Government Executive - Authors - Max Stier

The Biden Administration Can Seize a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Advance Equity. Here’s How.

Max Stier and Michael McAfee — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 05:59:00 -0500

On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order recognizing government’s responsibility to ensure that all people living in this country—and especially those facing the burdens of structural racism—live in a just society and experience equal opportunity.

The administration can fulfill this responsibility—but only if its rhetoric is matched by effective action.

As it enters its second year, the Biden administration has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance equity in America and reaffirm this goal as fundamental to public service. To do so, it must reset government’s relationship with those who lack access to federal services that create conditions for people to thrive.

The administration’s efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, rebuild American infrastructure and strengthen the social safety net offer a chance to hit this reset button.

Each of these areas necessitate countless interactions between the federal government and the people it serves, offering agencies fresh opportunities to imbed the principles of racial equity into the rules and processes that govern national policy.

Unfortunately, our government has too often reinforced if not exacerbated systemic racial inequality.

Recent reports have highlighted the history of discriminatory lending to Black farmers; unequal disaster relief for Native American communities; and delayed COVID-19 relief payments to businesses in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Studies also indicate that the majority of government officials do not believe their agencies have the resources to deliver services more equitably.

With its executive order and recent directive on improving federal service delivery, the Biden administration has outlined a vision to build a government that meets the needs of all Americans—not just those who typically receive services, but those who struggle hardest to access them.

The administration must now take up the hard work of implementing this vision. Four main actions would jumpstart this process.

First, the administration should ensure agencies know the full extent of the problem by helping them collect better information on how groups receive federal services and who is left out. Agencies often fail to reach vulnerable groups because they lack data showing service trends by race, gender and other demographic variables.

The creation of the Equitable Data Working Group is a major milestone around these efforts and it should adopt certain strategies to broaden its impact, including ensuring data categories represent the full diversity of the U.S. population, standardizing those categories across agencies, linking this data to customer feedback on government services, and sharing best practices to communicate why such data is being collected and how it will be protected.

Second, the administration should follow through on its stated commitment to reduce the administrative burdens—different bureaucratic processes and regulations—that make it harder for vulnerable populations to access federal benefits and information.

Requiring agencies to design services with the public up front and use regular “burden audits” that prioritize the needs of hard-to-reach groups—and not the convenience of government—as a key metric for success will be critical.

Third, the administration should prioritize bringing more diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility experts into government—personnel critical to reshaping federal services to reach overlooked populations.

A new talent exchange program managed by the Partnership for Public Service recruits non-public sector professionals to work in government, with a priority on filling positions dedicated to advancing DEIA at an agency. The program recognizes government’s need to find expertise on tackling systemic racial injustice and is a promising model that could be expanded.

Finally, the administration should build a federal workforce that reflects the diverse needs of the people it serves by helping agencies recruit and retain career leaders—the experts and administrators who shape and implement federal services—with a wide array of backgrounds, identities and experiences.

Currently, Black, Latino and other underrepresented groups compose about 23% of the Senior Executive Service—the highest career positions in the civil service—but nearly 50% of all entry-level jobs.

Working with recruiting partners that target professionals from underrepresented groups, enacting more transparent promotional policies and creating better leadership training for underrepresented employees would help diversify federal talent pools and senior leadership.

As the public institution most fundamental to our national democracy, the federal government has the power and responsibility to advance equity. The administration’s domestic agenda offers a generational opportunity to do so, but only if it is implemented the right way. These efforts will lay the groundwork for critical systemic change and a more just democracy.

Michael McAfee is the president and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by Lifting Up What Works®.

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives for a more effective government for the American people.

]]>

Busting the Bureaucratic Myth, One Amazing Achievement at a Time

Max Stier and Craig Newmark — Mon, 03 May 2021 14:58:44 -0400

Federal employees protect our health, safety and well-being—providing us with everything from disaster relief and environmental cleanup to new medical treatments and vaccines.

Yet all too often, federal employees are disrespected as uninspired bureaucrats and robotic paper pushers, or dismissed as members of a shady “deep state” working to undermine our democracy. Recent policies—like the now-repealed executive order that would have made it easier to fire career civil servants—is only the latest example of a decades-long pattern of deriding federal employees that has caused public trust in government to reach a historic low.

A closer look at federal employees dispels these myths. As we celebrate Public Service Recognition Week from May 2-8, it’s a good time to highlight some of the anonymous career officials—working behind the scenes as managers, policy experts, administrators and analysts—who solve our biggest challenges. To build a stronger democracy that serves and protects us all, we must respect and support federal employees and the vital expertise they bring to government. They deserve our gratitude for improving our lives in critical, yet unheralded, ways.

A prime example is Mary Frances Matthews, a program analyst at the Veterans Benefits Administration.

