A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Edited by Dr. Ronald P. Sanders With Dr. Elaine S. Brenner and Frederick S. Richardson A powerful (and unprecedented) collection of perspectives on the future of the Federal government’s elite career executive corps, from some of our Nation’s most respected public sector leaders. The National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organiza- tions. Chartered by Congress to provide non-partisan expert advice, the Academy's unique feature is its over 850 Fellows—including former cabinet officers, Members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and public administrators. The Academy helps the Federal gov- ernment address its critical management challenges through in-depth studies and analyses, advisory services and technical assistance, Congressional testimony, forums and conferences, and online stakeholder engagement. Under contracts with govern- ment agencies, some of which are directed by Congress, as well as grants from private foundations, the Academy provides insights on key public management issues, as well as advisory services to government agencies. The opinions expressed in these writings are those of the authors and do not necessar- ily reflect the views of the Academy. To access Academy reports, please visit our web- site at www.napawash.org. Copyright © 2017 by National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy). All rights reserved. Published and hosted by the Academy. A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Edited by Dr. Ronald P. Sanders With Dr. Elaine S. Brenner and Frederick S. Richardson Contributors (Listed in order of appearance): The Honorable Beth Cobert The Honorable Michèle Flournoy The Honorable Christine H. Fox Emelia S. Probasco Robert Shea General Michael V. Hayden (USAF, retired) Ambassador Patrick F. Kennedy The Honorable Sean O’Keefe The Honorable Beth McGrath Admiral Thad Allen (USCG, retired) The Honorable Charles Rossotti Professor Steven Kelman Dr. Ronald P. Sanders The Honorable David M. Walker Professor Robert Tobias Letitia Long Dr. Reginald Wells Robert Corsi Dr. Suzanne Logan The Honorable G. Edward DeSeve The Honorable Robert F. Hale Robert Goldenkoff Stephen Shih The Honorable Daniel Werfel A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Edited by Dr. Ronald P. Sanders With Dr. Elaine S. Brenner and Frederick S. Richardson Contents Preface: The Case for Change . I Section 1: The Challenges of 21st Century Government . 1 CHAPTER 1.1: Creating an Executive Corps for the Whole-of-Government by the Honorable Beth Cobert . 7 CHAPTER 1.2: Executive Leadership in a Complex, Chaotic World by the Honorable Michèle Flournoy . 14 CHAPTER 1.3: Leading at the Edge of Technology by the Honorable Christine H. Fox and Emelia Probasco . .23 CHAPTER 1.4: From Partisan to Partner: Getting Things Done in Washington by Robert Shea . 30 Editor’s Concluding Commentary and Recommendations . 37 Recommendation 1.1: Start with a Whole-of-Government Executive Talent Management Strategy . .45 Recommendation 1.2: Establish a Permanent Mechanism to Engage Career Executives . 49 Section 2: Reexamining the Institutional Role of the SES . 53 CHAPTER 2.1: Courage, Integrity, and Accountability at the CIA by General Michael V. Hayden . 60 CHAPTER 2.2: Serving State: Two Executive Corps, One Mission by Ambassador Patrick F. Kennedy . 67 CHAPTER 2.3: Transition Turbulence and Shared Leadership by the Honorable Sean O’Keefe . .75 CHAPTER 2.4: Leading the Defense Enterprise by the Honorable Beth McGrath . .82 Editor’s Concluding Commentary and Recommendations . 90 Recommendation 2.1: Frame and Formalize the Institutional Role of the SES . 99 Recommendation 2.2: Teach Career Executives What It Really Means to Be One . .100 Recommendation 2.3: Appoint Career Directors General as Stewards of the SES’ Institutional Role . 102 Section 3: Leadership Qualities for the 21st Century . 107 CHAPTER 3.1: Confronting Complexity by Admiral Thad Allen . .113 CHAPTER 3.2: Crisis and Transformation by the Honorable Charles Rossotti . .121 CHAPTER 3.3: Courage and Character in Executive Decision Making by Professor Steven Kelman and Dr. Ronald Sanders . 127 CHAPTER 3.4: Transformational Competencies for the Next Generation of SES by the Honorable David M. Walker . 134 CHAPTER 3.5: Employee Engagement Through Collaborative Leadership by Professor Robert Tobias . 140 Editor’s Concluding Commentary and Recommendations . 147 Recommendation 3.1: Put ‘Public Service’ Back in the ECQs . 148 Recommendation 3.2: Constantly Modernize the ECQ Framework . 150 Recommendation 3.3: Establish an Enterprise Leadership ECQ . 