3.2 Professional Values that Guide Public Service Practice

Alongside democratic safeguards, public service also rests on professional values that shape how work is carried out. These values reflect the ethos of public servants—the attitudes and orientations that guide their decisions and daily practice. They include altruism, pragmatism, and recognition that all sectors can contribute to the public good.

Some values, such as ethics, bridge both categories. Ethics protects the legitimacy of government as a democratic safeguard, but it is also enforced through professional codes of conduct that guide public servants in their work.

Altruism Is About Putting Others First

Definition: Altruism means putting the needs and well-being of others ahead of one’s own interests.

Description: In public service, altruism reflects a commitment to act in ways that benefit the community, especially when there is no personal gain. This can involve making decisions that prioritize fairness, safety, or quality of life for the public, even if those choices require more time, resources, or personal effort. Altruism helps build trust between the public and government by showing that public servants are motivated by a genuine desire to serve others rather than by personal or political advantage.

Examples:

• A firefighter entering a dangerous situation to save someone’s life.
• A social worker staying late to help a client find emergency housing.
• A city employee ensuring a public park is safe and clean for families.

Pragmatism Means Focusing on What Works

Definition: A way of thinking that focuses on practical results and real-world impacts instead of rigid beliefs or theories. It avoids strict, inflexible rules and overly formal approaches, placing more value on what can be observed, tested, and used to make the most of opportunities.

Description: Pragmatism represents a can-do approach by prioritizing what works to solve pressing social problems. Achieving public values often requires pragmatic approaches rather than rigid ideological ones. It involves learning from success, adapting, accommodating multiple views, and building support through dialogue and discussion, even if full consensus is not reached. Pragmatism recognizes that public values often compete with private values and may require compromise.

Examples:

• A mayor adjusting a city policy based on new data.
• A city planner revising a project plan after community input reveals unanticipated needs.

Cross-Sector Public Value Means All Sectors Can Create Public Good

Definition: The principle that no single sector—public, private, or nonprofit—owns public values, and they can be achieved by organizations in any sector, either alone or through partnerships.

Description: This value challenges the belief that government is only a last resort for solving problems. It recognizes that all sectors can both advance and hinder public values. It also encourages setting aside stereotypes about sector roles and instead adopting flexible approaches to create public good. Bozeman and Crow (2021) refer to this as sector agnosticism.

Examples:

• Public sector: A city health department leading a vaccination campaign that reaches underserved neighborhoods through mobile clinics.
• Private sector: A certified B Corporation producing eco-friendly cleaning products and committing a share of profits to environmental restoration projects.
• Nonprofit sector: A housing nonprofit coordinating volunteers and donations to repair homes for senior citizens so they can remain in their communities.

References

Bozeman, Barry, and Michael M Crow. 2021. Public Values Leadership: Striving to Achieve Democratic Ideals. John Hopkins University Press.

Denhardt, Janet V, and Robert B Denhardt. 2015. The New Public Service: Serving, Not Steering. Routledge.