TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2010
KLMNO
THE FEDERAL WORKER
` ON LEADERSHIP
EXPLORING LEADERSHIP IN THE NEWS
Turf battle slows corruption probes
Homeland Security IG often in conflict with Border Patrol, FBI
The nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and The Washington
Post’s On Leadership site have a new online feature, the Federal Coach, hosted by Tom Fox, director of the partnership’s Center for Government Leadership. The goal “is to engage, inspire and learn from you, the federal
worker, whether you are a new hire, a contractor or a manager at the highest departmental level.” There are three weekly installments: Mondays: Getting Ahead, advice on “leading up.” Wednesdays: View From the Top Floor, interviews with federal leaders. Fridays: Answering questions about navigating the federal work- force terrain. Below is Monday’s Getting Ahead.
On the court or in an agency, what matters is leadership
ike many of you, I’m enjoying March Madness, particularly all the last-minute upsets. Despite the frenetic action, I am awed by the player who gets the ball and the responsibility of taking the game-winning shot. Sometimes it is the most unlikely player who becomes the hero. Compare that with the federal government, where leaders at ev-
L
ery level are sometimes paralyzed, uncertain about who has the au- thority to make decisions and take action. The truth is, regardless of their position or formal authority, federal employees can overcome obstacles and take decisive action to lead. To be certain, the impediments are real and frustrating. On major issues, most federal employees need to coordinate with — and may actually need permission from— senior officials before acting. On day-to-day matters, they work mostly in teams of equals where no one steps up for fear of being labeled “arrogant.” As a result, deci- sions are left unmade until the next meeting or the one after that. We need leadership at all levels within our government to solve the many problems confronting our country. To help those strug- gling to find their leadership role, I have outlined a few strategies I’ve seen used to lead effectively regardless of level:
Do your job exceedingly well. This may seem painfully ob- vious, but I have seen folks trip up on their way to being promoted to leadership roles by focusing more on their future than on their pre- sent. No one hires an overweight personal trainer. You’ll be unable to influence others if you cannot perform your existing responsibili- ties. Focus first on being outstanding in your current role.
JIM COLE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Plan, decide and act. In
a recent On Leadership inter- view, Gen. David H. Petraeus talked about a sign he saw in Baghdad that read: “In the ab- sence of guidance or orders, fig- ure out what those orders should have been and execute aggres- sively.” The battlefield is an ex- treme example, but leading at your level requires appropriate action, too. While hierarchy ex-
ists for some circumstances, it can be paralyzing. At the beginning of an assignment, don’t be afraid to ask whether the next step re- quires approval. You may have more authority than you think.
Help others, especially your boss. I am not advocating
that anyone become a yes-man or -woman, but you will never be seen as a leader until you strengthen others. For years, Kobe Bryant was considered the best in- dividual NBA basketball player, but it wasn’t until he won a cham- pionship by strengthening his teammates that he was seen as a leader. Do everything you can to help your boss and teammates be more effective, and you will begin emerging as a leader.
fedcoach@ourpublicservice.org. Our discussion continues Wednesday, when we talk to the government’s first chief perform- ance officer, Jeff Zients, about leadership.
— Tom Fox
Visit On Leadership at views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/fedcoach.
Stopping Saturday mail gets support, poll says
In a new Washington Post poll, most respondents said they support a proposal to save the Postal Service money by switching to five-day mail delivery, but a majority don’t want post offices to be closed. A23
Deterrence a priority at Strategic Command
Stratcom’s commander, Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, is faced with many heavy and varied responsibilities, but says he is focusing on three areas: “cyberspace, space and global strike in the form of certain nuclear deterrence.” A23
FED FACES
Food scientist shoots for the moon
Vickie Kloeris, NASA’s “Top Chef”: Manager, International Space Station Food System and Space Food Systems Laboratory, Johnson Space Center
Best known for: Considered the
“Julia Child” of NASA’s food space program for her work developing more than 60 appetizing and nu- tritious food items for astronauts traversing the universe, includ- ing shrimp cocktail, vegetable quiche and cornbread stuffing.
Government service: Inspired
by an encounter with several NASA food scientists, Kloeris de- cided that she had found her call- ing in 1985 when she went to work for NASA’s food space pro- gram.
Biggest challenge: Developing
that have a long shelf life, that create no odors and that meet the varying predilections and dietary guidelines of the astronauts. Quote: “It is a dream job for a food scientist to contribute to the space program. I have enjoyed every minute of being at NASA.”
—From the Partnership for Public Service
COURTESY OF NASA’S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
healthy food products that are tasty, that can easily be prepared in a zero-gravity environment,
For more on Vickie Kloeris, visit
washingtonpost.com/fedpage
Send your nominations for Fed Faces to
Fedfaces@washpost.com.
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by Andrew Becker
Offices charged with ferreting out corruption among U.S. border and immigration employees are engaged in a turf battle that has delayed some investigations and threatens to undermine a host of enforcement actions, records and interviews show. The conflict pits the inspector
general’s office in the Department of Homeland Security against the agency’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) di- vision and the FBI. The turf battle came to a head about a week before a failed Christmas Day terrorist attack aboard an airliner, when Assistant In- spector General Thomas M. Frost or- dered the top inter- nal affairs official at CBP to drop any in- vestigations under- way outside the in- spector general’s super- vision. In a Dec. 16 memo, Frost or-
dered James Tomsheck, the CBP commissioner for internal affairs, “to cease criminal investigations of any matter involving a DHS program or employee.” Frost also ordered CBP to stop participating in task forces or sharing informa- tion with other agencies unless coordinated through the inspec- tor general’s office. Some investigators think the order contradicts calls by the Homeland Security Department, Congress and the White House demanding increased agency co- operation. But an IG official said it was meant to improve internal- affairs inquiries. Frost declined to comment, but his deputy, James Gaughran, said having too many investigating agencies risks intelligence leaks that can jeopardize investigators’ safety.
