The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

resources? Where does the buck stop when it comes to ensuring that all employees receive the training and development opportunities they need? Whose hand goes up if we have to ask why we do not have enough people, resources, or physical and technological support systems to do an effective job? Not long before I retired from State, I heard the Government Accountability Office’s comptroller general say that the federal govern- ment is going to have to get used to “doing more with less.” I remember that refrain from the 1990s. I also remember the consequences. To whom do we now look to ensure we have the wherewithal to serve the president and the American people effectively and safely? Note that I’m not asking which box on the organiza- tional chart is responsible for that. I’m asking which person. I know that working in Washington is different from working overseas and I know that we hold different expectations of the people in leader- ship positions. But I question whether the double standard serves us and the American people well. Opaque, diffused responsibilities and poor accountability have created seri- ous problems, past and present. Tongues cluck around town these days about the need for better man- agement and leadership across the federal government. The absence of a resolution to these discussions contin- ues to absolve everyone. Let’s Change the Culture This reality impedes the depart- ment’s transition to an organization that values leadership in all places and at all levels. But it doesn’t have to be a show-stopper. We have choices. We can hope that non-career appointees will take charge of our stewardship for us. Or we can complain about career colleagues who don’t “get it,” assignment and promotion systems 20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 S P E A K I N G O U T u I’ve seen many more examples of leadership overseas than I have in Washington. 2000 N. 14th Street • Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Telephone (703) 797-3259 Fax (703) 524-7559 Tollfree (800) 424-9500