Six Steps to an Effective Federal Service

• Date: 01 May 2009
• Author: Donna E. Shalala
• Published date: 01 May 2009
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.01999.x

Book Reviews 543

Hindy Lauer Schachter, Editor

Donna E. Shalala

University of Miami

Six Steps to an Ef‌f ective Federal Service

Paul C. Light, A Government Ill Executed:  e

Decline of the Federal Service and How to Reverse

It (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).

288 pp. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN: 9780674028081.

After three tours of duty in federal service,

beginning with the Peace Corps and ending

with an eight-year assignment as secretary

of the Department of Health and Human Services,

you would think that I would know a lot about the

federal service. Paul C. Light knows a lot more—and

his thoughtful book, A Government Ill Executed:  e

Decline of the Federal Service and How to Reverse It,

should be required reading for students of public

administration.

Based on Alexander Hamilton’s warning that a govern-

ment ill executed is a bad government, Light unleashes

a full frontal attack on the federal bureaucracy. Specif‌i -

cally, Light makes a series of strong accusations about

the erosion of the federal service. He also optimistically

points out that the pending retirement of the baby

boomers is an extraordinary opportunity to reshape the

future of the federal service.  e goal, he argues, should

be an energetic federal service. He then outlines six

characteristics of that service.

 e f‌i rst characteristic: Missions should matter for the

public benef‌i t.  ey should be brought up to date

or dropped when they become irrelevant.  e

problem is the tendency to make the missions more

responsive—indeed, to reshape them by adding com-

plexity to existing legislation. Rarely is a program or

mission dropped or rethought—instead, usually in re-

sponse to a scandal, a new law or regulation is added.

 e second characteristic is a clear chain of command.

Light complains that the “thickening of the hierarchy

with more layers of leaders, and more leaders per

layer” is not necessarily related to the mission and un-

dermines the health of the federal service. During my

tenure, Vice President Al Gore led a reinvention ef‌f ort

that attempted to eliminate some of these layers.

 e third characteristic of an energetic federal service

is a fast, very simple, and fair appointment process.

Everyone who has ever tried to f‌i ll a cabinet depart-

ment will say amen. Without having talked to Profes-

sor Light, I f‌i lled 70 percent of my appointments in

advance of the White House Personnel Of‌f‌i ce being

set up. Once new presidents get their personnel of‌f‌i ces

set up, the process slows down and is administered by

people who have never led a large complex organiza-

tion. As a result, many of us learned to game the

process—and to work through the vetting and

clearance process with speed and precision.

Light’s fourth characteristic is the vigor and expedi-

tion to execute laws. Given work that matters, federal

workers can be superb at executing laws. Lost in

the policy debates (for which one only gets credit in

Washington) is the fact that the implementation and

execution of new polices is the real challenge. Because

the incentive for political appointees is to make policy,

the skill and focus needed to implement new laws is

sometimes lost. However, as every student of public

administration knows, that is where the action and

real power lie. It is also where a team of talented

public servants and political appointees can make

a dif‌f erence. In particular, the secretary’s term and

an ability to keep a team intact through two terms

professionalize the political service and make the

measurement of the impact on policy implementation

possible.

 e f‌i fth characteristic of an energetic federal service

is a spirit of talented young Americans. President

Barack Obama may well (we hope) inspire a new

generation to public service, much like President

John F. Kennedy did. As one who responded to

President Kennedy’s call (Peace Corps volunteer,

Iran, 1962–64), I know it works. It certainly

reshaped my view of the world. It also launched a

public service career.  ere is a window of oppor-

tunity here, as noted earlier.  e baby boomers will

soon retire, and the federal government will have

thousands of openings.

Book Reviews

Donna E. Shalala is president and pro-

fessor of political science at the University

of Miami. She served as secretary of health

and human services under President Bill

Clinton for eight years. In June 2008, she

received the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

the nation’s highest civilian award.

E-mail: dshalala@miami.edu