Q&A > Richard Hoagland
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What inspired or motivated you to become a diplomat?
Straight out of college, I taught English as a foreign language in then-Zaire. Somehow, an American diplomat in his suit and tie showed up in the isolated jungle village where I was living and working. I asked him what a diplomat does because I might like to do that in the future. He looked at me, a skinny and long-haired nobody, and sniffed, “You’d never make it!” He was wrong.
Who was your best boss and why?
Ambassador Tom Pickering in Moscow. When I arrived at post as his press spokesman, he immediately called me into his office and said, “Only two people in this embassy speak on the record—me and you. And if you fuck up, you’re on the next plane outta here.” When I told my colleagues, they were aghast. No! That was empowering. I loved it.
What would you tell your A-100 self?
Pretty much what I always did. Always give 110% and always work within the system but never be afraid to take risks to do the right thing.
Describe a day when you felt you made a difference.
Actually, it was a series of days. Immediately after 9/11, I negotiated the agreements that gave the United States temporary air bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Normally, such agreements might take as long as 18 months to achieve, but we got it done within days. In Tashkent, we worked straight through for 36 hours. When I finally straggled back to the Intercontinental Hotel, people were gathered around a TV in the lobby. One pulled me over to watch and said, “Look! Look! You’re bombing the Taliban in Afghanistan!” That’s how fast the agreement was implemented.
What has a colleague done for you that made you wish all of us had a colleague like that?
I once asked Political Under Secretary Rich Armitage what I should do in a particular situation. He simply growled, “Do the right thing, goddammit!” That was enormously empowering, and in many subsequent difficult situations, I never forgot his words.
What was the mistake you learned the most from?
At one post when I was still a mid-level officer, a brand new junior officer walked into my office, threw himself on my couch, and proclaimed, "You might be my boss and I’ll give you some credit, but I make my own decisions.” I thought I could carefully help him become a team player. Nope. It went downhill from there. I should have come down hard on him at that first moment.
What was your best and worst experience working with the interagency?
Best? I always found that my Station colleagues were excellent and important team players. At one post where I was ambassador, the chief of station confided an under-cover operation to me that was not only highly sensitive but decidedly risky, actually the kind of thing even an ambassador might not be told. I just said, “Thanks. I trust you. Keep me informed.” It succeeded. Worst? At one post where I was CDA, USAID had a questionable project “shoveling money out the door” that went badly awry with corruption and made national headlines. They had never briefed me on what they were really doing, let alone kept me up to date. Naturally, I had to take public responsibility for that.
What is the one tour you’d recommend FSOs consider?
This is more general than a specific tour. Go back to Washington after two, no more than three, tours abroad. No matter how successful you are at post, you need to become known in Washington on a day-to-day basis. That’s how you get a really good onward assignment. Too many officers, for various personal or family or financial reasons, want to stay overseas for as many tours as possible, but that really, in the end, doesn’t advance a career.
If the State Department had a mascot, what animal should it be?
The lark ascending.
What was the biggest challenge of FS life for your family, and how did you manage it?
I was single during my career, and so this answer is more generic. FSOs tend to become obsessed with their work from the moment they get up until they fall back into bed. Please be sure to make time for your private life and for developing—outside of the office!—strong, healthy, and enduring personal relationships.
What is your leadership philosophy? What tips would you give a first-time manager?
Never, ever micromanage, but keep your eyes open. Empower your people. When they make mistakes, help them learn from their mistakes.
What would you change about the State Department?
Seemingly endless, meandering meetings where the leader of the meeting doesn’t rein in those who like to say everything they know and then say it twice. Meetings should be crisp and goal-oriented, not ego performances.
What were your pet peeves?
The main one? The tendency in the State Department to push one-size-fits-all ideology rather than taking time for realpolitik. Too often, in the field we would receive ideological talking points that were drafted and approved by what I call the cubicloids—i.e., the Washington types who had never served abroad, who had next to no idea of ground realities.
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