Building a Cohesive Leadership Team is Hard

Sector 1: Government

In the federal government, each new administration leads to the turnover of approximately four thousand political appointees. This happens every four to eight years.

The political appointment process is not always solely based on capabilities related to the industry, government experience, or management style. Selections can be based on political favors, relationships, political posturing, and so forth. That’s not to say appointees are not competent; most are brilliantly competent.

Political leadership of agencies comes from varied backgrounds and experiences. Diversity is necessary and required, but many times members have clashing personality differences. In the private sector, personality meshing matters, and it’s promoted in part by the culture of the company. During any hiring process, the evaluation on both sides includes the likelihood that the new hire will fit into the company culture.

In government, the political team is thrown together quickly; generally, political employees are in place within six to twelve months of the new administration. This can make cohesiveness difficult.

Sector 2: Private

In the private sector, the leadership team is built over time by promotions from within the company, or by direct-admit hires from without. Long-term stability of the leadership is generally not a concern unless there is a pervasive issue that needs to be addressed, in which case there could be substantial turnover within the board of directors and senior leadership. However, even in that event, some senior leadership and board members may survive for continuity and stabilization.