmanlike Mindset: On the Issue of Training Civil Servants

Abstract

State thinking is a stable turn of speech, used most often as a personal assessment. A similar assessment could well have been given by a «pike vest» instead of «NN is a head!». Putting aside philistine judgments, it is still worth paying attention to the phenomenon of state thinking with all seriousness, since it is not only an abstract image, but also a very concrete result of managerial education. In the course of the research, the main characteristics of government thinking were highlighted: scale, strategic and optimization orientation, rationality.The styles and characters of mental activity are not only individual, but also have a very natural professional connection, since they are associated with solving certain mental tasks. The activities of managers, including civil servants, are no exception. Moreover, making any management decision requires serious thought work. It is not enough to speak only about analytical and synthetic operations in this case. Developing a management solution requires both an assessment of scale, and embedding in a specific strategic context, and striving for rationalization and optimization. A civil servant should be able to think in line with the interests of the cause, the interests of other people, often ignoring their own.The training of civil servants in professional activities should include a set of educational tasks aimed at developing state thinking. It is important to ensure a smooth transition from classroom practical training to internships and internships in government agencies. This requires the selection of practice-oriented tasks from the live practice of public administration. Students and trainees should have the opportunity to practice developing various solutions, analyze and form expert assessments of the decisions made. Of particular interest are case studies, which involve the student’s analysis and evaluation of his own decisions. State thinking is inextricably linked with self-control, the skills of which are of high importance for successful professional activity.