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Preparing for the Transition: Two Schools of Thought
Click here to read the full series.
This four-part series on preparing for the presidential transition is the result of surveys and interviews conducted by Alan Balutis, a former federal executive with more than 30 years of government experience. Balutis, who served as the Commerce Department's first chief information officer, is now director of the Internet business solutions group at Cisco Systems Inc. He also guided three presidential transitions and seven secretarial transitions while at Commerce.
This week former government executive John Marshall points out that knowing what political appointees are thinking can help with developing a plan to respond to the incoming administration. He also offers advice on what should be on the minds of career managers. Marshall was an assistant administrator for management and chief information officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the early years of the Bush administration, and is now a vice president at information technology services company CGI.
What political appointees are thinking:
1. Align agency policies with administration policy.
2. Coordinate with White House policy and personnel staff.
3. Determine who knows what they're doing and can get things done.
4. Find the straight shooters, who can explain things clearly and honestly.
5. Seek out the nonpartisans, who won't subvert the agenda of the new administration.
6. Administrative and information technology issues are lower priorities than policy and personnel issues.
What career managers should be thinking:
1. Change is inevitable, so embrace it, be ready for it and be confident about it. Change can bring about a chance for personal and career development.
2. First impressions count. Communicate clearly and avoid techno-speak.
3. Don't appear too personally attached to a particular initiative. When briefing political professionals, present both pros and cons in a neutral and balanced way. Let the new team decide what to do.
4. Respect roles. Be careful about proposing grand solutions, at least until you've established a trusting relationship. Career people are implementers. Let big ideas come from the political leadership.
5. Play it straight with both sides. The outgoing team might be back before you know it.
6. Avoid displays of partisanship, even if your candidates win. Practice "Don't ask, don't tell."
Government Executive will publish the last installment on transition preparation next Wednesday. Click here to see the first and second installments.
COMMENTS
- These are very good thoughts above. Political appointees and careerists frequently have different perspectives and priorities during transition. The turbulence of the transition environment can contribute to the challenge of identifying and understanding these differences. Too, traditional assumptions and stereotypes also contribute to potential distance and misunderstanding--resulting in lost opportunity. There is no question that all participants are frequently "drinking from a fire hose" to get thru the turbulent--and frequently messy--period. But effective leadership, at every level, will recognize that transition is an opportunity to not just get through briefing books and program justifications and "survive" at the margin. It's also an opportunity to re-energize the organization, renew focus on critical goals and drive mission continuity and meaningful change. The key is being able to identify the transition opportunities and challenges and employ innovative and creative approaches to address them. Martin Goldberg Posted October 30, 2008 9:23 AM