“If there’s going to be one focal point of sharing information, it should be the [inspector gener- al],” he said. Tomsheck, while not directly commenting on the memo, said in a statement that his office is committed to “genuine coopera- tion and collaboration” with oth- er agencies to address workforce corruption.
When the memo was issued,
CBP’s internal affairs office was involved in about 100 criminal corruption inquiries, including joint investigations with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Adminis- tration, and the Bureau of Alco- hol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo- sives. The cases cover allegations including taking bribes from drug traffickers and improper searches of law enforcement databases. The memo comes as the num- ber of corruption investigations rises. In the last fiscal year, the in- spector general’s office opened more than 80 corruption cases in-
Keith A. Byers, who until recently was the agency’s national coordi- nator of border corruption task forces. He said information shar- ing is critical. San Diego is home to the busiest U.S. land border crossing, according to CBP. Tension persists, however, over cases such as that of Border Patrol agents Raul and Fidel Villarreal, brothers suspected of assisting human-smugglers. Both have pleaded not guilty to bribery, hu- man-smuggling and other charg- es.
The task force joined an in- vestigation into the brothers’ ac-
200,000 DHS employees. The FBI has about 120 agents working the southwest border. Part of the debate is whether CBP internal affairs agents have the authority to seek and use wiretaps, search warrants and other tools. ICE and the inspector general’s office have resisted CBP’s efforts to have such author- ity because they fear it would en- croach on their investigative turf, said Ralph Basham, a retired CBP commissioner. Former ICE chief Julie Myers
Wood said the issue is more com- plicated. Anti-corruption efforts
S
B3
The memo comes as the number of corruption investigations rises.
volving immigration and border officers in the four states ad- joining Mexico, the most since 2005, according to statistics ob- tained through the federal Free- dom of Information Act. Nationwide, the office had more than 230 ongoing corrup- tion investigations as of the end of the last fiscal year. The FBI has more than 110 open border-relat- ed cases. The United States has spent bil- lions of dollars in recent years to bolster border enforcement, in- cluding a doubling of the number of Border Patrol agents. Officials say the crackdown has spurred drug and human-smuggling gangs to redouble efforts to re- cruit agents. More than 100 CBP employees have been arrested, in- dicted or convicted in corruption- related cases since October 2004. Friction between the inspector
general and other agencies has roots in San Diego, where a feder- al anti-corruption task force be- gan about 15 years ago. San Diego is also where the FBI has more open corruption cases than any- where else in the country, said
tivities launched by the inspector general’s office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS’s investigative arm. But the squads eventually part-
ed ways. Investigators say too many peo-
ple knew about the probe, raising suspicions that the brothers were tipped.
CBP has added more than 200 internal affairs agents since 2006. The FBI in the past year has ex- panded the number of task forces focused on uncovering border corruption from six to 14 and hopes to create around 20 nation- wide. Gaughran said the inspec- tor general’s office has 200 agents assigned to investigate more than
on washingtonpost.com
The Memo
Read it in its entirety at
www.washingtonpost.
com/fedpage. Learn more about the Center for Investigative Reporting at
www.centerforinvestigative reporting/oorg/about.
FEDERAL DIARY
Joe Davidson
Joe Davidson is away. He returns with his column on Wednesday.
Pay stubs for some workers will go electronic
ERIC GAY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Of course, these ideas are just starting points for leading more ef-
by Ed O’Keefe
The federal government will
start transmitting pay informa- tion for executive branch employ- ees electronically, the Office of Management and Budget an- nounced Monday. The New Orleans-based Na- tional Finance Center, which
on washingtonpost.com
Have you applied for a federal job whose application period closed very shortly after it was announced?
If so, tell us what happened.
federaleye@washingtonpost.com and include your full name, home town and — if you are a federal worker — the agency for which you work. Your answers might be used in Friday’s Washington Post.
processes payroll statements for more than 140 offices across the three branches of government, plans to start sending leave and earnings statements to workers electronically, although workers can choose to still receive paper versions, OMB said. The change will save taxpayers about $4 mil- lion annually. Workers at the De- partment of Homeland Security
will be the first to see the changes in the coming weeks, followed lat- er by employees at other executive branch departments, including Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. The move stems from an OMB contest last fall that sought cost- cutting ideas from federal work- ers. “This is a small change, but a
powerful example of how federal employees can use their experi- ence and unique knowledge to streamline what works in the fed- eral government and end what doesn’t — saving taxpayer dollars and improving performance,” OMB Director Peter R. Orszag wrote on his blog Monday in an- nouncing the decision.
ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com
need more funding and focus, Myers said. But she balked at giv- ing CBP agents criminal-investi- gator status because she said it would blur responsibilities. In San Diego, Michael Skerlos,
a supervising federal prosecutor assigned to mediate task force is- sues, said the U.S. attorney’s office thinks the collaborative model is the best for rooting out corrup- tion. Skerlos added that he has spent the past six months in- creasing communication among the task force agencies. “It’s dangerous for different
agencies to work [separately] on the same case. It’s inefficient and wholly ineffective,” he said.
Becker is a reporter for the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, Calif.
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