New Year Brings Change to Government's Day-to-Day Managers, Not Just Top Dogs

We are asking for a lot from our government leaders right now: Help us out of this economic mess. Cut budgets. Create jobs. Keep essential services.

Governors and mayors act as communicators and direction-setters, creating a vision for where they are trying to lead both the people they govern and the government bureaucracy. They also act as managers, with responsibility for overseeing day-to-day activities by a range of people and departments. It’s rare that you find someone at the top who is able—or has the time—to do both roles. Businesses often have the same problem, which is why companies frequently have one person who is the president or CEO, and someone else who handles the day-to-day, usually with a title like chief operating officer (COO).

In companies, when things go off the rails, it can be as much a problem with execution as with vision. For example, Lehman Brothers was sunk by all the crazy maneuverings and risk that it took on to carry out what originally seemed like a basic vision—to be a leading Wall Street investment bank.

So shouldn’t there be a lot more scrutiny of the COO-types in the public sector? These are people with titles like chief of staff, deputy director, deputy secretary, deputy mayor, etc. The new year is bringing more than 20 new state governors, hundreds of mayors, and multiple changes at key federal departments and the White House. That means just as many new COO-types managing day-to-day execution at a time when the consequences of missteps are magnified.