Tradecraft > Partnerships

John Heffern

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Be Service-orientated and Mission-focused: The best FSOs focus on service. In our rush to complete the tasks at hand, or to pursue that “career enhancing” job, we sometimes forget the public service aspect of the job. The State Department offers many ways to serve, so we need to place that goal front and center. Being orientated towards service and on the mission helps us stay focused on the right parts of the job—things that advance the mission—and not just the inbox or the short-term bottom line. Also, people can put up with a lot if they feel they are serving something bigger than themselves.
In Indonesia, Ambassador Cameron Hume told us he didn’t want people around him who were “problem-solvers”—which puzzled me because I saw that as one of my biggest strengths. But I came to realize that he wanted people who could leapfrog problems or bypass them altogether. Focusing on the larger mission, with creativity and a broad perspective, instead of fretting about what we can’t change, was key. I had to reset my focus from assessing day-to-day problems to achieving the broader mission. 

Build Strong Teams: Achieving our mission is beyond the reach of any one individual, so we need to build a strong, balanced team that draws on the strengths of everyone. Ambassador Nick Burns was confident enough to pick a very strong deputy at USNATO in Toria Nuland which energized the entire NATO team. He also wasn’t afraid to learn from his team, which empowered all of us. When I was Ambassador, I specifically tried to recruit a strong Econ-coned DCM to complement my lack of experience in that area. The right personnel decisions require self-confidence and a focus on the mission, leading everyone to greater success. 

The Team is Bigger than You Think: In addition, our teams are not just Foreign Service Officers. The local staff in our Embassies is one of our greatest resources. They know the country better than we ever will. Everyone is in this together. We need to listen to them and respect their contributions. It’s essential to have open lines of communication, including direct contact with local staff and entry level officers. This contact can be uncomfortable for midlevel management but, with a little reassurance, good managers adapt and see it as win-win for all. This teamwork also requires working closely with other agencies and with specialists—especially back in D.C. where they are often the Department’s experts in any field. Finally, a good leader lets his/her team excel and doesn’t take credit. A good leader looks good when the team looks good. That approach is more effective, and also the right thing to do.
Strong teams, especially abroad, require caring for the families and for the people on your team. My first boss in Indonesia, Lynn Pascoe along with his wife Diane, was the best at building a strong embassy community. They taught my wife Libby and me the importance of leading by example, and leading as a part of the team. Life in the Foreign Service is stressful and we demand of lot of people; happy families and a sense of purpose make that life worthwhile. Excellence can be sustained when people like what they do and know why they are doing it. 

Personnel Problems Only Get Worse with Age: Unfortunately, building good teams also requires tackling personnel problems head on. Too often, FSOs leave personnel problems for their successors. One of my regrets from earlier in my career was wasting two-years with one glaring HR problem. I should have addressed it sooner and more decisively. Of course, the supervisor needs to take all the necessary steps, such as counseling, which takes time. But I should have moved more decisively to replace this officer, because personnel problems only get worse with age.

Good Teams Require Diversity: The State Department needs to do more to create a strong, balanced team of people with diverse experiences and perspectives. This requires hiring for diversity across a number of different areas, including geographic balance. Academic excellence is not enough—the State Department is too disconnected from the American people we’re supposed to represent. Now more than ever, we need to take a broader approach to recruiting and hiring by reaching out to different communities across the country.

Build Partnerships to Advance the Mission: The State Department can’t achieve everything on its own. Almost everything we do requires partners—in our host country, the interagency and with friends and allies around the world. We need to do a better job building these relationships to advance our mission, and we need to reach beyond the traditional partners in the foreign ministries and international organizations. Unconventional partnerships, including public-private partnerships, can offer real payoffs and help leapfrog problems. Developing these partnerships requires getting out of the embassy, working through colleagues in USAID or PD, and through social media. When we engage potential partners with respect, an open mind, and genuine curiosity, more often than not that approach will be reciprocated, and mutually beneficial projects will result.
One of the most successful projects during my time in Armenia came about because Libby and I followed our curiosity and explored some amazing places in the country, even though there was no obvious policy benefit. Over time, however, that exploration sparked some ideas that developed into major projects involving USAID, local entrepreneurs, diasporans, the World Bank, and others. The lesson I learned from this experience was that when I follow my curiosity and am open to new experiences, good things can happen. 

Don’t Rely Solely on Formal Channels: In the EUR front office, we worked directly with more than 50 U.S. embassies and missions. The most successful embassies engaged us and other key D.C. stakeholders early and often, outside formal channels. Whether the ambassador was career or non-career, whether the formal reporting was first class or less than first class, the most successful embassies didn’t rely solely on front channel cables to advance their case. Instead the best had regular formal and informal contact with everyone in town to ensure that they never surprised DC and that they knew what DC cared about.
In Washington, where very few decisions are made solely by the State Department, the interagency process is critical—but you can’t just rely on the formal process alone. You need to get out from your desk and develop allies outside the State Department. This requires informal communication and time to build relationships within DC as well. The most successful diplomats in the interagency process always make sure to know the positions of the other key actors to use the meeting or paper process to advance the policy or goal. 

Know Why First: The State Department’s mission to “protect the American people and promote their interests and values around the world” is a broad one. Our stated mission remains “interests and values.” It is essential that we stick to these fundamentals (especially during political turmoil), in what we do, write and say. We need to understand why we are doing what we do, and promote that “why,” promote that purpose. Active dialogue within the building, with missions and interagency partners provides an understanding of our priorities and redlines. This dialogue will also give us a better idea of how far we can push an issue, where we have room to be creative, and when we need to keep our heads down. But the key is to stick to the fundamentals, to always push for what we know is right.

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