As President Joe Biden considers how to shake up a second term should he win one and as former President Donald Trump eyes a comeback, possible Cabinet secretaries are getting a primer on how to get their own jump in their new post.
Above all, consultant Loren Smith advised, is to be loyal. But not necessarily to the president himself.
“It does mean loyalty to a shared vision. Political appointees that don’t share the vision, even if they are talented, will not be effective agents of the whole,” the former deputy assistant secretary of transportation under Trump said.
Next, hire a top-notch team that understands how the bureaucracy works. “One tip here is having a well-run executive secretariat which understands the importance of speed, efficiency, and thoroughness,” he wrote in his well-followed Skyline Policy Risk Group post.
Act as if “every day is Day One,” advice that works in any line of business, Smith added.
His transition advice, which is based on interviews with two dozen former executives who have worked with presidents dating to the Reagan administration, aligns with influential groups such as the Heritage Foundation.
But he added two special nuggets: build a “farm team” of advisers to cycle through and keep some “village elders” around to mentor them.
Smith told Secrets, “Standing up a team for a Cabinet agency is something good to think about now. That’s because we’ve got a sense of what the campaigns look like, and broader groups are starting to think about next year as well. At the same time, we’re not yet into the blast-furnace final months of the campaign when it will be hard to think about anything except the horse race. The post-election period, of course, will be its own kind of frantic.”
Below is his list for possible Cabinet picks to follow:
Running a large federal agency, especially at the outset of a new presidential administration, is a unique undertaking. It’s not quite like running a company or other institution, nor like being a member of Congress. However, every four years, even when a President is reelected, these incredibly important positions are filled mostly by people new to that role.
No presidential administration has nailed it perfectly on cabinet appointments. It’s unlikely any administration will ever look back on an initial round of picks with total satisfaction. Each cabinet agency has its own distinctive challenges, stakeholder communities, and organizational culture.
However, there are some guiding principles that can help any cabinet secretary increase his or her odds of success. We describe some of these below.
Process, process, process. Management of a large organization is not something that can be done by a single individual, no matter how talented or hard-working that individual may be. On Day One, and if possible before Day One, leadership must put in place new processes to ensure that relevant offices and agencies within a department have the chance to weigh in on decisions and documents making their way through the bureaucracy. A secretary is not well-served if he or she is not getting the full range of input.
One tip here is having a well-run executive secretariat which understands the importance of speed, efficiency, and thoroughness. Another is having a collection of office and agency leaders who understand their roles in the larger whole. Disagreements must be managed and escalated in an orderly way. And, as one leader has institutionalized at one of the world’s largest companies, every day is Day One in examining and reexamining process, as organizations are constantly evolving with the policy set and personnel roster.
Personnel Is Policy. Just as the President should appoint secretaries who support the overall policy direction, a secretary should work with the White House to establish a team that is likewise unified in the mission. That doesn’t mean total uniformity – an echo chamber that can’t tolerate debate will be less creative and less successful in the long run. It does mean loyalty to a shared vision. Political appointees that don’t share the vision, even if they are talented, will not be effective agents of the whole.
Loyalty and competence. The two necessary ingredients for personnel success are to find individuals that are loyal to the mission and who can demonstrate competence at their jobs. Individuals that are devoted but not able to function at a high level will undermine the mission. Individuals that are competent but not loyal will gradually clash with their colleagues to the same negative effect.
Footrace to the best talent. At the outset of a new administration, it is critical to staff up senior roles quickly and develop a core team. For some of these roles, a secretary will be able to rely on personnel who served in that same agency in previous administrations. However, for many of the roles, even senior ones, it will be necessary to reach beyond. While subject matter expertise on the policy area covered by the cabinet agency is good, it is far from the only consideration.
General organizational competence, demonstrated good judgment, and expertise in specific roles such as lawyering and public affairs is essential. There will be a limited number of high-caliber individuals available and willing to serve in a new presidential administration. These individuals will not necessarily have policy expertise to that department. A new secretary should compete vigorously for the best people – identify them, recruit them, bring them in – and have the ability to integrate them into the broader team.
Communications. Cabinet agencies, even the lesser known ones, have a much further reach than simply their own employees or the industries they may directly regulate or provide grantmaking to. On the topic it covers, be it agriculture or national defense or labor, when the secretary speaks, the secretary will be seen by the public as speaking for the whole of the U.S. government. For that reason, the word choices and tone of all communications from that secretary must be chosen with great care. Deeds matter, but at this level, words and optics matter too.
Scheduling. This one is more subtle. A cabinet secretary’s time is extremely limited, with the demands of managing a large organization, working with the White House, and dealing with inevitable crises. Who the secretary meets with will clearly communicate the priorities and values of that department. Expect every part of a secretary’s schedule to become public. This is an area that requires a deft touch and a capable scheduling team.
Congress. Oversight committees in Congress, from appropriators to various authorizing committees, exercise significant influence over the operations of a department. The budget and policies of a department receive new statutory mandates on an annual basis. The secretary and other senior leaders may be called up often to testify before Congress, not to mention less formal briefings and touchpoints that are more or less constant. It is critical to have a well-functioning congressional affairs team that will manage these interactions.
The General Counsel. Always make sure you have good lawyers!
Working with the career staff. In any department, the political appointees form only a tiny fraction of the total employees – usually well under 1%. Any successful cabinet secretary will ensure that the political appointees are assertively managing and working closely with the career staff, both the senior executives and the more junior employees, to push them to move priority projects forward.
Good working relationships are critical. Listening to career staff is important, while political appointees must never lose sight of the President’s policy priorities. Rely on the expertise of careers where it serves achieving the President’s priorities. Some skepticism of a “we can’t do that” from the career staff is warranted. Having effective lawyers loyal to the President’s agenda on staff is necessary. This will help distinguish between, on the one hand, actual limitations in established law and regulations and, on the other hand, the preferences of the bureaucracy.
In an organization with tens or even hundreds of thousands of employees, there will always be friction and management challenges. However, the political leadership must always have the mindset of figuring out the right way to work through and with the bureaucracy to achieve the President’s policy objectives. The President, after all, was elected by the people whom the department helps to govern.
Stakeholder contacts and a political radar. Any department has a vast ecosystem of stakeholders from industry to advocacy groups to think tanks to specialty media. These are constantly monitoring the department’s actions, personnel, and more. Tools at the disposal of a secretary include the public liaison office, the office of intergovernmental affairs to talk to state and local officials, or more generalized coalition outreach. It is important to make sure the departmental leadership, including the secretary, know what the outside world is thinking. Don’t get caught in a bubble.
Farm team. A secretary will spend most of the time dealing with immediate needs and decisionmaking. But it is important to stop and look at the long-term radar. One of the specific elements here, also tied to personnel, is the farm team for future administrations.
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A secretary should make sure that special assistants and senior advisors are constantly being brought aboard and trained up to serve as deputy assistant secretaries, administrators, and secretaries in future presidential administrations. It may also be appropriate to identify some individuals who can function as “village elders” to provide a mentoring function.
Yes, do sweat the small stuff. A secretary’s responsibility is the whole of the department and its mission, short-term and long-term. A secretary should never hesitate to ask questions about seemingly small matters that could blow up into larger management challenges.
