The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

W hen I left the Foreign Service Institute in 1989 after three years heading up the Executive Development Divi- sion, I published an article in the Foreign Service Journal titled “Lea- dership at State: The Neglected Di- mension.” That title pretty well sum- med up my assessment. Fast forward 16 years. I have re- cently retired after 24 years of service, the last three spent as the dean of FSI’s Leadership and Management School. My assessment of leadership at State today? A work in progress. “Take care of your people,” words absent from our vocabulary in 1989 but a mantra over the past few years, still echo for me. Over 4,500 col- leagues at the middle and senior ranks have graduated from at least one of the mandatory leadership training courses with a common understanding of how and why lead- ership works. The results of the Office of Personnel Management’s 2004 Human Capital Survey show a stunning improvement over the 2002 survey in the opinions State Depart- ment employees hold of their supervi- sors. The ambassadorial and DCM seminars emphasize leadership re- sponsibilities, and participants discuss them seriously. We can all name hardship posts with wonderful morale because of good leadership from the front office. And grass-roots initia- tives are popping up all over — the Leadership Roundtable and YPro (Young Professionals) groups are just two that are fostering change. And yet… We are still not an organization that values leadership across the board. A boss may demonstrate lead- ership, or not. He or she may under- stand what it is, or not. Either way, it’s fine. Clearly, too many people still don’t get it: leadership is not some touchy-feely, people-related thing that’s nice to do if you have time after tending to process and paper. Nor does it mean serving the next person up the ladder exclusively, as if only people at the top can get something accomplished. And it’s not something you delegate to the head of your man- agement team. Rather, leadership is providing the vision, wherewithal and steward- ship to enable others to achieve results — it’s leveraging your assets. It’s a job in and of itself, vital to pol- icy and central to transformational diplomacy. Value Leadership in Washington, Too I’ve seen many more examples of leadership overseas than I have in Washington. Of course, there are rea- sons for that. Overseas, the chief of mission has a letter signed by the president of the United States outlin- ing his or her leadership responsibili- ties, and the accompanying account- ability is clear. People taking ambas- sadorial and DCM assignments for the first time are obligated to attend preparatory seminars. At post, securi- ty and other concerns force every front office to pay increasing attention to purpose, organization and people. Employees and even “the system” are less tolerant of bad or indifferent leadership overseas and more in- clined to take action against it. This has a trickle-down effect. If the top values leadership, others do, too. The culture in Washington is dif- ferent. Senior leaders, career and non-career alike, receive no written expectations of performance from the president; their work objectives are closely held. Many are too busy to attend senior-level seminars designed to enhance effectiveness in very com- plicated jobs. I’m not sure how many in leadership positions even consider themselves accountable for issues beyond those which relate directly to short-term policy goals. As a result, when I look at the department’s orga- nizational chart, I know what the boxes stand for but I have no idea what leadership responsibilities reside in them. This, too, has a trickle-down effect. Who, for example, is accountable for making sure we never again have to bury colleagues and family mem- bers because of insufficient security We have made progress, but the Foreign Service is still not an organization that values leadership across the board. Leadership at State: A Work in Progress B Y P RUDENCE B USHNELL N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 S PEAKING O UT w