Matthews began her career working in one of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ North Carolina offices as a benefits administrator. She once awarded an older Vietnam veteran $250,000 of retroactive benefit payments after discovering a 15-year old clerical error in the VBA database. The experience opened her eyes to the value of public service.

“That definitely was one that affected me so much because I got to have such a positive impact,” she said.

But her impact was only just beginning.

In 2019, the VA implemented a new appeals system that would enable the agency to process disability claims more quickly. However, the VBA still had nearly 270,000 appeals awaiting adjudication—known as legacy appeals—as the agency prepared to launch the new system.

It was up to Matthews to reduce the backlog so the new system—critical for providing veterans in need with financial support—could launch quickly.

Typically, processing legacy appeals required employees scattered across dozens of field offices to work on different phases of cases at the same time.

Matthews revolutionized this outdated and complex method, creating a nationwide brokering system that assigned legacy appeals caseloads evenly across 56 different VBA offices. To do so, she worked with data analysts to understand how many employees each office had and which cases they could work on. Matthews then built, monitored and evaluated the new workflow manually, a colossal undertaking that in effect made her a human version of the VA’s regular computerized assignment system.

The brokering system has made a real difference for veterans, decreasing the VBA’s legacy appeals backlog by 87% and, in turn, enabling the VA to more quickly develop its new appeal process. That promises to reduce the average wait time on an appeals decision from three to seven years to 125 days.

Matthews is only one of the countless federal employees who make our lives better.

William Hart-Cooper, a research chemist at the Agricultural Research Service, said he is “keeping this planet safe and clean for the next generation” by creating environmentally friendly disinfectants.

Lori Vislocky, a technical director at the Department of Homeland Security, said she is improving the national security landscape by creating a new vetting system that provides security screeners with critical intelligence about travelers to the U.S.

And Zack Schwartz, an information technology division chief at the Census Bureau, said he wanted to be “a part of something that impacted people every day” when he decided to partner with Google, Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia to stop saboteurs from spreading false information about the 2020 census.

These are not the accomplishments of unimaginative bureaucrats, but the work of vital public servants who deserve our full support.

Fortunately, the current administration has taken steps to show federal employees that their work is valued, respected and appreciated. In a recent message, President Biden praised federal employees’ experience and expertise. Shortly thereafter, he issued an executive order that reinstituted civil service protections for federal workers and declared it official U.S. policy to “protect, empower and rebuild” the career workforce.

These efforts should be the first part of a new national agenda built around respecting and recognizing all federal workers. Our nation must continue to acknowledge the countless career civil servants who protect our health, safety and well-being. Only then will people realize the full depth and breadth of what our government does—and why it is so critical to our democracy.

Craig Newmark is the founder and customer service representative of Craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Max Stier is the president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

Senate, White House Must Resolve Stalemate That Has Disabled Federal Employee Grievance Board

Max Stier, Terry Gerton, Bill Valdez, and Thomas W. Ross — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 13:06:44 -0500

The Merit Systems Protection Board is a small agency with a critical task: protecting the nonpartisan nature of the federal career civil service. For the first time in its 40-year history, the board, as of March 1, has no Senate-confirmed board members. The cause? The Senate for years has been unable to approve board nominees.

This is chilling news for American taxpayers and anyone who wants the federal government to avoid returning to the 19th century spoils system that resulted in epic scandals like the Union Pacific Railroad bankruptcy, manipulation of the gold market and the Whiskey Ring scandal of the Grant presidency.

MSPB is the guardian of the merit system principles that are the bedrock of the federal civilian civil service. These principles hold that hiring decisions, promotions, disciplinary actions and firings are based on the qualifications and performance of the individual employee. The principles do not tolerate cronyism, retributions based on whistleblowing or other forms of discrimination.

The lack of a single board member compounds an already unacceptable problem. The MSPB has been operating since early 2017 under unprecedented circumstances: the absence of a voting quorum.

The result has been a backlog of nearly 2,000 cases and a delay in justice of up to three years for federal employees, whistleblowers, veterans and federal annuitants with matters before the board. And undoubtedly it also means that agencies, which ultimately would prevail before MSPB, are having to keep problematic employees on the payroll until a quorum is restored and the board can vote on cases.

Moreover, due to the lack of a quorum, the board has been unable to issue official reports or studies to Congress and the president during a critical time in which there is a growing appreciation for the imperative of modernizing the civil service. The recent 35-day partial government shutdown demonstrated to everyone the need for an effective and efficient civil service and the MSPB, through its official reports, provides agencies with key data needed to maintain the productivity of their workforces.

The stoppage of MSPB’s independent, quasi-judicial role will have a catastrophic long-term impact on the merit-based system for the approximately 2 million member federal civil service as well as the agencies that employ them.

