14 What It All Means
Ellen Tunstall
John Salamone
There you have it—our 13 stories, insights actually, into what works in government. We promised up front that we wouldn’t be prescriptive, that we would try to avoid trendiness, that we’d share some of the messiness, and, most important, that we’d tell you what happened and why. We hope we’ve accomplished that.
President Theodore Roosevelt is often credited with building the foundation of the modern civil service. His words, and the words of others, highlight five themes and lessons we have gleaned from our study and conversations.
Foundations of Modern Government
“During Roosevelt’s 7 years as President, the foundations of the modern Federal Government were laid. Many new agencies were created to perform functions for which the need had long existed. It was a period of major governmental expansion. A Reclamation Act, establishing irrigation projects, was passed in 1902. A Department of Commerce and Labor was created in 1903. A Pure Food and Drugs Act and a Federal Meat Inspection Act were passed in 1906, and Roosevelt added almost 150,000,000 acres of public lands to the 45,000,000 acres set aside as public conservation areas by his three predecessors. This expansion increased the necessity of obtaining more efficient organization and administration of functions of the executive branch….”
Biography of an Ideal, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (http://archive.opm.gov/BiographyofAnldeal/PDF/BiographyOfAnl-deal.pdf)
1. Analyze and plan. The longest serving First Lady of the United States—Anna Eleanor Roosevelt—said, “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”1 In our research, every successful organization recognized its problems and challenges. The organizations didn’t simply wish things would get better or look the other way. They collected and analyzed data and used those data to identify issues. NSF measured turnover and determined that “rotators” from universities and colleges contributed to a higher-than-expected rate. USAID identified workload drivers and found a way to link them to workforce requirements.
Once the agencies identified issues, they looked for solutions and planned for success. Some organizations, like SSA, used a sophisticated and formal approach to identify and plan “strategic and tactical” initiatives to improve knowledge management. At NARA, the director knew her HR department excelled at high-touch, personalized customer service, perhaps to the detriment of efficiency. Once she discovered why, she made a plan and set goals that transformed personnel servicing and guided the transition to an improved HR system. Consider also the ways NASA regularly looked at its business processes and policies to drive long-range and large-scale changes and better meet its needs.
2. Be decisive—take action. Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”2 The agencies we studied took action, moved forward, and made a difference. Consider the efforts of Phil Lenowitz at NIH. As the Deputy Director of HR, he and his team identified actionable steps and implemented a large-scale undertaking that resulted in substantial improvements to service delivery. Similarly, VA for VETS demonstrates the effectiveness of an integrated approach that combines multiple components and actions to achieve success. The program achieved its goal of hiring more veterans by leveraging virtual job fairs, career coaching, training, hiring process reforms, onboarding, and mentoring programs to impact veteran hiring and retention positively.
Sometimes being decisive and taking action can be arduous and time-consuming. USPTO is one of the most successful federal agencies to address and resolve challenges by leveraging technology and adopting a new way to work. It took 15 years and multiple iterations of a pilot, but by using telework, USPTO found a winning combination that attracts the talent it needs, keeps its physical footprint in bounds, and accomplishes its mission.
3. Find a champion. Another theme, perhaps the most critical, is leadership. In every successful endeavor, we found a leader or group of leaders who took responsibility and championed change. Think about Cal Scovel, Transportation’s Inspector General. His “mission people” philosophy was critical in improving leadership across the organization. Similarly, Robert Hosenfeld’s creativity and leadership guided his CBP team in realizing dramatic staffing improvements. NGA’s bold shift to a new personnel system with pay bands and performance pay would not have been possible without the strong and consistent leadership of its directors; their commitment left no doubt about NGA’s vision for the future and the direction the agency would take.
Once again, President Roosevelt supplied the perfect descriptor: “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader works in the open, and the boss is covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.”3 Roosevelt also said, “The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”4
Government that works needs effective leaders!
4. Measure success. President Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”5 He also said, “All the resources we need are in the mind.”6 Both of those statements still ring true, but in today’s competitive marketplace, we also need to define success, measure it, and replicate it. What more practical example could there be than the Air Force Research Laboratory, which for 15 years has driven mission success by measuring employee performance and compensating employees more when they contribute more? Consider how NIH measured and replicated improvements in customer service, operational outcomes, and strategic partnerships. And what about CVM? Without measurement and evaluation, the center would likely not have had a way to continually enhance employee engagement practices.
It’s interesting that many of the stories tell a tale of flexibility. The successful agencies, when they consider their success, weren’t dogmatic about the solution. They measured the impact so they could learn what wasn’t working and then redirect, change, and improve it. Sometimes the solution went well beyond the original idea. VA is a great example. Its focus on career development was supported by empirically based research that illustrated the power of engaging and developing the workforce. VA considered its options, found a champion, and took action. More than that, VA measured success at every step on the path to MyCareer@VA. The agency analyzed needs, validated content, evaluated usability, talked to users, gauged impact, and measured use and satisfaction. VA made modifications along the way toward an innovative, successful program that impacts organizational effectiveness.
5. Believe. Individuals can and do make a difference. They provide service and deliver results for the people of our nation. Even in the toughest economic and political times, federal employees deliver time and time again. They believe in public service and deliver great results.
We’ll give President Roosevelt the final word: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”7
NOTES
1 http://thinkexist.com/quotation/it_takes_as_much_energy_to_wish_as_it_does_to/186924.html.
2 http://kenfran.tripod.com/teddy.htm.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 http://theodorerooseveltclub.com/index.php/theodore-roosevelts-legacy.