153 Recommendation 3.4: Require Due Diligence to Assess an Executive’s Character . 157 Section 4: Developing the Next Generation of the SES . .161 CHAPTER 4.1: Developing 21st Century Senior Intelligence Executives by Letitia Long . 167 CHAPTER 4.2: Reinventing SES CDPs by Dr. Reginald Wells . 175 CHAPTER 4.3: Adapting the Military Model to Develop the Next Generation of Career Executives by Robert Corsi . .184 CHAPTER 4.4: A Continuum of Leadership Learning for the SES by Dr. Suzanne Logan . 191 CHAPTER 4.5: Creating Common Cause through Joint Executive Development by the Honorable G. Edward DeSeve . 200 Editor’s Concluding Commentary and Recommendations . 205 Recommendation 4.1: Build a Whole-of-Government Executive Succession Plan . .206 Recommendation 4.2: Make Interagency Mobility a Prerequisite for SES Promotion . 211 Recommendation 4.3: Raise the Bar for Agency CDPs . .222 Recommendation 4.4: Build an Internal Headhunting Capability for SES Jobs . 223 Recommendation 4.5: Resurrect the Government-Wide CDP . .227 Recommendation 4.6: Delegate but Certify Agency SES Selection Processes . 229 Section 5: Revitalizing the Federal Senior Executive Corps . 233 CHAPTER 5.1: Sustaining the SES in Difficult Times by the Honorable Robert F. Hale . 238 CHAPTER 5.2: Surfing the Churn: The Opportunities and Challenges of SES Attrition by Robert Goldenkoff . 247 CHAPTER 5.3: Retaining, Motivating, and Recruiting the Senior Executive Corps by Stephen Shih . 255 CHAPTER 5.4: Through the Storm: Navigating the IRS through Crisis to Recovery by the Honorable Daniel Werfel . 263 Editor’s Concluding Commentary and Recommendations . 272 Recommendation 5.1: Establish a Federated Whole-of-Government SES Framework . .274 Recommendation 5.2: Establish a Master Interchange Agreement to Connect Senior Services . .279 Recommendation 5.3: Establish a New Government-Wide Senior Executive Structure . .282 Recommendation 5.4: Appoint an Enterprise Executive Resources Board to Manage Career Executive Talent . .285 Recommendation 5.5: Make Incremental Fixes to SES Compensation . 290 Recommendation 5.6: Provide Peer Review for Greater SES Accountability . 297 Section 6: The Way Ahead—Editor's Summary and Conclusions . 301 Recommendation 6.1: Another Grand Bargain to Reinvent the SES . 311 Recommendation 6.2: Appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission to Propose SES Reforms . .311 Bibliography . .313 Index . .322 Foreword The over 7,000 dedicated public servants comprising the career United States Senior Executive Service (SES) are critical to the functioning of our federal government. Established as a government-wide executive corps by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the SES of the 21st Century is at a critical juncture as it approaches its fortieth anniversary. Widely acknowledged challenges include: • An ongoing retirement wave that could result in the loss of institutional knowledge at the very time when government’s tasks have become more complex than ever; • Limited inter-departmental and interagency mobility that reinforces government silos and makes solving enterprise-wide challenges more • The need for new skills and competencies in order to lead and manage in a more virtual, networked, and globalized world; and • A succession pool of up-and-coming GS-14s and 15s who may be less inclined to apply for and join the SES. This book is based on a forum on the future of the SES sponsored by the Brookings Institution’s Office of Executive Education and Booz Allen Hamil- ton, and it includes thoughtful chapters by many of the forum’s participants, as well as a number of other commentators—all of whom are either current or former senior government leaders in their own right. This makes the book unique in bringing together the practical perspectives of leaders with sub- stantial experience as (or with) members of the SES to offer their perspective on such fundamental issues as the proper institutional role of the SES and the most critical leadership qualities for the 21st century, as well as how to de- velop the next generation of senior government leaders and revitalize the SES for decades to come. The National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) is an inde- pendent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress to offer trusted advice on public governance and management to governments at all levels. The book was edited by Academy Fellow (and Booz Allen Vice President) Dr. Ronald Sanders, with the critical assistance of his colleagues i Dr. Elaine Brenner and Fred Richardson, and he also offers his own introduc- tory and concluding commentary, as well as a number of recommendations