Two MSPB nominations submitted by the President Trump were recently reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, but the gridlock that characterizes the modern-day confirmation process leaves their fate unclear. Also, with the recent withdrawal of another MSPB nominee, the president has the opportunity to put forth a third nomination for the board.

We call upon the Congress and administration to expeditiously return MSPB to its role as protector of the civil service merit system by prioritizing the nomination and confirmation processes to ensure that MSPB can fully function. Federal employees and the American taxpayer deserve nothing less.

Bill Valdez is the president of the Senior Executives Association, a nonprofit professional association for federal career leaders that promotes ethical and dynamic public service. Max Stier is the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to transform how the government works. Terry Gerton is the president and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration, a congressionally chartered, non-partisan, non-profit academy that improves governance and advances the field of public administration. Thomas W. Ross is the president of The Volcker Alliance, a nonpartisan organization that advances effective management of government to achieve results that matter to citizens.

]]>

What Managers Should Do With 2018 Employee Viewpoint Survey Data

Max Stier and Danny Werfel — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:51:56 -0400

Federal agencies recently received their 2018 employee survey results that will be followed by our Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, a rich supply of data offering important insights into how employees view their jobs, leaders and the work environment.

It is critical for political and career executives to closely examine this data, not only to assess the overall level of employee engagement at their organizations, but to comb through responses of more than 70 survey questions to get a sense of how employees feel about specific aspects of their work life.

These issues include whether employees understand how their work relates to the agency’s goals and priorities, the pivotal role of frontline leaders, the perceptions of senior leaders and whether employees have enough faith in management to disclose a suspected violation of law or regulation without fear of reprisal. The questions also focus on whether employees feel their skills are used well, whether they believe they are recognized for doing good work and whether they have an opportunity for professional development.

Given our personal experiences in government and now as leaders at organizations that have been recognized as best places to work, we firmly believe that understanding the perspective of employees and proactively addressing their concerns will result in greater workforce engagement, better performance and more satisfied customers. That is why the Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group have joined together to produce the 2018 Best Places to Work rankings—to assist government leaders in creating work environments that allow employees to do what they really want to do, which is serve the public.

Agency leaders should closely analyze the 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey data, maintaining an open mind and resisting the urge to become defensive about results that point to areas in need of improvement. The point of the survey and the Best Places to Work data is not to find fault, but to assist leaders in becoming better stewards of their organizations.

Leaders should try to put the data in context by comparing the federal survey and Best Places to Work scores to peer agencies and the government overall as well as look at the year-to-year scores for their organizations. A score without any context may not appear to be high, but an improvement from the year before can be cause for celebration. A low score or a decline on a particular issue, on the other hand, will signal the need for attention.

After analyzing the data, the hard work will begin. While the survey data and insights provided by the Best Places to Work analysis will shed light on what’s going on in an organization, the data alone cannot explain why employees feel the way they do. To identify the “why” and to develop a targeted strategy, leaders should initiate follow-up conversations with employees to probe deeper into the critical workplace issues.

At the Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, leaders six years ago made a commitment to confront steadily declining workplace engagement, and that sustained effort has resulted in a greatly improved Best Places to Work ranking. After numerous meetings with employees, the leadership focused on improving communication across the agency, greater recognition of employee contributions and better leadership development and employee training opportunities. As the SEC has shown, paying close attention to workforce needs and achieving high levels of employee engagement is not a one-time event, but a marathon that requires a sustained commitment.

The keys to success involve understanding workforce concerns and then developing a plan based on the feedback to initiate change. Sometimes this may require a major effort, but in other instances, action need not be overly time-consuming,

Quick wins can be as simple as writing a thank you note to employees who have completed important projects (in 2017, less than half of federal survey respondents were satisfied with the recognition they receive for doing a good job), or scheduling office hours and encouraging employees to drop by. Keeping employees in the loop by sending out newsletters or emails with workplace updates can have a positive effect.

As former Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke said while accepting the award for most-improved large agency in the 2017 Best Places to Work rankings, “Think big, but also don’t forget to act small.”

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. He previously worked at the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Danny Werfel is a partner and managing director of the Boston Consulting Group. He previously served as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and controller of the Office of Management and Budget. For more information on the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, a joint initiative of the Partnership and BCG, go to bestplacestowork.org

]]>

The Road to Government Reform Is Filled With Landmines

Max Stier — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:12:00 -0400

President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring federal agencies to identify duplicative and unnecessary programs and improve services holds the promise of helping bring our government into the 21st century.

In many respects, we have institutions created for a different era. Our government provides exceptional services in some areas, but has not kept up with best-in-class private sector organizations in others. The moment is ripe for evaluating where we are and where we need to be in terms of the way government conducts business, manages taxpayer money and serves the needs of the American people.

