Leadership Drives Results
Arming Public Managers with the Tools They Need to Ratchet Up Performance

WHAT'S GRABBING HEADLINES TODAY is international terrorism and our ability to handle a potential outbreak of small pox. We don’t hear nearly as much about the increasing pressure on our public executives to improve performance. Yet, more and more, managers at all levels of government are expected to achieve specific, quantifiable goals, from measures of economic development in United Nations’ programs to the ability of the Centers for Disease Control to drive up immunization rates.

To help public managers meet these demands, a new executive program at the Kennedy School, Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results, provides public officials with the tools to improve performance and to share that information with citizens.

The 1993 Government Performance and Results Act sought to cut out waste and inefficiency in federal programs, but these guidelines provided public managers with little assistance on how to accomplish these goals. Thus, this new executive program seeks to give public executives the skills they need to determine what better performance should look like, to ratchet up that performance (even given limited resources), to produce results that citizens value, and to generate the resources and flexibility needed to do even better in the future. As in all of
the school’s executive programs, the participating executives wrestle with a series of cases challenging them to develop a performance strategy that will produce real results. Whether analyzing a case about the contracting strategy employed in Oklahoma to assist more persons with developmental disabilities or the Compstat strategy that New York used to drive down crime rates, the faculty keeps the discussion focused on the four key components of this program: leadership, strategy, motivation, and results.

Bob Behn, faculty chair of the new program, asserts that public agencies won’t truly improve their performance until their leaders have not only created performance measures and are reporting those measures, but are also using them internally to motivate people. “Performance won’t go up just because we created some sort of government-wide system,” says Behn. “It requires real leadership.”

Participants aren’t let off the hook with the excuse that charisma is not one of their strengths, adds Behn. “Most of us aren’t very charismatic. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be analytical, persistent, and inspirational. One of the key roles of any leader is to make sure that everybody understands precisely what they’re supposed to accomplish — both individually and collectively.” — AC

The Road Ahead
Want to take a peak at the challenges facing today’s public managers?

Ask Roger Porter
Why Take Time Out for an Executive Program?

Roger Porter, professor of business and government, has served for more than a decade in senior economic policy positions in the White House, most recently as assistant to President H. W. Bush for economic and domestic policy. He also served as director of the White House Office of Policy Development in the Reagan administration and as executive secretary of the president’s Economic Policy Board during the Ford administration.

Porter teaches courses in the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Senior Managers in Government, and the Leadership Strategies for Senior Executives series.

Why are executive programs relevant for those working in public service?
In almost any job, it’s easy to become mired in the thick of things. There is far too little reflection about the bigger picture in a world filled with deadlines, crises, and urgent demands. There’s considerable value in stepping back and seeking a longer and broader view during an executive program. Carving out time for an executive program is an excellent way of helping to make time for such reflection.

Who comes to executive programs and why do they come?
One great advantage of many executive programs is that participants come from the legislative and executive branches, from public and private sectors, from military and civilian agencies, and from career and political appointee positions. In our competitive world, it is easy for people to view situations as a zero-sum game filled with winners and losers. Helping participants achieve win-win outcomes is not only challenging, but, when one is successful, tremendously rewarding.

New and Upcoming Executive Programs

Justice and Reform: Promoting the Rule of Law
May 10–23, 2003
This new program brings together policymakers from around the world to focus on the relationship between the judicial, executive, and legislative branches during the legal and judicial reform process and the role of each in promoting the rule of law. For members of the judiciary, prosecutors, policymakers, parliamentarians, and others involved in justice and reform.

Strategic Public Sector Negotiation
May 12–16, 2003
This program teaches how to move to new levels of strategic negotiating skill and produce more successful and productive agreements. For managers in government, corporate, nonprofit, or international organizations.

Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations
May 28–31, 2003
The strategic use of performance measurement can improve key areas of management concern — resource allocation, learning, internal processes, and external accountability. This new program is designed for top executives and other leaders of nonprofit organizations around the world who are committed
to implementing effective performance measurement and management in their organizations.

For more information call 617-496-0484, extension 1; fax 617-495-3090; e-mail ksg_execed@harvard.edu; or visit the Web site www.execprog.org.