How acting officials lead during presidential transitions

The time after a presidential election typically brings shifts in agency dynamics and personnel. Career civil servants must work to support the continuity of government while some senior career executives will be called on to serve temporarily in key leadership positions previously held by political appointees to ensure that agency priorities are met.

As acting officials, these career civil servants perform five crucial functions:

– Maintaining operations and continuing to deliver on their agency’s mission.

First and foremost, acting officials must continue leading their agencies through day-to-day operations and long-term strategic goals.

– Supporting incoming political appointees.

Senior career executives in acting roles must navigate their agency through a change of administrations while keeping operations on track and brief incoming political leaders as they prepare to assume their responsibilities.

– Preparing employees for the transition.

As career leaders who likely have been through previous presidential transitions, acting officials can share their lessons learned with other career employees and provide guidance as the agency prepares for new political leadership.

– Providing continuity between administrations.

Career civil servants have long-term experience and institutional knowledge that can benefit a new administration as appointees transition into their roles.

– Facilitating a smooth and seamless leadership transition.

The acting positions filled by senior career executives are often top leadership jobs, meaning their efforts are essential for the agency to prepare for the transition to a new administration. These career leaders share their knowledge with new appointees to help them accomplish the goals of a new administration.

Former Acting Secretary of Commerce Wynn Coggins advises that in order to successfully perform all of the required functions of an acting official, leaders should “rely on subject matter experts, work closely with the career civil servants and incoming political leadership, be adaptive, communicate effectively and often, and understand that your goal is to maintain continuity and keep the organization focused on delivering against the mission.”

As acting officials perform critical functions and provide continuity between administrations, it is important that they fully understand the issues cited by Coggins, the scope of their roles and what is needed.

The Partnership for Public Service offers our Ready to Act course for senior career executives to give them strategies to be successful and effectively transition into and out of acting leadership roles.

To ensure that Ready to Act provides acting officials with the relevant information to carry out their responsibilities, the program features faculty who have previously served in an acting capacity during prior transitions and can provide participants with real-world experience and important recommendations. For more information and to schedule a session of Ready to Act, check out our website.