Why did you enter public service?
I doubt it was to endure a fraught commute or ponder futility in the face of massive data breaches as you change your webTA time-and-attendance password every 90 days. Career civil servants face a challenging role. Working for the federal government is not just about getting a paycheck. Many of you signed up because you wanted to help people and have a deep love for your country.
The success of our government depends on GS-14s and GS-15s, the managers in federal service, and their effectiveness. It is the career leaders who must guide and inspire, while presidential appointees set the course. If the government is doing a good job for the nation, much of the credit goes to you.
Are you getting much credit?
The government began hiring contractors to replace full-time federal workers under the Reagan administration in the 1980s in an effort to control spending. Does it? Making sure those contracts actually save the government money, and whether they are administered fairly, has become one of the most important managerial jobs that federal workers must supervise.
Besides being replaced by contractors in what some call the “shadow government,” federal workers may start to wonder soon if they also could be replaced by robots. White House economic advisers reported this year that all American workers face increasing odds that a machine will do their job in years to come.
Already the flow of data collected by the federal government surpasses the human capacity to analyze it, and securing America’s computing resources has birthed a cyber industrial complex.
In the midst of these realities, the country is longing for a government that works for them, innovates, increases their pride and renews the spirit of service that made you apply for your government job in the first place. American people seek honesty, a real effort to spend the taxpayers’ money wisely, and respect for the trust they have placed in you.
Dedicated public servants ensure that programs are protected and given the greatest chance for success. We know real change can happen through government service, especially through good leadership. In fact, a spirit of service is hard wired in American government workers.
At Federal Times, we want to help you remember why you entered federal service, meet the many managerial challenges and inspire you to innovate. We bring you the news about technology that managers need to succeed and we help educate you as participants on the front lines of a cyberwar.
We help you manage employees and the contractors with whom you must work hand in hand. And we assist those contractors by stating the dangers and the opportunities, and indicating the crises and choices. We inform, protect and reflect.
For public service is the noblest calling.
