The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 5 As you read this, AFSA ex- pects to be working with Secre- tary of StateHillary Clinton and others in the Obama adminis- tration to secure expanded con- gressional funding for our for- eign affairs agencies, to close the overseas pay gap, and to take other steps to strengthen U.S. diplomacy and de- velopment assistance. However, some of what needs to be done depends not on the actions of oth- ers, but instead on self-help actions by individual Foreign Service members. Here I am reminded of the disaster vic- tim who told a reporter: “I am tired of waiting for the government to clean up my front yard; I guess I will have to do it myself.” Yes, I thought to myself, maybe you should clean up your own front yard! My self-help checklist for active-duty members starts with professional devel- opment. Are you engaged in self-di- rected professional development by, for example, utilizing the Foreign Affairs Professional Reading List that was cre- ated last year in a joint initiative by AFSA and the under secretary of State for political affairs? Are you active in a professional development discussion group (book club) at your post or office, as recommended by that joint initiative? What about training? Have you done a horizons-broadening developmental tour (such as a year of academic study or an out-of-agency detail assign- ment) or attained additional language fluency (such as pro- ficiency in a second language)? Those two “electives” are among the five-out-of-seven benchmarks that State generalist officers must meet before promotion into the Senior Foreign Service under the Career Development Program adopted in 2005. And what about professional writ- ing? Military journals are full of pro- vocative essays by active-duty officers analyzing professional issues. In con- trast, relatively few career diplomats write articles for publication. To help fill this shortage of intellectual engage- ment, the Foreign Service Journal is al- ways looking for submissions to its Speaking Out, FS Know-How and FS Heritage departments, as well as ana- lytical pieces on international affairs and professional issues. Do you practice constructive dis- sent? Since 1968, AFSA has presented awards to colleagues who demonstrate the professional courage and integrity to speak out using appropriate channels, ask tough questions, offer alternative so- lutions and give the best counsel that Foreign Servicemembers are trained to give. This is a key duty for all of us, but in recent years AFSA has experienced a drop in award nominations, just as use of State’s Dissent Channel has declined. For overseas members whose posi- tions involve reporting, outreach or pro- grammanagement, do you practice risk management — instead of risk avoid- ance—when it comes to venturing out from behind embassy or consulate walls? Are your days focused on inter- acting with host-country officials and citizens or on answering e-mails from Washington? I have mentioned some of these points in previous columns. I repeat myself now because I continue to en- counter influential policymakers and policy shapers in the executive branch, Congress and news media, at think- tanks, and among distinguished retired colleagues who say that the Foreign Service needs new attitudes in order to meet the challenges of 21st-century diplomacy and development assistance. To be sure, I tell them that the first step is to give us the additional staffing and funding that a growing stack of blue ribbon panel reports say are desperately needed. But there is no question that some of what needs to be done depends on self-help actions within the Foreign Service. Each of us needs to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities that make the Foreign Service uniquely able to contribute to foreign policy develop- ment and implementation. If we fall short, then future policymakers will look to others to get the job done. P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS Self-Help B Y J OHN K. N ALAND John K. Naland is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.