Federal Government Policy and Business

Lack of political appointees gives career feds opportunities for disruption

Federal Times: The lack of presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed leaders in the federal government gives career civil servants the opportunity to take risks to disrupt the culture, workforce and priorities of their agencies, according to a recent survey co-produced by the Association of Government Accountants and Grant Thornton.

“The time is right for career staff to challenge the status quo and offer up reforms that have been pondered but may not have been voiced previously,” the survey said. “The current situation represents real opportunity for career civil servants to develop strategic plans before most political appointees are in place. A willingness to embrace disruption could expedite adoption of efficient technologies and innovations, such as shared services.”

The survey in particular called out the opportunities for chief financial officers to use the transition to tackle far-reaching issues in their agencies.

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