Many presidents have tried to reform government. At best, they have enjoyed only partial success, typically falling far short of highly ambitious goals. The road to changing government, as Trump’s predecessors learned, is filled with political landmines, but there are some guideposts the new administration should follow if it hopes to make headway.

Engage Congress now: Little can change without the cooperation of Congress, where lawmakers have favored programs and constituencies. They have a vested interest in the status quo. For agencies to be merged or eliminated, or for programs to be scrapped or realigned, Congress must give its consent. President Obama in 2011 proposed combining 12 separate federal trade and export agencies into a newly constituted Commerce Department, while sending unrelated units to other parts of the government—a plan he said would help make America more competitive. This proposal received no support in Congress and suffered a quiet death.

The Trump administration has promised to obtain proposals from agencies within six months, provide a comprehensive reorganization plan to Congress in roughly a year, and then work with the relevant House and Senate committees to push forward with the reforms. Cabinet secretaries and their staff should begin meeting with their congressional overseers, including members of both political parties, long before any plan is drawn up to have frank conversations, to get advice, to incorporate their input and to help build consensus and support.

Move quickly to build agency leadership teams: The president has given wide latitude to his Cabinet to evaluate their programs, policies and operations, and this challenge offers an opportunity for bold thinking. The business acumen of the private sector leaders who have been tapped to serve in the new administration can be a real asset as the administration seeks creative solutions to boost efficiency and performance. The president must move quickly to nominate and win confirmation of deputy secretaries and other key members of the departmental leadership teams so they can work effectively with the Cabinet secretaries and experienced career executives in assessing what changes are needed and how best to accomplish them.

Focus on interagency coordination and cooperation: Solving problems requires agencies to work together, not as separate, disconnected entities. Few of today’s critical challenges, from cybersecurity to food safety and job training, can be solved by any single agency acting alone. With increasing frequency, serving the public demands interagency coordination—using the resources and expertise of multiple agencies to achieve a common goal. This is harder than it sounds, and requires the leadership of the White House and members of the Cabinet. The Government Accountability Office has identified dozens of actions federal agencies can take to eliminate the overlap, fragmentation and duplication of programs and services, and the Cabinet secretaries should use this information and collaborate with their counterparts to target areas where they can work together. This not only applies to implementing programs, but getting agencies to achieve economies of scale by sharing administrative services such as financial management, human resources, acquisition and information technology.

Go beyond the wiring diagram: Reorganizations are a partial solution, at best; they rarely solve every problem, and often lead to new challenges that require time and energy to generate real returns. When government fails or is inefficient, it usually has little to do with how an agency is organized and almost everything to do with the quality of the people and the performance, commitment and management skills of senior leaders.

Transforming government is hard work. Doing it right not only requires sound plans and organization, but the commitment and accountability from the White House, senior administration leaders and Congress to turn the promise of constructive change into tangible results.

Max Stier is president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

The VA Scandal Flags Much Bigger Problems in Civil Service

Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:57:09 -0400

Allegations that employees across the Veterans Affairs Department hospital system cooked the books to cover up lengthy wait times for patients are abhorrent, and the individuals responsible for cheating the system and mistreating our veterans must be held accountable. But the resignation of Secretary Shinseki, a good man and dedicated public servant, does nothing to address the real problems at VA—or across government.

The truth is these types of problems aren’t unique to the VA. There’s been a recent string of challenges—from conference scandals at the General Services Administration, to inappropriate targeting of political organizations at the Internal Revenue Service, to the colossal failure of managing HealthCare.gov. These challenges are not new. They have persisted because the sum total of the congressional response has been to ask for leadership’s head on a platter or pass piecemeal, isolated agency reform in response to the crisis du jour. Changing leaders is simply musical chairs when the challenges run this deep and even firing the bad actors at VA should not be the entirety of the response.

What is truly needed is a fundamental culture shift that rewards employees for raising and addressing shortcomings. This kind of change will only be achieved through thoughtful, underlying reform of the entire civil service system.

Rather than giving the next VA secretary authority to fire executives at will, which will really serve as a disincentive for top talent to serve there, what is needed from Congress is a response that will make meaningful change at VA and across government—comprehensive legislation to transform the way our government hires, develops and rewards its employees.

One aspect of this broader approach is finding a more effective way to deal with poor performers and those who engage in misconduct. It is not, as myth would lead us to believe, impossible to fire a federal employee, but it is difficult. The VA, for example, has forced out through transfers, terminations or involuntary retirements about 3,000 workers in each of the last two years, some of whom were senior executives.

But under current rules, federal employees can appeal disciplinary actions to multiple and sometimes duplicative dispute resolution forums, a process that can take months or even years, and that places an excessive burden on managers. To facilitate justice, Congress should create a unified dispute resolution process for all individual employee complaints that preserves due process rights, but speeds decision-making and ensures accountability.

