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Successful Strategies for Government Leaders Booz Allen study investigates factors that contribute to significant organizational and cultural change in US government agencies. In November of this year the United States will elect a new president. During the months following the election, the incoming administration will plan its transition. One of the most important tasks will be selecting (and seeking confirmation for) new leaders and senior executives of major agencies to carry out the administration’s priorities. From the campaign so far, it seems clear that a number of significant changes will take place. “Some of the new appointees will have had previous government experience, but many others will also be recruited from the private sector or academia,” says Booz Allen Vice President Dave Mader. “Regardless, many of these leaders will face new imperatives, and may be expected to dramatically change their agency’s strategy, in order to achieve the promises and goals of the new administration.” How should these leaders and executives go about changing public strategies? What tactics have others used successfully in the past? What methods have been tried without result, or with a negative outcome? These are some of the questions driving a new Booz Allen-sponsored study called “What it Takes to Change Public Strategy” The study tests a set of hypotheses that the firm hopes will help identify key facets of successful strategy implementation in federal government agencies. Transforming Culture and Service Models Says Senior Associate Jeff Myers, who leads the project for Booz Allen, “When you think about government agencies that have successfully implemented strategic change, there are a few whose leaders really got what they wanted in transforming their organizations’ culture and service models. Were these leaders just lucky or did they apply specific management methods? Were similar techniques used across the group of successful leaders or was their success achieved in different ways? What differentiated the leaders who ‘got what they wanted’ from those who did not? And what lessons might these successes hold for agency leaders appointed by the next US President in early 2009? We think the results will be particularly useful for the new administration.” Working with Dr. Steven Kelman, a professor of Public Management at Harvard University and a former senior government executive himself, the firm is conducting extensive interviews with top leaders and managers at federal government agencies selected based upon nominations from the National Academy for Public Administration (NAPA) and the Council for Excellence in Government (CEG). “NAPA and CEG members made over 200 nominations of agencies and government leaders whom they felt sought to make significant change in strategy,” said Myers, “and we narrowed the list down to the most frequently mentioned agencies to use as case studies.” Taking a Holistic View Dr. Kelman and Booz Allen Organization & Strategy professionals have been looking at factors such as the data successful leaders considered in choosing strategies, their communications plans, and their leadership styles. “Besides interviewing within these agencies,” says Myers, “the team also supplemented its information by interviewing outside sources in a position to observe or oversee progress within an agency.” These outside sources included leaders from the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, congressional staff, union representatives, agency customers, and members of the media. Says Mader, “We strove for a very holistic view of the environment in which strategic change was proposed and how it was actually implemented.” The full results of the study will be released later this year, but some of the major messages are becoming clear, says Mader. “The direction and rationale for significant organizational changes need to be communicated clearly and consistently, and there needs to be accountability for follow-through.” When it is completed, the study will make clear the methods for developing and implementing change that were used by the most successful agencies and leaders, and it will point out specific and innovative techniques that were unique but had a big impact. story posted April 17, 2008 Additional Information: Related Links...
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