How Many Years does it Take to Become a Change Agent?

In the two year journey around change agents, I put forth the notion that change agents have many years of experience, and develop reference points for success and failure. These reference points become especially crucial for when faced with crisis, or the need to make instantaneous decisions. It is through the many years experience that the change agent gathers the skill sets to navigate within a bureaucracy. A change agents’ ability to work with what I term ‘Functional Mavens’, ‘Dogged Conceptualizers’ and ‘Over-authorized Senior Directors’ comes only after s/he has developed an awareness of these roles, and how important they are to enacting change.

There is no rigid timeline to become a change agent. It does seem obvious that leaders at the top of massive bureaucracies must bring many years of experience to the role. Of course, experience alone is not enough. The core DNA of the change agent must feature a high degree of competence along with the many other skills cited in the paper.

It was interesting to note the signing of the 2007 Homeland Security Spending bill this week, where the President signaled displeasure with provisions around ‘required years of experience’ for the next FEMA administrator, as stipulated by legislation.

The bill regarding the FEMA administrators says:

"IN GENERAL- The Administrator shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
QUALIFICATIONS- The Administrator shall be appointed from among individuals who have–
(A) a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security; and
(B) not less than 5 years of executive leadership and management experience in the public or private sector."

President Bush said in his October 4th statement that, the appropriations bill language, "purports to limit the qualifications of the pool of persons from [which] the president may select the appointee in a manner that rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified by experience and knowledge to fill the office."

The House and the Senate have reacted negatively to the President’s implied statement that he may disregard Congressional guidance. It is difficult to envision the political leader of an agency the size and scope of FEMA with less than five years experience, and it will be interesting to see if the President nominates another FEMA Administrator before he leaves office. It will be even more interesting if he suggests that someone could lead that embattled agency with less the prescribed qualifications described above.

New Change Agent Book – Carly Speaks Out

Rising to the top of the corporate ladder is difficult for any person. For women, who hold fewer leadership positions within public and private companies, this ascent is especially difficult. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, did manage to make this rise and talks about it in her new book, "Tough Choices".

"It’s a book about what’s required of change agents," she told a women-in-business conference last month. "The agents of change are always resisted. … Some people fear the unknown, whatever it may be, even more than they fear the troublesome but known present"

For now, the future is bright for Fiorina, and this book will likely help her to achieve the next major moment in her career. Like any public figure, however, she takes her share of criticism. CIO Today wrote an article recently about her future that is worth quoting:

"Fiorina wins praise for defining a new vision for a slow-moving bureaucracy that had essentially missed the Internet revolution. Before Fiorina, HP had a murky strategy for linking its computer, server and printer businesses. She recast HP as an IBM-like strategic partner for customers trying to take advantage of the always-on aspects of the Web era… But generally she is considered to have fallen short on day-to-day operational matters — the things that prompt raves for her successor, Mark Hurd."

No change agent is perfect and it will take years to determine what her legacy will actually be. No matter what, aspiring change agents have much to learn from Carly Fiornia, by reading her book and in studying her example.

Welcome to the New GCA.com

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Welcome to GovernmentChangeAgents.com

During this time of tremendous global and domestic change, government officials and civilians alike seek knowledge and information and a space where they can share thoughts and opinions. To help, we have created GovernmentChangeAgents.com, a forum designed for government change agents to share best practices for enacting transformation within the government and beyond.

 Here is the paper by Daniel P. Forrester: The Government’s New Breed of Change Agents, Leading the War on Terror