Also a meaningful reform package would include a market-sensitive pay system so government can attract and compete for top talent. The raging political debate over whether federal employees are paid too much or too little is the wrong conversation. The real question should be whether we are paying an appropriate amount, and no more, to get the talent and skills we need to properly serve the public—or in this case, our nation’s veterans.

The answer is to pay our employees by occupation the way every other effective organization in the country does it. This requires creation of a market-sensitive labor system for all professional positions that would establish pay rates roughly comparable to those of major private sector employers hiring for similar jobs, and that accounts for differences based on skill sets and levels of responsibility. This is technical, but essential. Under the civil service system, which prizes equity, an engineer at the GS-14 level would be paid the same amount as a human resources specialist at the same level, although the market for the two skill sets is dramatically different.

It also is essential to change the way federal agencies hire. Over the years, various laws and procedural requirements have complicated the federal hiring process, making it slow, complex and opaque. The process is so cumbersome and mysterious, it discourages candidates from applying and even if they do apply, there is little faith that the system identifies the best candidate for the job. Clearly, if the situation at VA demonstrates anything, it tells us that we need more of the best, most dedicated people in service to our veterans. We need more highly qualified and motivated young people in government, where only 7 percent are under 30, and we need a system for people to more easily move between the public and private sectors.

Congress has both an opportunity and an imperative to plan for the future federal workforce, but to do it properly, it must revamp the system that supports it. The allegations of wrongdoing at the VA could serve as a needed catalyst for change, with the White House, Congress, employee representative organizations and other interested parties coming together and doing the hard work required to revise pay, hiring and other personnel practices, including how we handle errant employees.

Change like this is hard. It doesn’t happen overnight and it won’t happen at all unless Congress stops reacting piecemeal to the crisis du jour and takes the time to understand and correct the underlying shortcomings of our civil service system.

Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.

(Image via Gil C/Shutterstock.com)

]]>

Analysis: Stop Using Feds as Pawns in Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:38:00 -0500

Since the November election, our national discourse has been dominated by the march to the edge of the “fiscal cliff” – the urgent need to reach a budget deal that will prevent taxes from going up on the middle class and automatic and deep cuts from taking effect across the government. It’s an important debate with great consequence for our country.

One of the pawns in these negotiations has been the federal workforce. During the past two years, federal pay has been frozen, pension contributions for new employees have been increased, retirements are up, hiring has slowed and agency budgets have been slashed. Several proposals have been floated that would extend the pay freeze, cut federal benefits and limit backfilling of vacant positions.

All this is happening as federal workers have been increasingly asked to do more with less, and as the issues they are addressing – national security, healthcare, the economy – are all growing more complex. And now it appears the shortsighted way we have been dealing with federal employees is coming home to roost.

The recently released 2012 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings showed the largest decline in federal employee job satisfaction and commitment in almost a decade. Employees also gave our government lower grades on each of the 10 workplace issues surveyed, including leadership, satisfaction with pay, strategic management, work/life balance and teamwork.

There are real differences of opinion about the role of government, but there should be consensus that we want government to be effective no matter what it is doing. Declining worker satisfaction and commitment scores are a sure sign of trouble.

The danger is not worker unhappiness, but the tradeoff of achieving savings through workforce cutbacks, pay and benefit reductions at the expense of a less capable and a less responsive government. Fundamentally, this is a performance issue.

While few will be spared in the current budgetary climate, the federal workforce is neither the cause of excessive federal spending nor the answer to balancing the budget. On an annual basis, federal pay and benefits constitute less than one half of 1 percent of total government expenditures.

History has taught us that undercutting the federal workforce can have consequences, including a reduction of the government’s ability to adequately respond to emergencies, prevent financial industry excesses, assist our warfighters and veterans, provide consumer protections, help businesses and effectively deliver social services. At stake in many ways is the role of government in maintaining our economic competitiveness and world leadership.

Rather than weaken and discourage federal public service, we need to invest in the people of our government by ensuring they have the skills necessary to serve in a global and knowledge-based economy. This means creating the conditions that can attract highly educated Americans to government service, providing them with training and leadership development opportunities and holding them accountable for results. When a federal program is created, there must be a commitment to invest smartly in the federal civil servants who do the work.

At the same time, government must compete with leading private-sector companies for top talent. But from the employee perspective, the Best Places to Work analysis shows government continues to lag behind the private sector in employee satisfaction and commitment, and the gap is growing. And research in the private sector has demonstrated that high worker morale matters, and is directly tied to improved performance and significantly better outcomes.

