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Study says career executives make better managers than appointees
Career federal employees do a better job of running federal programs than political appointees, according to a new report from two university scholars.
Political appointees often do not have the management skills and agency experience needed to successfully run federal programs, according to John Gilmour of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and David Lewis of Princeton University. The two scholars studied the Bush administration's quarterly management grades and found that federal programs run by political appointees received lower grades than those run by career employees. The Office of Management and Budget uses a traffic light-style system for rating compliance with the president's five-part federal management agenda.
"Senior executive-run programs are better able to translate the interests of stakeholders into a clear, consistent program purpose," the two scholars concluded in their report.
Political appointees are often selected for political reasons rather than their talent in a particular area. Appointees also don't stay long, the two scholars determined, making them less able to develop the relationships and institutional knowledge needed to steer federal programs.
"Senior management continuity helps programs craft and communicate clear goals to program employees over a longer period of time," the scholars found. "Frequent turnover among political appointees, however, creates leadership vacuums in federal programs."
The study pointed to criticisms that security lapses at the Energy Department stemmed from frequent leadership turnover at the agency.
Senior managers have a greater connection to their staffs and often understand where change is needed and how to make it happen, the study said.
"Because senior managers are more likely to remain within a program through several administrations, they are more likely to have developed the personal networks and skills that facilitate governance," the scholars wrote.
The conclusions reached by Gilmour and Lewis mirror assertions put forth earlier this year by Paul Volcker, chairman of the National Commission on Public Service.
According to Volcker, federal workers who have held their jobs for years are in a much better position to know what is going on at agencies and make certain decisions than political appointees who step in for a couple years and have no historical perspective on events. In a report issued by the 10-member commission earlier this year, Volcker called for reducing the number of appointees.
COMMENTS
- There is a ripple effect with political appointees that hasn't even been mentioned -- the "outsiders" they bring with them and place in executive positions. They may not be considered political appointees, but they have the same effect. They don't understand the agency business, and all they want to do is try to remake their part of the agency into the image of their former business. They want to add a line to their resume. When things get really screwed up, they leave. GovExec.com reader Posted May 12, 2005 1:08 PM
- Management is management, and it comes in many forms. If politicos view the federal workforce as sheep, to be herded, there's not much anyone can do about that. Perhaps that is the reason for their dismal job performance! The fact is that management efficiency is the evaluation topic of the study, and Political Appointees were found lacking/lagging! Live with it. Mr. President, that’s a ‘Red Light’ for your fair-haired league, is it not? GovExec.com reader Posted November 6, 2003 11:23 AM
- Career executives make better managers than appointees?! Gee, who'd a thunk it? And exactly how long did it take you college boys to figure this out? I mean God forbid we have career professionals managing the government without the aid of political appointees to shepherd them about like a flock of sheep. The President may be a schmuck, his policies may be half-witted, and his appointees may not have a clue what they're doing. But we're all supposed to sleep better at night knowing everything is being done consistent with a President's policies. Uh huh. May I suggest political appointees be kept to an absolute minimum. Let's say about a third of what presently exists and let the career folks get on with their jobs. Note to Jim Bailey: This career employee was here before, during, and after your boy. We're STILL cleaning up the mess! Art Doss Posted November 5, 2003 4:34 PM
