GovernmentExecutive.com

On Sept. 12, every significant report, white paper and internal memorandum ever written on combating terrorism was taken down from its shelf, dusted off and in many cases read for the first time. While America is in a reading frame of mind, I'd like to recommend another reading list--one equally important for America's future security and prosperity.

The reports on my list were commissioned in the 1980s and 1990s, and address what Paul A. Volcker--head of the Federal Reserve before Alan Greenspan--has called America's "quiet crisis." As chairman of the National Commission on the Public Service, Volcker warned as far back as 1987 that America's federal career service was in danger of slipping into mediocrity due to the lack of incentives (financial and otherwise) to keep the federal workforce stocked with talented administrators and professionals.

Yet despite subsequent reports telling us the problem is only getting worse, nothing much of consequence has been done, largely for the same reasons our nation has been slow to confront the threat of terrorism--most of the time the issue appears too distant, amorphous and complex.

Why does this matter? Because the quality of our civil service determines the quality of our government, and our government impacts our lives so profoundly. "We tend to forget all this," Volcker told me recently, "until the country is in trouble. This present crisis reminds us, however, that our globalized world--where business plays an enormously important role in promoting growth and prosperity--also needs the hand of government to deal with the large questions of security."

From media reports, it is no secret that prior to Sept. 11, our intelligence, immigration, and security services could have been stronger, and our communications interoperability better. "What good could come out of this crisis," says Volcker, "is that we recognize that we need change and reform and do something about it."

Some good already has. Interlaced with the horrific images of Sept. 11 were stirring pictures of heroic firemen and emergency personnel, willing to run into burning buildings others were fleeing. On Sept. 11, America rediscovered heroes, and those heroes were public servants. The power of their sacrifice has inspired tens of thousands of people to apply for government jobs, especially for positions connected with stopping terrorism.

So assuming we now have America's attention, how do we ensure that the renewed interest in public service doesn't turn into just one more national fad? I have several recommendations based upon the studies I referenced earlier.

First, we must commit to showing respect for our public servants, and not just in the rough times when government's essentiality is confirmed. Most of government's work goes on hidden from public view until it's needed. If we want the systems crucial for our republic ready for us when we need them, we must let our public servants know every day that they and their work is valued.

The President's recent speech to the Senior Executive Service is a good example of what I'm talking about. All of America's leaders, however, need to find more and wider opportunities to talk about the enobling qualities of public service.

Second, the President and Congress need to give their full support to the new director for the Office of Personnel Management, Kay Coles James. Her task is to create a new culture of public sector management that promotes innovation and excellence at a time when thousands of federal employees are approaching retirement age and the private sector routinely outbids the public sector for technology workers, lawyers, scientists and other specialists.

She must help each federal agency reflect on its changing mission, assess its critical skills and knowledge needs, and implement creative recruitment and retention strategies. This isn't sexy work. Yet, if our national leaders make transforming our federal workforce a top priority, it will make her job easier.

Third, we must make civil service jobs more dynamic if we're going to retain quality employees. In many ways, we still rely on an industrial organizational model for our government--hierarchial, structured and staffed to manage direct service delivery. It will take the "best and the brightest" of this and future generations to find innovative ways to tear down the artificial walls that stop effective cooperation among federal agencies and across levels of government.

Fourth, we must rededicate ourselves to performance and achieving excellence. As we have discovered from recent events, government performs functions that are vitally important. We cannot settle for less than superior performance and sustained excellence. The President and Congress must be relentless in removing the barriers to performance management and developing a clear system of accountability.

Finally, the President needs to work with Congress to develop and pass civil service reform legislation. While a lot can be done through administrative changes, achieving a federal workforce that matches the needs of our 21st century government will ultimately require substantial changes to our current rigidly defined classification and compensation system for federal employees. This can only be done with new laws.

And what if we continue to fail to act? "Well," Volcker says, "you'll have a weakened government, and a weakened ability to respond to the enormous, if not always predictable, challenges of the 21st century, of which Sept. 11 is a very clear and startling example." No truer words said.