The Foreign Service Journal, February 2004

work more closely together even on substance. For example, neither the Foreign Service employee profile nor the Civil Service employee docu- ment, as I understand it, captures what people might have done before they came into the department. For example, if Foreign Service personnel in Washington have to respond to a crisis, why not have Civil Service col- leagues with appropriate skills fill in behind them for a period of time? I think we need to look at all those flex- ibilities, and we owe it to ourselves to have a stronger Foreign Service-Civil Service partnership. Rather than put a label on something, let’s just con- centrate on the results we see as both possible and extremely beneficial to the State Department. The same thing is true for the indispensable contributions made by our Foreign Service National colleagues overseas. FSJ : You’ve referred a number of times in this interview to the idea that individuals should be encouraged to build up and keep current a body of expertise on specific issues and parts of the world. Do you think that most people in the Foreign Service seek out assignments that allow them to do that, or do you think the system needs to nudge them in that direction? WRP : I think that by and large most people are self-motivated, for several reasons. One is that, in a full career, there may be times when a choice job in your primary area of interest just isn’t available. And broadening your experience, manage- rially or substantively, helps you to develop professionally. I believe there is no reason for the system to try to manage those choices because I think the free choice of the employee is as efficient a way of doing this as possible. But I do believe that devel- oping specialties in three or four areas probably does, in some cases, detract from the ability of the employee to compete with his or her peers. So I think that part of the commitment to professional development over a longer period of time includes guid- ance and support in finding those areas where a person would be happi- est and most productive. FSJ : Any final thoughts, Amb. Pearson? WRP : Well, to summarize, I would say that having just come back from three years in Turkey and 10 years overseas, looking at the world as we see it today, the job of the State Department and for the Foreign Service is as challenging as it has been for quite some time. I think we’re very fortunate to have the leadership of Secretary Powell at a time like this, but we absolutely cannot treat the input of new people as if it simply were a windfall. It has to become the asset for our future. This is the mes- sage not only for us, but also for Congress and for our colleagues in the federal service. That’s the spirit with which I start my job. And finally, speaking as a career-long AFSA mem- ber, I look forward to working with the AFSA leadership on all of these issues, and to finding the best possible solu- tions for all our people.  56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 4 Rather than put a label on something, let’s just concentrate on the results we see as both possible and extremely beneficial to the State Department.