Federal Coach: How to Overcome Bureaucracy so You Can Innovate

I am in a federal office that places a high value on innovation, yet there are so many bureaucratic obstacles to being innovative. Are there any good models you can recommend where federal programs have been both innovative and produced valuable results? -Federal Supervisor (GS-14), Department of Homeland Security

I can share plenty of examples about innovative federal programs that have produced measurable results, but your real question seems to be about models for navigating obstacles that inevitably pop up between generating an idea and actual implementation.

So, let’s first respond to the question with a story that should provide you with some inspiration. In case you missed it, The Washington Post profiled Diane Braunstein last month. Why? Leading a program called Compassionate Allowances at the Social Security Administration, Braunstein mastered the “minutia” of process and regulation to create a fast-track system for terminally and seriously ill Americans to receive approval for Social Security disability benefits in days or weeks instead of months or years.

That’s the inspiration, but what about the model you’re after? Well, there’s no one model to navigate the bureaucracy – each agency has its own after all – but there are some lessons learned from Braunstein’s and other federal innovators’ experiences applicable to federal leaders.

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