In short, our leaders have been pursuing an ill-advised course when it comes to creating a vibrant federal workforce. In the end, this approach will make federal employment less desirable for a new generation, result in the loss of talented individuals with years of experience and expertise, and give the nation a government that is treading water rather than effectively meeting the needs of the American people.

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. The Partnership and Deloitte produce the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.

]]>

Exclusive Preview: Honoring the best public servants of 2012

Max Stier — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:45:00 -0400

Confidence in the federal government remains low, fueled by partisan gridlock in Congress, record budget deficits, an ailing economy and a heavy dose of election year rhetoric. What often gets lost amid the headlines and political chatter is what the government accomplishes — the inspiring stories of dedicated federal employees who each day are defending the homeland, caring for veterans, protecting the environment, ensuring public safety, making scientific and medical discoveries and promoting our national interests.

Every year, my organization, the Partnership for Public Service, looks forward to shining the spotlight on public servants who have made significant contributions to our country with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies). Honorees are chosen based on their commitment and innovation, as well as the impact of their work on addressing the pressing needs of the nation. This year’s 33 finalists are contenders for nine Service to America Medals.

One of this year’s finalists is Kelly Menzie DeGraff, who with co-workers at the Corporation for National Community Service, deployed more than 300 AmeriCorps members to Joplin, Mo., where they coordinated the work of 60,000 unaffiliated volunteers in the days and months after the 2011 tornado that killed 161 people and destroyed 7,000 homes and businesses. They opened a missing persons hotline, led groups that cleared roads and debris, served meals to shaken residents, provided homeowner assistance, operated a donation warehouse and rebuilt homes across the city.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Lance Rodewald modernized the system for delivering vaccines to health care providers and clinics, provided increased training and education to health professionals about new vaccines and reduced racial, ethnic and economic disparities in immunization coverage so that more poor and uninsured children are protected against life-threatening diseases.

Louis Milione and colleagues from the Drug Enforcement Administration offer another illustration of exemplary public service. Milione led a high-stakes undercover investigation spanning three continents that resulted in the arrest and conviction Russian Viktor Bout, the world most notorious arms trafficker known as the “Merchant of Death,” who supplied weapons to the Taliban, Hezbollah, and to vicious despots and human rights abusers throughout Africa.

At the Walter Reed National Military Center in Bethesda, Md., Charles Scoville created an internationally recognized program that enables combat amputees to lead active lives and potentially return to duty. His program combines traditional medical and counseling services with a novel sports medicine regime for catastrophically wounded service members, an approach that gives amputees a sense of self-worth and keeps them physically active. Some of the 1,450 injured service members who have been through the program have gone on to complete triathlons, climb Mt. Everest and compete in gymnastics, skiing, scuba diving and other sports.

These represent just a sampling of the important and successful work undertaken by federal employees to ensure the nation’s health, welfare and security. It is easy to overlook such accomplishments, especially when the national discourse tends to be on the unsolved problems and the egregious errors.

But highlighting the positive work of civil servants can help restore public faith in government, improve our ability as a nation to meet collective challenges, and return public service to what President John F. Kennedy described as “a proud and lively career."

The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies) pay tribute to America's dedicated federal workforce, highlighting those who have made significant contributions to our country. Now in its eleventh year, the Sammies have earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious awards dedicated to honoring America’s civil servants. The 2012 medal recipients will be announced on September 13 at a Washington, D.C. black-tie gala. Visit servicetoamericamedals.org to learn more about the outstanding work of this year’s finalists.

]]>

The Global Maze

Christopher G. Caine and Max Stier — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

At virtually every turn, government agencies are finding that their domestic missions have expanded to include important international responsibilities. Yet federal agencies often are not adequately prepared to handle these new and challenging demands.

The reasons are basic. There is a scarcity of leaders and staff well-versed and experienced in the global environment at many traditionally domestic-oriented agencies, a lack of government training programs and resources devoted to help fill the void, and a tendency not to deal with the issue until problems arise.

The financial meltdown exposed the weaknesses of the nation's securities and banking regulators, reinforcing the need for more stringent government oversight of global markets and international transactions, and making clear that what happens in Europe or Asia directly affects financial dealings in the United States.

Transportation security, anti-terrorism initiatives, cybersecurity, drug interdiction, offshore tax havens, climate change, energy needs, public health, maritime and aviation policies are just a few of the many other types of issues frequently requiring international collaboration and management by federal agencies.

Despite the increased international responsibilities, federal workers at the traditionally domestic agencies have received little preparation to deal with foreign governments, international organizations, overseas businesses and nonprofit groups. All too often in government, there is a mind-set that domestic and foreign policy are separate and distinct arenas.

The issues are too important to be ignored, with the government's work in the international sector directly affecting the U.S. economy, public health and national security. It is essential that civil servants possess the ability to work internationally and to understand the global implications of policies and programs. Yet outside the traditional defense, diplomatic and trade spheres, many agencies lack a human capital strategy that incorporates international concerns and workforce needs.

