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Methods for leading a modern government

The Partnership for Public Service and Microsoft designed Modern Government Leaders to convene expert executive innovators from across the federal government. Over eight months, the cohort shared best practices, critical challenges and proven methods for modernizing service delivery and improving business processes through innovation.  

Participants in the program wrote and refined their success stories featured in the library of Innovator’s Hours below. These stories draw on leaders’ efforts to identify and capitalize on opportunities to modernize their organizations. Each Innovator’s Hour puts these stories in discussion, drawing connections between them and highlighting modernization methods that cut across agencies, roles and missions. 

Success stories in modernizing government 

Our participants’ stories provide real-world best practices that leaders across government could follow to improve their agencies.  

They outline methods for leveraging preexisting data with new technology tools to reduce the time burden on benefit seekers by 50%. They also show how investing time in connecting colleagues leads to a happier, healthier workforce whose deeper connection to its mission shines through more efficient processes and improved career outcomes.  

In total, the cohort’s work can be broadly grouped into four categories. 

• Community and culture: The Modern Government Leaders most consistently cited challenges they deemed the “fear of failure” and the “trauma of trying.” These leaders create conditions that honor and uplift individuals and their contributions by investing in, connecting and empowering their colleagues and staff. 

• Breaking down silos: Whether it’s by implementing a shared service hub, unifying systems across agencies or carving paths across functional lines, collaborative coalitions are key to driving innovation across the federal enterprise. 

• Technology adoption: To meet the required scope, scale and speed of modern service delivery, these leaders seek to improve critical IT infrastructure and thoughtfully adopt new technologies. They harness technology to realize their vision, from modernizing the foundational codebase that supports health care for millions to reaching new heights by adopting computer vision and generative AI. 

• Evidence and end users: Fundamentally, the work of government is to serve the people. Data and direct engagement provide a window into what customers need, what their challenges are and how they can best be served. Equipped with that knowledge, these leaders confidently tailor specific solutions that make an impact. 

Woven through these strategies and techniques are a series of generalizable themes, each critical to executing sustainable innovations in government. 

• Team: Executives must inspire, invest in and insulate staff, providing them with the resources and cover necessary to experiment. 

• Culture: Psychological and bureaucratic barriers against innovation are often ingrained in the culture of an organization. Addressing these hurdles early eases uptake.  

• Buy-in: Engage upper leadership to develop a personal connection to—and interest in—the success of pilot programs. 

• Storytelling: Communicate clearly, early and often. Update as you go to continually capture hearts and minds. 

• Opportunity: Take advantage of moments of change, high visibility and emergency to give new methods a toehold. Grow them from that seed. 

• Pilot: Build the plane while you fly; experimentation and iteration are irreplaceable. Failure is an opportunity to learn and reorient toward a better solution. 

The federal government faces a constant churn of new priorities and requirements. Emphasis can shift at the drop of a political hat or with the explosion of a new technology. Whether the emphasis is on the customer experience, artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, agile methodologies or whatever comes next, career civil servants need to stay ready.  

The best way to learn about the methods and processes these senior executives use to achieve transformational change is to read and hear their own words. With these fundamental strategies and tactics for driving and sustaining innovation, you can be prepared for the next opportunity or emergency that demands your very best.

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