One year in — It has been a tough year for federal employees. 

You are a senior executive at a federal agency, you look around, and what you see looks pretty grim. Your area has lost 20-25% of its staff over the past year. Many of the most senior and experienced leaders and co-workers – those best equipped to deal with tough challenges – have departed, taking with them invaluable experience and expertise.

In some areas, one or two of your colleagues are being asked to do what four to five people use to do. Or worse, you have lost an entire unit. Your ability to hire has been severely restricted if not frozen, either explicitly or for all practical purposes given the new restrictions put in place on hiring a new employee and proposed budget cuts. Highly effective development programs have been shuttered or are off limits, and traditional and highly successful feeder pipelines of new talent have been eliminated. Bonus and recognition programs have also been severely curtailed or eliminated. Messages and actions coming from leadership have been demoralizing, if not crushing to morale.

It has been a tough year. 

Over the course of my 35-year career in government, I have served under six administrations and 12 secretaries of the Treasury.  While I have participated in many transitions, this one has been different and especially difficult. Here are a few thoughts that may help you navigate your current environment:   

1. Lead. Now perhaps more than ever your leadership skills are needed. Don’t retreat from your responsibilities. Set clear priorities. Be visible, continue to communicate, focus on mission. Control what you can control.
2. Commit to operational excellence. Your organization has a mission, which usually is to produce a product or provide a service. Do it well. Take pride in delivering on that mission. Take every opportunity to celebrate your successes.
3. Commit to your people. While many good people have departed, many good ones remain. Continue to find ways to keep them engaged. Recognize and reward them for good work. Small acts of kindness go a long way, especially during challenging times. Try to find ways to invest in them and their future. Seek out training programs, either internal or external to your organization. 
4. Take a hard look at what you do and how you do it. Look for opportunities to reimagine your organization, to innovate and build institutional capacity. You may no longer be able to do all the things you used to do and may need to stop doing them.  But it would be a mistake to stop looking for ways to do what you do better.  Continue to look outward and strategically for solutions. Engage not only your leadership team, but others throughout the organization in the discussion.
5. Continue to engage with the leadership above you and understand their priorities. Offer the best advice you have to offer, which may resonate with your bosses, even if not acted upon. Be prepared. While you may not think your experience, or perspective is valued right now, you never know when your skills may be needed or when you will be called on to help.  
6. Practice tough-minded optimism. Confront and acknowledge your challenges but keep an optimistic mindset. Out of tough challenges good things can emerge. Look for the good and celebrate it where you can. While you should not sugar coat the situation with your coworkers, one important role of leadership is to insulate staff from much of the noise and judiciously communicate only the important information so that they can focus on the mission.  
7. Take care of yourself. Leadership can be lonely. Tap your network. Turn to a trusted friend or advisor. Get a coach or have a trusted advisor. Set aside time for yourself, take a walk, be resilient.
8. Don’t compromise your character or integrity. When all is said and done, your integrity is the one thing you should never allow be taken from you and the one thing you will live to regret if you compromise it. Your ability to lead people is dependent as much, if not more, on your character and integrity as it is on your title.

Transitions are always tough. This one has been particularly hard. If it is any solace, I have seen many appointees enter office with a variety of preconceived ideas about the capabilities of civil servants. Yet, I have yet to meet one who has left government without a profound respect and admiration for the commitment and dedication of the civil servants they have worked with.  

Don’t lose sight of the mission and the reasons you joined government. Your work may be unknown to much of the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptionally important.  Now perhaps more than ever, our country, your organization and your staff need your principled and effective leadership. 

Dave Lebryk served over 35 years at the Department of the Treasury under six administrations. He served as the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, the department’s most senior career official, from 2014-2025. He was named the Samuel H Heyman 2025 Federal Employee of the Year and is the recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, Treasury’s highest honor.