Training and career development opportunities for international leadership must be given far greater attention than they are today. Such investments are routinely made in the military and the diplomatic corps, but are not even on the radar screen for much of government.

Senior leaders must understand the international role of their work, communicate it to employees, and support them in their efforts to fulfill that role. A 2003 RAND Corp. report found the nation is producing too few future government leaders who combine "substantive depth with international experience and outlook," and there is little evidence that much has changed during the past six years.

Leadership development programs must include a broad, global perspective. The Senior Executive Service, the government's career leadership corps, should actively recruit managers from outside government with international experience and rotate federal executives with skills and knowledge in global affairs among agencies that need such expertise. Federal recruitment also must take better advantage of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the United States, a factor that could help bring cultural sensitivity and foreign language skills to the table.

The ability of government to effectively serve the interests of the nation depends heavily on the quality of the workforce and its leaders. And in today's interconnected world, this will require building a new generation of workers and leaders with international experience, a global outlook and the skills to match.

Christopher G. Caine is president and chief executive officer of Mercator XXI LLC, and Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

The Global Maze

Christopher G. Caine and Max Stier — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Many domestic agencies are unprepared for new worldwide missions.

Christopher G. Caine is president and chief executive officer of Mercator XXI LLC, and Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

Analysis: Internationally oriented executives needed

Christopher G. Caine and Max Stier — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Take the Food and Drug Administration. It was created as a national regulatory agency, but because of the explosion of overseas drug manufacturing and the deluge of imported foods from all corners of the world, today its reach must be global.

Unfortunately, FDA has lacked the capacity to keep pace with the changes brought about by globalization -- the need to inspect thousands of foreign plants and products, to keep tainted drugs and foods out of the country, and to navigate many different languages, protocols and regulatory systems.

This dilemma is hardly unique.

The issues are too important to be ignored, with the government's work in the international sector directly affecting our economy, our public health and our national security. It is essential that our civil servants possess the ability to work internationally and to understand the global implications of policies and programs. Yet outside the traditional defense, diplomatic and trade spheres, many agencies lack a human capital strategy that incorporates international concerns and workforce needs.

Senior leaders must understand the international role of their work, communicate it to employees, and support employees in their efforts to fulfill that role. A 2003 RAND Corp. report found the nation is producing too few future government leaders who combine "substantive depth with international experience and outlook," and there is little evidence that much has changed in the past six years.

Leadership development programs must include a broad, global perspective. The Senior Executive Service, the government's career leadership corps, should actively recruit managers from outside the government with international experience and rotate federal executives with skills and knowledge in global affairs among agencies that need such expertise. Federal recruitment also must take better advantage of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the United States, a factor that could help bring cultural sensitivity and foreign language skills to the table.

At the end of the day, the ability of our government to effectively serve the interests of the nation depends heavily on the quality of the workforce and its leaders. And in today's interconnected world, this will require building a new generation of workers and leaders with international experience, a global outlook and the skills to match.

Christopher G. Caine is president and chief executive officer of Mercator XXI LLC and Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

The Right Path

Max Stier — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The military serves as a model for developing senior executive leadership.

Our nation's military is the most powerful and effective fighting force in the world-for many reasons. Chief among them is the investment the Defense Department makes in its people and more specifically in its leadership.

What helps the armed forces excel are the clearly defined career paths through which officers advance based on results, the extensive training they receive, and a joint-duty requirement that encourages teamwork and gives rising leaders an organizationwide perspective.

This approach stands in stark contrast to the way we treat our civilian government executives. Recently, the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton examined the state of our nation's 7,000-member civilian leadership cadre, the Senior Executive Service, and the results were quite troubling. The members of the SES are the most important segment of the federal workforce. They are the top career executives responsible for managing 1.9 million employees and carrying out major policy decisions affecting the health, safety and well-being of every American. They are the glue that keeps the government running, and are crucial to organizational continuity as administrations and political appointees come and go.

Yet unlike the military or even top-flight, private sector companies, the federal government pays little attention and devotes meager resources to developing, recruiting, training and nurturing civilian career executives.

Few members of the SES ever move outside their own agency, remaining isolated and insular, and fail to develop a collaborative mind-set and an enterprisewide framework for governing. Promotions often are based on technical and scientific skills rather than managerial and leadership strengths, while the government's pay system serves as a disincentive for some to enter or move up the leadership ranks.

This approach is neglectful and shortsighted and citizens are paying a high price.

Senior executives frequently receive poor marks for leadership in employee surveys and other measures, resulting in low levels of worker engagement, poorly performing organizations and inadequate service to the public. Collaboration among agencies is rare even though it is more necessary than ever, given the complex and cross-cutting nature of today's challenges that range from the H1N1 flu threat to food safety and financial regulation.

