Dia Nag: From government insider to industry partner

You have now completed your first year in the private sector. What has surprised you most about life on the other side of the fence?

Though I’m technically in the private sector, all my clients are still public sector, so in many ways I never really left. I’ve just changed seats at the table.

But honestly, the pace of decision-making surprised me the most.

In the private sector, if something makes sense strategically and commercially, you just move… There’s less ceremony around it. Fewer layers. Less waiting for the “perfect moment.” That pace is energising, and you can see ideas turn into action quickly, which is incredibly satisfying.

In government, momentum is shaped by governance, policy cycles, and political context. And rightly so! Decisions affect millions of people, public money, and public trust. That weight changes how decisions get made.

What this shift has given me, more than anything, is a deeper appreciation for public sector processes. They’re not slow because people don’t care. They’re careful because people do care.

I’ve realised the private sector isn’t faster because it’s better. It’s faster because the incentives are different. And seeing both sides has made me respect both more.

What assumptions did you have about the private sector before moving across and which of those have been challenged or overturned?

I’ll be honest – I assumed the private sector would be much more profit-driven and less values-led.

And yes, commercial reality exists – it has to. But what challenged me was how many people are genuinely motivated by impact.

Especially when working with public services, you quickly realise that outcomes and commercial sustainability go hand-in-hand. You can’t build a credible business in this space unless you genuinely care about improving things.

What really got overturned for me, though, was this idea that having a good strategy is enough.

In the public sector, a good idea can carry weight on its own. In the private sector, a good idea is just the starting point. You have to explain it clearly, show why it matters, convince people to invest in it, and then deliver it.

It taught me that clarity is power. And that persuasion is just as important as insight.

What skills or mindsets from the public sector have turned out to be unexpectedly valuable? And conversely, what have you had to learn?

One of the most valuable things the public sector gives you is the ability to operate in complexity without panicking.

You learn how to navigate ambiguity, work across multiple stakeholders, read the room politically, and understand that decisions don’t happen in isolation. You also develop patience and resilience – which, funnily enough, becomes a superpower.

Because when you’ve worked inside government, you understand the “why” behind behaviours. You don’t mistake caution for resistance.

What I’ve had to develop more consciously is commercial thinking. Not in a cynical way, but in a practical way. Things like:

• How do you articulate value clearly?
• How do you turn ideas into something tangible people will invest in?
• How do you sustain momentum, not just create it?

In government, influence can come from role or position. In the private sector, influence comes from clarity, credibility, and usefulness.

It makes you sharper – in a good way!

From your new vantage point, how do you now see the relationship between government and private sector organisations? What’s misunderstood on both sides

Both sides caricature each other a bit.

Government sometimes sees the private sector as overly profit-focused. The private sector sometimes sees government as slow and bureaucratic.

But having lived both, the reality is much simpler. Both are operating within different accountability systems. Government is accountable to citizens, ministers, scrutiny bodies, and the public purse. The private sector is accountable to clients, employees, and financial sustainability.

Neither is wrong. They’re just optimised for different things.

The best relationships happen when there’s mutual respect for those constraints – and when suppliers act like partners, not saviours. Government doesn’t need rescuing. It needs honest, capable collaborators.

What does “good government support” from the private sector look like in practice?

Good support is not about becoming indispensable. It’s about making yourself dispensable.

It’s about leaving things better than you found them.

That means not just producing slide decks that look impressive but helping teams feel more confident in their own decision-making. It means being honest about what’s realistic. It means understanding the system you’re operating in, not trying to override it.

And sometimes it means saying, “Actually, you don’t need us here anymore.”

The best support builds capability, not dependency.

What has this first year changed in how you think about impact, influence, and delivery in public services?

It’s made me realise that impact doesn’t just come from having the right answer. It comes from knowing how to land the answer.

In the public sector, impact can feel gradual. It builds over time. In the private sector, you see more clearly how momentum is created – how framing, timing, and alignment can accelerate change.

It’s made me much more conscious of questions like:

• Where does real decision-making sit?
• What actually unlocks movement?
• How do you make change feel safe enough for people to embrace?

 Because change isn’t just logical. It’s human.

If you returned to the public sector in the future, what lessons would you take back with you?

I’d bring back a stronger sense of intentionality – intent always matters.

Being clearer about value. Being bolder about pacing. Being more confident about simplifying things.

Sometimes in government, process becomes a comfort blanket. And while process is important, it shouldn’t become a substitute for decision-making.

I’d also bring back a deeper appreciation for how much talent, care, and resilience already exists inside the public sector. It doesn’t need fixing. It needs enabling.

And I’d probably spend less time waiting for perfect conditions – and more time creating momentum.

Anything else you’d like to mention?

This year hasn’t felt like leaving public service. It’s felt more like understanding it from a different angle.

If anything, it’s deepened my respect for the people inside government. It’s easy to critique systems from the outside. It’s much harder to sit inside them, carrying responsibility for decisions that affect millions of lives.

What gives me optimism is seeing how many people on both sides genuinely want to make things better. Because the real magic happens when you stop seeing it as “public vs private” and start seeing it as people, together, trying to solve hard problems that actually matter.

Alongside my day role as director of digital at BetterGov, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do in my volunteering role as chair of the techUK Local Government Council. I work closely with commercial suppliers across the sector and industry, while also staying connected to colleagues and friends in government. Often, we’re all looking at the same problem just from different sides of the table. My role is about helping bridge that gap bringing different perspectives together, creating more understanding on both sides, and enabling more honest, equal conversations.

Alongside this, I also invest a lot of time in mentoring and supporting others across the digital/tech and public sector community. Mentoring has always mattered to me because I wouldn’t be where I am without people who took the time to guide and challenge me. It keeps me grounded and connected to the realities people are navigating especially those earlier in their careers or moving between sectors. And honestly, I learn just as much from them as they do from me!

Whether through my day role, chairing the Council, or mentoring, I see it all as part of the same thing helping create better bridges between people, organisations, and sectors.

Sometimes the biggest value isn’t in having the answer, but in helping people see the problem more clearly and creating the conditions where better solutions can emerge together, because ultimately, we’re all working toward the same outcome.