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3 principles for agencies to manage risk when changing leadership during a presidential transition

The start of a new presidential administration presents federal leaders—both incoming and outgoing political appointees as well as high-level career civil servants—with various challenges, including the need to share information, make rapid decisions and navigate leadership turnover.

In the fall of 2024, the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte & Touche LLP hosted an event to discuss strategies for addressing these challenges, drawing on research from the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition®.

Panelists included Ryan McCarthy, former secretary of the army, and Pat Kennedy, former undersecretary of state for management. They highlighted three practices to mitigate the risks that come with a change in presidential administration: building trust between political and career staff, communicating critical risk information, and empowering interim and incoming leaders to act decisively from Day One.

Building trust between political appointees and career staff

McCarthy and Kennedy discussed why incoming political appointees need to build trust with career officials. Both flagged the initial stages of the post-election transition as the ideal time for new appointees to start learning about the agencies they will oversee and the civil servants who work there. Doing so is critical to managing the risks that come with leadership changes during a presidential transition. 

Kennedy mentioned that when apolitical civil servants feel welcome to collaborate with incoming appointees, leaders can start to build trust and foster team success. McCarthy agreed, drawing on his experience as a political appointee. He recommended that new leaders bring a sense of “humility” and “respect for the institution.”

Communicating critical risk information

Transferring information from one set of leaders to another is a risk that must be managed well during the transition process. It is essential that briefs are fact-focused, give an honest assessment of the risks an agency faces and stay nonpartisan.

McCarthy suggested outgoing leaders and high-ranking civil servants remain steadfast in this approach to mitigate incoming leaders’ “suspicions that people are trying to steer them in a particular direction” and to “create buy-in between the new team and the holdovers.”

Kennedy spoke to the value of “briefing papers that demonstrate the agency’s internal issues that need to be corrected and highlight any ticking time bombs a new administration will face.”

Empowering incoming leaders to act decisively from Day One

Leadership turnover can undermine an agency’s response to urgent matters. Kennedy highlighted how outgoing officials should bridge the gap by preparing interim decision-makers and support personnel for incoming leaders, moving with the “greatest urgency” to designate their acting successors and setting them up with “support personnel, good office space and security clearances.”

McCarthy added that because the Senate-confirmation process is often long and drawn out, acting officials should be given the latitude to make decisions and drive organizational strategy, not just keep the lights on until a Senate-confirmed official takes over.

Both speakers also reiterated the need for outgoing leaders to transfer critical knowledge about their agencies to incoming appointees so that they can quickly develop a policy agenda and policy priorities.

Conclusion

Leadership transitions bring excitement and energy, but they require robust cooperation between outgoing and incoming administrations to be successful. Effective communication of risk information at the right time and in the right place is critical. By fostering trust through nonpartisanship and clear communication, federal leaders can navigate transitions effectively and maintain agency stability and growth during periods of change. These practices are fundamental to effective government and the public good.

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