The good news is the leadership problems can be addressed and the military can serve as a model for how it should be done.

In the early 1980s, experiences from the wars and conflicts of past decades made it clear to members of Congress, policymakers and many military leaders that separate army, naval and air operations would no longer suffice.

This led to the 1986 passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, a law that transformed the Joint Chiefs of Staff into a strong coordinating entity that could promote interservice cooperation. Its many provisions included requirements such as joint-duty assignments for specialty officers seeking promotions and for those aspiring to the rank of general or admiral.

Many in the military services fought for the status quo and did not want to give up their institutional prerogatives. But it became widely apparent over time that the joint-duty requirements improved the quality of leadership, motivated individuals, led to better cooperation and coordination, and helped change the culture of the military.

More recently, acting on lessons from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the intelligence community has begun implementing its own joint-duty rotational requirements so professionals, managers and executives can come to know the entire intelligence enterprise and their interagency responsibilities. The Defense Department has instituted similar requirements for its civilian executives.

Now the same approach must be taken for the rest of government.

The 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which created the SES, envisioned a mobile corps of executives moving across agencies to strengthen collaboration and apply their skills to an array of management challenges. This never came to pass.

While it was unrealistic to expect all senior executives to engage in rotational assignments, Congress should create a new National SES Corps within the executive service-a smaller cadre of leaders who could work in multiple agencies, at different levels of government or have temporary stints in the private sector to gain broad experience and capabilities. Incentives, including higher pay and additional prestige, must be provided to encourage participation.

This National SES Corps would supplement a sizable agency-based executive service whose members would continue to focus on developing their talents and skills needed primarily within a single department or agency.

At the same time, there needs to be better coordination and increased resources for preparing a pipeline of rising leaders, recruiting new members to the SES, and then training and developing them throughout their careers. In August, the Office of Personnel Management took a positive step in this direction, announcing plans to create a centralized office to oversee SES policies.

The Obama administration and Congress now must go further, creating a special SES unit of high-caliber, mobile leaders who embody strategic thinking and adaptable management skills. It has worked for the military, and the civilian leadership deserves no less.

Max Stier is president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

]]>

Honoring the Call to Service

Max Stier — Sat, 01 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Awards honor heroes behind the scenes in order to inspire a new generation of service.

ederal workers get no respect. They do the nation's work hidden from the very people they serve. That's why the Partnership for Public Service joined with Government Executive, National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly to create the Service to America Medals, a new national awards program that honors excellence in federal careers.

Last year's awards opened many eyes-especially in the news media and in government-to the work accomplished every day by federal employees.

The nine men and women selected last year from more than 400 nominations have proved that public service is about advancing the cause of justice, making the nation stronger and safer, bettering the lives of the American people and building the nation's trust. As Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said at the November gala awards ceremony. "There are enormous rewards associated with being in the business of providing service to your fellow citizens, no matter what that service may be." The Service to America Medals make sure that one reward is recognition for a job well done.

The Partnership for Public Service was created in 2001 by Connecticut businessman Samuel J. Heyman, who went to work for Attorney General Robert Kennedy after graduating from law school in 1963. He recalls how eager he was to serve his country. He was not alone. Unfortunately, the interest in public service has declined in the years since. When Heyman graduated from Harvard Law School, 30 percent of its graduates went to work for the federal government. Today, the number has dwindled to 3 percent. There are more federal employees in their 60s than in their 20s. Heyman and the Partnership recognized that action must be taken to inspire a new generation of public service and to help federal agencies attract, hire and keep the talent needed to do the nation's business.

Our nation's success in calling its most talented citizens to service is inextricably linked to fostering positive public attitudes about the value of government work. The Service to America Medals are an integral part of that effort. Who better to learn about the contributions and commitment of federal employees than from federal employees?

We need the best and the brightest to accomplish all that we demand of our government, especially in these challenging times. Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve Board chairman and now chairman of the National Commission on Public Service, has said, "Somebody has to defend the country and explore space. Somebody has to keep the air clean and the environment safe for the next generation. Somebody has to respond to the more mundane, but nonetheless sometimes challenging, assignments of keeping government working effectively and efficiently if self-government is to work at all."

The work of the federal government continues, as do our efforts to recognize the accomplishments of its best civil servants. If you know a career federal worker who is doing remarkable things that deserve recognition, visit www.govexec.com/pps to submit a nomination.

The Service to America Medals shine a light on men and women of courage, integrity, dedication, innovation and leadership. We hope their accomplishments will serve as a reminder of their contributions to our lives and the life of the nation-and inspire a new generation of service.

Max Stier is president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service (www.ourpublicservice.org).

]]>