It is becoming more common in many government organisations to follow the Integrated Leadership System (ILS) when addressing selection criteria. The following outline provides you with several helpful prompts and guidelines when faced with addressing this type of selection criteria. Please note that each job application will most likely provide you with a different set of guidelines. The ILS typically comprises the stock-standard five criteria; and occasionally, a six criterion Is added in which is technical/professional/job-specific. They include:

1. Contributes to strategic thinking:
Describe a situation that demonstrates your ability to anticipate and do something about a problem that will likely arise in future. In your answer address the following: What was the situation and what was your role? What were the potential problems? How did you become aware of it? What did you do once you became aware of the problem? What was the effect of what you did?

2. Achieves results:

Provide an example of a time that demonstrates your commitment to achieving good outcomes for clients. In your answer address the following: What was the situation? What sort of clients were you dealing with? What sort of client needs were you trying to address? What steps did you take to achieve good outcomes for the clients involved? How did clients respond to the action you took? What was the outcome? What effect did your actions have on the outcomes that clients received?

3. Supports productive working relationships:

Provide an example that demonstrates your ability to maintain productive working relationships with internal or external clients by engaging in open communication and collaboration. In your answer address the following: What was the situation and what role were you performing? Who were the clients involved? What strategies did you use to ensure that you were open in your communication and that you created an environment of collaboration? What was the response of the clients and were you successful in meeting their needs?

4. Displays personal drive and integrity:

Describe a situation in which you have demonstrated your capacity to be resilient to difficult circumstances at work. In your answer address the following: What was the situation? What role were you performing? What were the circumstances at work? Why were they difficult? In what ways were you resilient to these circumstances? What was the outcome? How did your capacity to be resilient impact on your approach to the difficult circumstances?

5. Communicates with influence:

Describe an example of a time when you had to translate or interpret technical information for an audience that was unfamiliar with this material. In your answer address the following: What was your role? What was the nature of the information you needed to communicate? In what form did you need to communicate it? Which features of the audience did you need to consider in tailoring your communication to suit them? What steps did you take to ensure that your audience understood your material?  What was the outcome? What effect did your communication have on your audience’s level of understanding?

6. Demonstrates professional or technical proficiency:

Describe a situation in which you have drawn upon your specialist or technical knowledge to propose a new or innovative idea in your work area. In your answer address the following: What was the situation? What role were you performing? What specialist or technical knowledge did you draw upon? How did your specialist or technical knowledge help you identify a new or innovative idea? What was the outcome? What impact did your proposal have on your work area?

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Cheers,

Annie Cerone