Model Federal Administrator

It is always refreshing to see a federal administrator who has it together.  The eArticle, Departing Commerce Secretary Laments Government's 'Aversion to Failure' by Charles S. Clark (Government Executive; June 2, 2011) about outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is worth a read.  Secretary Locke demonstrated by his performance and in this report that he is aware of the problems and challenges that face agencies and that there are solutions.  If only this approach to management at the federal level were communicated, considered, and applied at all federal entities, government would definitely be well served and our country would be better for it.  As citizens, we would applaud and also appreciate the approach and the effort.  As Locke put it, “If government is performing well, America performs well.”  What a concept!

 As a Certified Management Consultant (www.imcusa.org) with over 20 years in the field, I suggest that Secretary Locke speaks as a seasoned consultant who understands what it takes to manage and lead.  Here is what Secretary Locke suggests are basic requirements to successfully lead an agency:

1. Set clear goals, some of which are high performance ‘stretch’ goals that will force people to get out of their ‘box’ and re-think their jobs
2. Establish priorities for the goals because there will never be enough money to do everything one wishes to do
3. Employees must have the initiative to take risks to re-think how to get their job done.  "They must know they will never be hung out to dry if they fall short of their goal as long as they've acted in good faith and ethically," Locke said.

Here are some of the successes from Locke's administration:

1. Following a performance-based assessment, Locke eliminated 16 low-priority programs from the 2012 budget to save $250 million. 
2. The 2010 census that was expected to be a costly failure was 25% under budget, returning $1.9 billion to the federal treasury.
3. Process time for grant application review for technology incubators is now 18 business days, down from six to seven months.
4. Patent office review of applications went from 38 months down to 28 months.

Secretary Locke has been nominated to be the next U.S. Ambassador to China. Read the full article by Charles Clark (http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=47930&dcn=e_gvet).

PS:  My sister-in-law is related to Secretary Locke.  Her mother is a Locke.

 © Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com