Leading with modern ways of working

The Partnership for Public Service is currently recruiting for our Modern Government Leaders program, which will convene, recognize and support federal executives who leverage 21^st century tools and techniques to deliver on their mission and meet evolving national challenges.  

While the tools’ transformative power garners public attention, it is the techniques that make innovation possible across every agency in the federal government.  

Scaling, systematizing and sustaining modernization calls for public servants throughout government to master what we at the Partnership call “modern ways of working.” These are a set of practices and priorities distilled from our conversations with federal leaders and our review of existing guidance for federal leadership in the digital era.  

What makes a modern government leader? 

Executives who practice modern ways of working aim to: 

1. Prioritize customer needs and experiences, with a focus on equitable service delivery above all else. 

2. Reduce administrative burden using modern technology. 

3. Work on the order of weeks, not years. 

4. Use data, evidence and experience to make decisions. 

5. Make service and program processes, information, data and plans available to the public. 

6. Focus on improving outcomes over protecting bureaucratic processes 

In the same way that a modern government is more than just a tech-savvy government, modern ways of working are more than just tools for tech-focused leaders. Leaders across government, from every discipline and practice, can leverage data, embrace transparency and work iteratively to benefit their processes and organizations. These modern ways of working help federal offices adapt quickly to challenges while efficiently, equitably and effectively serving the public. 

Modern Government Leaders apply the core values of public service leadership—becoming self-aware, engaging others, leading change and achieving results—to advance the goals above and to deliver public services that are equitable and effective, innovative and customer-focused, secure and stable, and transparent and responsive. Taken together, these modern ways of working encourage leaders and their teams to be adaptable, innovative and strategic, while fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusion and resilience. 

Mark Lerner leads the Partnership’s technology and innovation portfolio, where he works to build a modern government that delivers equitable services and effective outcomes to the public by employing modern ways of working.