In 2010, the Australian Government released its reform blueprint Ahead of the Game. The report brings together several big ideas that seek to create a public service able to address the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. Ambitious in its scale and scope, the reform manifesto has at its centre the notion of developing a 'high performance' public service and building a performance management framework to develop this. In this seminar Janine will explore the prospects and challenges of a high performance approach through an examination of the theoretical and practical aspects of the performance management puzzle.