In December 2015, the president issued an executive order outlining a series of reforms for the federal Senior Executive Service (SES) that would require certain agencies, including the Department of Defense, (DoD) —to rotate annually at least 15 percent of their SES members, each for a minimum of 120 days. The rotations can be to different departments, agencies , subcomponents, functional areas or non-federal partners, with the aim of equipping leaders with an enterprise perspective.
It’s the right idea, but there are problems of timing and approach. Rotations are essential; indeed we think congressional legislation that requires rotations may be the right next step. But the rotations need to take place before individuals join the SES, and they should last longer than 120 days.
During our DoD service, we both led SES members who had worked in more than one department, military service or defense agency, and we found that they provided better, broader advice and leadership. They had "walked in the moccasins" of other organizations and understood how they worked. They could provide useful guidance and make decisions stick. Hence the philosophy behind the December executive order is sound.
So what needs to be changed? Fundamentally, it's a matter of the timing. Members of the SES need to acquire more of an enterprise (that is, interagency and interdisciplinary) background before they join the SES, rather than after they've been promoted. Rotations should start as early as the GS-13 level. DoD and other federal agencies can learn from the military and the intelligence community (IC). Both institutions require one or more enterprise assignments before an individual can become eligible for promotion — to flag rank in the military or to a senior executive position in the IC.
The December executive order also calls for 120-day rotations, a length that is too short to deliver either much value or a meaningful learning experience. But a 120-day rotation may be long enough to disrupt the employee’s current work, especially if his or her permanent position is back-filled during the rotation by someone equally out of place. However unintended, the rotations may result in performance issues. -- both individual and organizational.
To get the most out of a rotation approach, prospective SES candidates must broaden their experience for a period sufficient to justify any disruption. In our view, Individuals who aspire to the SES should seek out one or more assignments of at least a year in duration, long enough to diversify their work experiences while also permitting them to contribute in their new roles. Consistent with the approach in the executive order, many types of assignments should qualify.
Given the importance of broad experience within the SES ranks, the issue warrants consideration, and action, by Congress to require rotations. There is precedent. In the 1980s, Congress concluded that military officers lacked needed experience in joint (multiservice) positions. Yet these officers, especially those rated highest, saw little career benefit in joint positions because this duty took them away from the service that controlled their advancement.
As part of the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, legislators required that military officers have a multiservice tour to be considered for promotion to general or admiral.
Congress took similar action in the intelligence community following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Noting the failure of intelligence leaders to "connect the dots," it required the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to implement a Goldwater-Nichols-like requirement for joint duty as a precondition for the promotion of any IC civilian to senior executive rank.
While rotations to diversify experience are important, SES members must also have knowledge in depth. Both of us have many experiences that underscore this point. For example, 20twenty years apart, we each helped coordinate the furloughs of several hundred thousand DoD civilians in response to two government shutdowns (one in 1994 and , the other in 2013. SES members who knew the rules, including those relating to personnel and fiscal law, helped greatly in minimizing the damage during these tumultuous events.
To be clear: SES should have both depth of knowledge and breadth of experience. The White House has raised the right issue with regard to experience, and Congress may want to require diversity of experience as an additional prerequisite for promotion to SES. But the prerequisite should be met prior to becoming members of the SES. By that time, SES members should be leading and managing the government rather than broadening their backgrounds.
The Honorable Robert Hale, a fellow at Booz Allen, served for five years as DoD comptroller. and for seven years as Air Force comptroller. Dr. Ronald Sanders, a vice president and fellow at Booz Allen, has his 39 years of federal service. included two decades in SES positions in DoD. and four other agencies.
