With over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector, former DHS Under Secretary and State Senator Chris Cummiskey offers these observations on how to be a successful leader in organizations both large and small.
A Guide for Existing and Emerging Leaders
These are incredibly challenging times. There is a great deal of change happening in Washington D.C., against a backdrop of strife and tumult. This will make the job of governing more difficult and complex for the new administration. Over the next several months, President-elect Biden and his team will fill approximately 4,000 important jobs across the Federal government to face these challenges.
Some of the new appointees will have deep experience with the Federal government, while others will come from the private sector, academia, foundations, think tanks or the non-profit world. Some will even come from state government, as I did in 2009.
Over the last thirty years, I have had the privilege of having several really rewarding jobs. I served as a state representative, a state senator, a state agency director, a state CIO, a chief of staff, an acting under secretary/deputy under secretary in a large Federal agency, and now as a small business owner and cyber expert.
My experience in working with a wide range of cabinet secretaries, CEOs, senators, governors, legislators, and senior managers of all sorts is there are two types of leaders – those who are defined as leaders because they hold an important title and those who embody a deeper understanding of how to be successful in organizations by focusing on the most important factors that drive performance.
I have boiled down these elements for success into Cummiskey’s Six “P’s”. This approach to leadership has worked for me in both large and small organizations. By mastering the interrelationship between these key considerations, a leader can significantly improve the chances they will be successful in meeting their goals and those of the organizations they serve. This will be particularly useful for many of the new Biden/Harris appointees who are waiting in the wings.
1. PURSE – SHOW ME THE MONEY
It seems inherently sensible that understanding the money in your organization is particularly important, but many leaders don’t take the time to master the budget process of how funds are accumulated and spent. As a freshman member of the Arizona State House of Representatives at the age of 26, I had grand plans for changing the status quo in state government. It took about five minutes after being sworn-in to get a strong dose of reality. Representative Polly Rosenbaum, at the time the longest serving state legislator in the country at 96 years old, pulled me aside on the house floor and gave me two pieces of advice.
She said there are two things I needed to know, “Number one, freshman should be seen and not heard, and number two I will help you get on the appropriations committee because to be effective as a member you have to understand how the money comes in, where it goes and how that’s decided.” That was good advice. Too often, leaders only have a cursory knowledge of the budget process and how decisions get made with resources. Whether in state government, at the Federal level or in the private sector, one must look deeper into the process by which funds flow and master the decision-making that dictates where the dollars end up. That way, if you have the chance to advocate for your position, you will be better equipped to be successful. I didn’t completely change the face of state government, but my constituents were much better served by a lawmaker who knew how to work the appropriations process.
2. PEOPLE – IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE
Leaders or managers that think they achieve success all alone are sadly mistaken. In all the jobs I ever held, teams of talented individuals who shared a common set of goals and objectives were the ones responsible for the real gains. Former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano had a terrific way of hiring great people for her cabinet/staff and then getting out of their way and letting them do the job. As a governor, she set the vision and strategic direction and expected her team to execute. In most cases they did. She also provided the air cover for her leadership team. As the state CIO and state technology agency director, there were many times when there were disagreements with the legislature or external stakeholders. In all those scenarios, I never wondered if the governor had my back. The lesson for leaders is to back your employees. Most of the time, they are working tirelessly to carry out your directives. That is particularly true in Federal agencies. As an example, when I was at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) there were approximately, 175 political appointees in a department with 240,000 employees. There is no way to be successful without the support of the career staff. Some of the folks that were appointed at the same time I was in 2009, figured since they were appointed by the president or secretary, they could steam roll the SES or GS schedule employees. That was a big mistake. In my six years at DHS, I found that by working in concert with the career staff, I was able to advance nearly all the initiatives that were important to department leadership and the Obama administration. Incoming DHS Secretary Ali Mayorkas is a master of bringing this approach to fruition. As Deputy Secretary from 2013-2017, his respect for all employees of the department was well known. He also showed a fundamental desire to be inclusive and seek out diversity in hiring, which also served him well.
3. POLICY – IDEAS MATTER
Sometimes policy discussions can seem disconnected from real world concerns, more of an academic exercise than a matter of concern for a broader audience. Even in today’s polarized environment, the reality is that ideas still matter. Certainly, there will be disagreements in deliberative bodies like Congress and state legislatures, but ideas matter in all sorts of forums. Often, ideas from employees on the front lines are much more relevant to accomplishing the mission. That’s why DHS is often called a department of “operators”. The men and women protecting the airport checkpoints, the ports, our borders, or those responding to disasters or cyber attacks know by experience what kinds of ideas will improve performance and efficiency. Those in leadership positions just need to take the time to listen.
4. PROCESS – THE PATH TO YES
One thing you learn early on is that even the best ideas can get sidetracked in all sorts of ways on the path to adoption. In serving as a leader in the state senate, I learned that counting votes is more art than science. There are all sorts of reasons why people will support or oppose ideas that get placed on the table. Even the best ideas don’t stand a chance unless it can run the process gauntlet. In the state legislature, the magic numbers for success were 16-31-1. That represented a majority in the state senate, a majority in the state house and the signature of the governor. Without that combination, ideas would fall by the wayside until the next session. This scenario can be applied to all sorts of government and business settings. Most organizations have an established process for making decisions. Mastering those processes can often mean the difference between success and failure. The most successful leaders I have encountered knew how to make the process work to their advantage. Know the rules of engagement and how your organization gets to yes.
5. POLITICS – THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS
When I was out on the campaign trail, I used to start with a joke about the definition of politics by saying, “You know what the definition of politics is don’t you? It comes from the Latin, Poli, meaning many and tics, meaning, blood sucking insects!” That always got a laugh. The true meaning of politics has little to do with party identification. Politics in organizations is the power of building and sustaining relationships over time. One of the reasons I have always been a big fan of Shakespeare is because most of the plays and characters tell a story about human nature. Most folks in organizations want to do a good job and advance the mission. That can be the driving force behind building strong relationships in the workplace. In the Arizona State Senate, the last of the great Western cowboy legislators, the late Senator Jack Brown used to say, “Well, where you stand depends on where you sit.” Jack knew what so many good leaders know – that your beliefs, attitudes, and opinions are shaped by where you’ve been in life. Take the time to understand why people you work with feel the way they do. Then harness that power of that knowledge to advance your goals and those of your team.
6. PRESS – ALL THINGS EXTERNAL
For the final “P”, I use the term loosely to define all the external forces that impact decision-making in an organization. In Federal service, one of the tests for more consequential decisions was, “Do you feel comfortable having your actions printed on A1 of the Washington Post, above the fold?” At DHS, external influencers often meant a complex constellation of entities that included: the public, the White House, Congress, media, interest groups, private sector companies, state/local /tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, foreign governments, and many others. Most of the time, the reason these external forces were asserting themselves was to influence the outcomes of the decisions coming out of the department. As a leader in an organization, you must understand the interplay among all the external stakeholders. Obviously, not all external pressures are created equally. Prioritizing the incoming traffic and forthrightly communicating your position in an open fashion can go a long way in enduring the slings and arrows that are often hurled. At the end of the day, adherence to the constitution, laws and regulations that governed were the most important considerations.
Cummiskey’s Six “P’s”, when taken together over thirty years, have served me well in government and the private sector. Whether you are the head of the organization, an officer, manager, or team member, understanding these tenants and incorporating them into your leadership style can make a real difference in your level of success.
Chris Cummiskey is a former acting Under Secretary at DHS, state senator and state CIO, who now advices companies and governments in cybersecurity, acquisition, technology, and management issues.