Interviews > Stephen Mull

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What can someone learn working on the 7th Floor learn that one wouldn't otherwise?

The most valuable thing I think is it gives you a vantage point on the whole operations of the State Department from the people to what resources are available in different parts of the Department, to solving foreign policy problems.  You get to peek into every aspect of the State Department and to know so many people that helps you establish great relationships that form a network for your career. The experience responding to crises such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster is invaluable.

If you had one piece of advice to folks who are aspiring to aspire to have an activist role in their careers, what would this be?

If I had to sum it up in just a couple of words, I'd quote the comedian Ellen DeGeneres and tell people to be kind—be kind in every aspect of the job; to look for opportunities to help colleagues when they need help and support them so they can achieve their goals; be kind to your subordinates certainly. And if you can do that, it just makes it a lot easier for you to build the kinds of coalitions and networks that you need to succeed in a complicated bureaucracy like the one in the State Department.

You've spent a lot of time on really tough diplomatic problems. What would you tell folks to keep in mind if they are working on problems that are diplomatically and politically sensitive?

I encourage all to take on hardship assignments, but note that Iraq and Afghanistan are not the only hardship assignments. So are jobs in Washington that focus on really controversial, difficult issues. I think it's important to seek out jobs that are hard, that are challenging in every sense, because it just gives you so much more experience. 

So in my case, the most difficult domestic job I had was working on the Iran nuclear deal which was opposed not only by many Republicans, but also significant Democrats in Congress. That job was like working in a sizzling frying pan! The best way to survive in a job like that is remember you are a Foreign Service Officer. You're not a political person. You are a professional problem solver and a truth teller sometimes telling an inconvenient truth to the political leadership. It is critical to do your job telling the truth the best way you can with integrity and bravery, sometimes because there's going to be bad news that you have to deliver.

During testimony on Capitol Hill I was addressing a pretty hostile audience and when you are faced with hostility, it is important not to take it personally and to remain cool and focused on what you understand the truth to be.  In our role as policy experts, we should stick to the facts and don't get baited into becoming politicized.

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