An Interview with Dave Mader About Successful Strategies for Government Leaders
A broad-reaching Booz Allen-sponsored study—What it Takes to Get Public Strategies Implemented—is looking into activities and approaches that lead to successful strategic changes in US government agencies. Booz Allen Vice President Dave Mader leads the team of organizational performance experts conducting the study. Mader talked with boozallen.com about the study and Booz Allen’s involvement.
boozallen.com: What is the overall objective of this study?
Mader: US government leaders and managers face incredible challenges in delivering services to citizens in an environment that is constantly changing and with an extremely flat budget. This study is important in that it will shed light on those agencies that have been effective in articulating a strategic vision for the future and actually implementing it successfully. I think that’s the real value of this study.
boozallen.com: What capabilities is Booz Allen bringing to this effort?
Mader: Because our primary focus is the US government, we bring tremendous experience in civil agencies, defense, and security. We help agencies in their day-to-day operations and mission delivery. That gives us a very broad perspective gained over literally decades.
boozallen.com: Tell us about the study methodology?
Mader: We worked with a couple of external organizations—The Council for Excellence in Government and the National Academy of Public Administration—that are focused on the public sector to identify agencies and leaders that have effectively articulated a new strategy and implemented it. Then we conducted extensive interviews with not only the leaders who were present during those times of change, but also the individuals who observed those changes throughout government. We also spoke to leaders in those same organizations who came before and after the ones who successfully implemented these major changes. I think we have a very holistic view of the environment in which the change was proposed and how it was actually implemented.
boozallen.com: Can you give me some of the success criteria that you’re testing?
Mader: Certainly having a clear vision of the future is one of them, as well as having a sense of urgency to change the direction or the focus of an agency or its programs.
boozallen.com: Can you share the results?
Mader: It’s too early to talk in detail about the results. But the initial research indicates that agencies trying to implement a new strategic direction were motivated by a “burning platform” – but those that succeeded leveraged that imperative to motivate everyone within the agency as well as external stakeholders. Sometimes the urgency to change comes from internal issues and sometimes from external events, such as congressional legislation. Another factor that seems to contribute to success is continuously communicating to internal and external stakeholders as to why the change is being made and what the expected results will be.
boozallen.com: Do you think agency leaders in the incoming administration will look forward to the results of the study?
Mader: I think that all of us who have spent our lives in public service will be interested in the results, not only appointees but also senior career executives. They’re on the ground day in and day out executing the agenda for the administration. We anticipate that the study findings could help these career employees in advising their political appointees about what works and what doesn’t work when you’re looking at significant organizational change.
boozallen.com: What do you think will be a major message to come out of the study?
Mader: That significant organizational change and accomplishments need to be reflected in a very clearly articulated strategic direction, that there needs to be the requisite support, both internally and externally, and that there needs to be accountability for implementing change.
About Dave Mader
Dave Mader is a former Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service. Learn more about this expert in organization transformation, financial management, human capital, shared services, labor relations, change management, strategic communications, program management, and performance management.
interview posted April 17, 2008
