Achieving Results
Close

Achieving Results

Public Service Leadership Model

Achieving Results

Achieving results means managing skillfully, thinking strategically and making good decisions that deliver measurable outcomes and improve the quality of life for the nation and the world.  The five subcompetencies to achieving results include:

Accountability Evidence-based decision-making Systems thinking Tech savviness Customer experience

Accountability

Hold others accountable and accept responsibility for the consequences of your decisions.

“Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.”

– Bob Proctor, international best-selling author, coach, and speaker


PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Responsibility is great, and has its place, but accountability is the “secret sauce” for leaders to set a culture for teams to build trust and rebound from mistakes and learning moments.

Thumbnail for Holding Volkswagen Accountable

Learn how Phillip A. Brooks, Byron Bunker, and Josh H. Van Eaton conducted a steadfast investigation to hold Volkswagen accountable for rigging more than a half million vehicles to evade pollution regulations.

Thumbnail for Results and Metrics

Charlie Bolden discusses how results need to be accompanied by metrics so that you can prescribe greater meaning to the changes being made.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
  • Why is accountability important in my work environment? What are the benefits?
  • When something goes wrong in my purview of work, how likely am I to take responsibility? What gets in the way of taking ownership over my work?
  • What do people fear about accountability? How could these fears be mitigated?
Additional resources

READ: 5 Ways to Promote Accountability – Andrew Robertson and Nate Dvorak, Consultants and researchers at Gallup

READ: 4 Ways to Improve Accountability in your Office – Jackson Nickerson, Associate Dean at Brookings Executive Education and GovExec contributer

READ: The Best Teams Hold Themselves Accountable – Joseph Grenny, Harvard Business Review

Evidence-based Decision-making

Make choices grounded in the best available information and data.

“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion”

– W. Edwards Deming, renowned data scientist


PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Thumbnail for Search and Rescue Technology

Read how Arthur A. Allen used years of research to create the life-saving Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS).

Organizations are redefining, improving and maturing operational processes and creating intelligent workflows that combine intelligent automation technology with new ways to get work done. In this product, the Partnership and the IBM Center for The Business of Government review the benefits of intelligent automation and offer lessons learned and considerations for agencies looking to take…
Thumbnail for From Data to Decisions II: Building an Analytics Culture

The Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government released, “From Data to Decisions II: Building an Analytics Culture.” This second report on using information to measure and improve performance examines what it really takes to build analytics into an agency’s decision-making processes and culture.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
  • What are my trusted sources for facts, and how do I use these sources in my work?
  • How do I know when I have “enough” information to make a decision?
  • How can I best weigh facts and data with emotions and other considerations?
Additional resources

READ: A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making – David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, Harvard Business Review contributors   

READ: Evidence, Facts and Intuition in Decision Making –  IdeasforLeaders.com

READ: The Need for Analytics in Government Decision-making – Steve Bennett, SAS Global Government Practice and Federal Times contributor

Systems Thinking

Learn how to navigate the unique government system. 

“Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It’s a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing ‘patterns for change’ rather than static ‘snapshots’.”

– Peter Senge, systems scientists and lecturer at MIT


PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Thumbnail for A Roadmap to the Future: Toward a More Connected Federal Government

The federal landscape is expected to change dramatically in the next decade as the power and capacity of technology advance, more data becomes available and the demands on federal employees grow and shift. With the U.S. population projected to expand by more than 20 million people in the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, government must evolve to keep up.

Thumbnail for Leading in Complex Times

Hear Admiral Thad Allen talk about how leading in complex times requires co-production across boundaries, supported by continuous learning and emotional intelligence.

Thumbnail for Protecting the Environment and Health of Millions of People

Learn about Jacob Moss’ efforts to build an alliance of federal and international agencies, countries and corporations to bring more efficient cook stoves and cleaner burning fuels to homes in developing nations, protecting the environment and the health of millions of people worldwide.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
  • If explaining my work environment to others, how would I describe it? What factors make it unique?
  • Who are the key decision-makers, stakeholders and influencers within my organization?
  • What are some ways that my colleagues and I can first learn, and then better navigate our work environment?
Additional resources

READ: Tackling Management Challenges at the Department of Homeland Security – Tom Fox, Former VP, Leadership Development at the Partnership for Public Service and contributor to Washington Post

READ: Implementing Cross-Agency Collaboration: A Guide for Federal Managers – Jane Fountain, Professor at University of Massachusetts and BusinessofGovernment.org contributor

READ: A User’s Guide to Getting Things Done in Government – Alexis Wichowski, Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and GovExec.com contributor

Tech Savviness

Understand the importance of technology and how it can improve organizational outcomes.

“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anyone can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other.”

– Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and renowned philanthropist


PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Thumbnail for Immersive technologies: A future way to train and prepare employees for achieving agency missions

Immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, are a collection of technologies that change or enhance our physical environment. Learn more about how federal agencies are already using and benefiting from immersive technologies.

Thumbnail for More Than Meets AI

In this white paper the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government explore the impact AI is likely to have on federal work and the federal workforce.

Thumbnail for Cracking the Code: Harnessing the Exponential Power of Technology

In this report the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton identify how government uses artificial intelligence, immersive technologies and edge computing to drive operations. Topics include how agencies can move quickly to adopt the emerging technologies and the issues government should consider to maximize their benefits.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
  • In what areas of technology am I strong? How might I offer assistance to others?
  • In what areas of technology am I weak? How might I bridge that gap or learn what I need to know?
  • How might I stay up-to-date on the latest trends and tools?
Additional resources

READ: A Tech-Savvy Government – Roxy Torrer, Former ATD Staff and author

READ: Government Needs Tech-Savvy Leaders to Succeed, Says Outgoing OMB Chief – Kellie Lunney, Senior Correspondent at GovExec.com

READ: 5 Ways You Can Instantly Become More Tech Savvy – Drew Hendricks, Marketing Manager at Nextiva and BusinessCollective.com contributor

Customer Experience

Act with internal and external customers in mind.  

“How you think about your customer influences how you respond to them.”

– Marilyn Suttle, Customer Service author and speaker


PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Thumbnail for Government for the People
Government for the People
Designing for Equitable and Trusted Customer Experiences
The Partnership for Public Service’s annual report with Accenture Federal Services offers a comprehensive look at how customers experience some of the government’s key services.
Thumbnail for Leading with Experience
Leading with Experience
A Framework for Customer-Focused Leadership in Government

Good leadership enables our government to more effectively respond to public needs. The Partnership for Public Service and Maximus Federal address how individual leaders can improve the federal customer experience and recommend government-wide actions agencies can take to create a culture of customer-focused leadership.

Thumbnail for Reducing Medical Errors

Learn how Paul McGann, Jean D. Moody-Williams, and Dennis Wagner created an innovative public-private sector initiative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to increase patient safety and reduce readmissions to U.S. hospitals – in part by incorporating the views of the patients and families into the initiative.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
  • What do my customers care most about?
  • How well is my organization currently meeting customer needs and wants? What else might we be doing?
  • How will excellent customer service lead to greater ability to meet our mission?
Additional resources

READ: Improving the Customer Experience to Achieve Government-Agency Goals – Tony D’Emidio, David Malfara, and Kevin Neher, McKinsey & Company

READ: Defining Your Role in Government Customer ServiceGovLoop

WATCH: How Airbnb Designs for Trust – Joe Gebbia, Co-founder of Airbnb and Ted Talk Speaker


© 2022 Partnership for Public Service, Inc. All rights reserved.