John Kamensky

Typically, we think of the GAO focusing on territory familiar to auditors, which is what most of the high risk list does:  managing federal real property, DOD supply chain management, NASA acquisitions management, modernizing federal disability programs.  But now it has added a politically-charged topic to its list, but has taken the middle of the road on the topic.

So this was an opportunity for me to reflect on my experiences and observations over my career.

Leadership can be a difficult topic about which to convey anything meaningful.  There is so much written about the topic and it either feels like conceptual theory or platitudes, or you wind up narrating personal war stories.  I’m no Tom Fox, who writes thoughtfully about this topic weekly for the Washington Post!

Dr. Hood, who is a well-respected public management professor, poses this question in a recent article in the Public Administration Review and his answer is:  it depends.

He posits that what the numbers are used for -- and the operational culture in the organizations in which they are used -- will influence the effectiveness of any “management by numbers” strategy.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, there are all sorts of advice columns about improving relationships.  Well, A new IBM Center report by Dr. Jane Fountain, Implementing Cross-Agency Collaboration: A Guide for Federal Managers, offers advice on successful cross-agency relationships.  She says there is a recipe for success, but that it depends on a number of factors.

Style matters, claim several Harvard Business Review authors, Amy Cuddy, Matthew Kohut, and John Neffinger, in a recent article.  They write: “A growing body of research suggests that the way to influence – and to lead – is to begin with warmth.”  They underline this, noting:  “Before people decide what they think of your message, they decide what they think of you.” 

In 2002, British academic Jake Chapman wrote a paper for Demos, a UK think tank, entitled: “System Failure:  Why Governments Must Learn to Think Differently.” It is based on his experiences in working with large government challenges, especially in the energy and health care sectors.  In his paper, he contrasts the traditional, linear approach to problem-solving with a more holistic, systemic approach.  He says it is like the difference between throwing a rock and a live bird:

Gavin Newscom is California’s lieutenant governor, and was formerly the mayor of San Francisco.  He is a huge advocate of the use of technology to engage citizens, which he describes in his book, Citizenville.  But advocates of greater citizen engagement extend beyond political leaders to many frontline government executives at all levels – federal, state, and local.

An article in the September issue of Harvard Business Review by Nick Lovegrove and Matthew Thomas tries to explain why.  They examine the careers of leaders who have been successful in addressing complex challenges requiring collaboration across a wide range of stakeholders. They cite Harvard Kennedy School professor Joseph Nye, who says that these kinds of leaders have the ability to “engage and collaborate across the private, public, and social sectors.”

When Cong. Cuellar was a state legislator in Texas, he saw how his state used performance information in the budget process.  When he was appointed earlier this year to the U.S. House appropriations committee, he finally reached a position where he could bring this perspective to Washington in a real way.  The next step is to convince his colleagues to try it.

In May, the VA announced a partnership with two veterans service organizations --  the Disabled American Veterans and The American Legion -- to reduce the backlog of claims for veterans benefits by encouraging the filing of “fully developed claims.”  Such claims can be expedited in half the time it takes to process a regular claim.