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Strengthening senior executive leadership is critical to ensuring the continuity of government

Civil servants help ensure the continuity of government during presidential transitions, and none more so than the Senior Executive Service and its equivalent positions. During times of change, these career executives are a source of stability, bridging gaps in mission and service delivery, serving as stewards of agency workforces and resources, and directly communicating with and supporting incoming political leadership. 

Key skills for executives to lead during times of change 

The leadership skills and values outlined in our Public Service Leadership Model are essential for senior leaders during both times of transition and stability.  

But periods of transition make certain leadership competencies critical:

1. Integrity is always paramount for civil servants who swear an oath to defend the Constitution.

When navigating shifting priorities and organizational changes, leaders should continue to use this oath as their North Star, focusing on how their individual actions and decisions align with the mission and values of their public service roles.

• Learn more about Becoming Self-Aware

2. Senior leaders should establish rapport and build relationships with new colleagues.

Only with open lines of communication can they be an effective bridge between agency leadership and the general workforce.

• Learn more about Engaging Others

3. Being a career senior executive is an inherently collaborative effort that requires influence.

Federal leaders must build trust and establish credibility to provide good advice and influence decisions that help agencies achieve their missions.

• Learn more about Leading Change

4. Career senior leaders should bring a systems-thinking approach to change.

Leaders who have built relationships and have a systems-thinking perspective can more effectively communicate ramifications, trade-offs, stakeholder interests, and other aspects of institutional knowledge and experience when leading through transitions.

• Learn more about Achieving Results

Improving the system to strengthen senior executive leadership 

Agencies today have varied approaches to identifying, assessing and developing these skills in leaders. The Executive Core Qualifications are the closest thing the government has to a uniform set of competencies. Aspiring senior executives must demonstrate them to be considered for the SES, typically through written submissions and in front of a panel. 

At the Public Service Leadership Institute®, we see opportunities to update these skills and the processes used to identify and develop effective federal leaders across all levels, including the SES.  

The Partnership for Public Service’s reform agenda also offers some recommendations to develop better government leaders, including: 

Standardize leadership requirements

The government should adopt a leadership framework—like our Public Service Leadership Model—that applies to all levels of leaders. While the model is aligned to the Executive Core Qualifications in many ways, it emphasizes the need for leaders to be aware of their values and motivations, and further details the core values of public service: Stewardship of Public Trust and Commitment to Public Good. 

Improve SES hiring

In addition to updating the qualifications used to assess new SES members, agencies should also do more to invest earlier in the leadership development of their talent pipeline and recruit external senior leaders with experience in other sectors.  

Institute SES onboarding, rotations and assessments

Leadership requires continuous development, including through a leader’s tenure as a senior executive. Agencies should standardize onboarding to set leaders up for success, coordinate rotational assignments within and between agencies to broaden leaders’ executive experience, and conduct performance assessments based on standard leadership competencies.

Strengthening both the leadership skills of individual executives as well as the structure and development for the entire SES corps is crucial to ensuring our federal government is best equipped to serve the public—especially during presidential transitions and other times of change. 

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