The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

34 SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL they have “policy” responsibility, while “strategic planning” and “implementation” are, they think, someone else’s concern. The result of such a mindset was summed up in the State-USAID reform plan submitted to the Office of Management and Budget last September: “Failure to prioritize top foreign policy objec- tives and plan strategically has led to ad hoc decision-making, ineffective allocation of human and financial resources, and disjointed activities at the Washington and mission levels.” In fact, when it comes to delivering results, strategic planning and implementation are not only inseparable from policymak- ing, but are its driving force. As Michael Barber, first head of the U.K. Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (an institution created to strengthen the British government’s capacity to deliver on Prime Minister Tony Blair’s policy priorities), puts it: “Policy is 10 per- cent and implementation is 90 percent.” Today we have a unique opportunity at the State Department to reassert leadership of foreign policy by focusing on deliver- ing the outcomes promised by our strategies. It is an opportune moment for action—what the Greeks call kairos —because we now have coherent strategies across the department. Drawing on the new National Security Strategy, the State-USAID Joint Strate- gic Plan was finalized in February; that was followed by comple- tion of 46 bureau strategic plans this spring, and integrated country strategies (ICS) for 185 U.S. missions this summer. Having set clear objectives, developed plans to achieve them and aligned strategies across the State Department, leaders and staff are poised to achieve significant results in advancing American security, interests and values. Here are some sugges- tions for how to take advantage of this opportune moment. Build a Strategic Planning and Implementation Process That Delivers Impact The key to delivering on any strategy is to understand what prevents effective strategic planning and implementation, and then to attack those challenges head on. This is as true for a government official in Britain or Indonesia as it is for an official of the U.S. State Department. During a yearlong fellowship at The Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm with more than 50 years of experience as a leader in strategy, I had the opportunity to be part of a team that worked to identify such obstacles. We interviewed 31 current and former government leaders around the globe. In a separate project, I interviewed a dozen State Department officials—chiefs of mission, DCMs, Foreign Service officers and Civil Service professionals—to benchmark the State Department’s approach to strategic planning and performance management against global best practices. Our work pointed to key steps mission leaders and staff can take to become more effective at developing and implement- ing their strategy. There are several obstacles to overcome at the State Department: A “fire-fighting” and risk-averse culture. Reacting well to unplanned and unforeseen events and crises is some of the most important work we do. However, effective leaders also proac- tively shape the future rather than simply react to it by setting and driving an agenda. Further, if we avoid taking reasonable risks for fear of failure, we won’t get big things done. Lack of leadership engagement. While many department leaders have policy expertise and focus, they often delegate responsibility for strategic planning and implementation to others. This lack of engagement at the top filters down, leading to members of the mission who don’t fully understand or aren’t committed to implementing the strategy. High turnover. Foreign Service officers transition every two to three years, and the average tenure of a Senate-confirmed appointee is only 18 to 30 months. With little time to make a mark, many understandably focus on short-term initiatives, rather than long-term goals and objectives. Based on our interviews, we identified three actions that chiefs of mission and DCMs can take to mitigate these chal- lenges and turn the mission strategy into results: promote a strategic culture, instill a shared sense of purpose, and establish teams and routines to drive implementation (see graphic, p. 35). Promote a Strategic Culture To ensure a shift in the culture—habits, hearts and minds— chiefs of missions and DCMs must participate in strategic plan- ning, frontline leaders at post must be involved from the start, Strategic planning and implementation are core leadership responsibilities.