Top dogs, same dogs
According to an often-repeated bit of common wisdom, change comes from the top. But how often does that happen?
Various news organizations today have reported the names of several people who — according to the sources of news entities such as The Washington Post — will be named to top administration posts by President Barack Obama.
According to those reports, these individuals will play musical chairs. Gen. David Petraeus reportedly will replace CIA Director Leon Panetta, who will move into the top Pentagon post, replacing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who used to be CIA director. Yeesh.
Which got us to thinking: Although they’ve all held (or reportedly will hold) some of the same jobs, Panetta, Gates and Petraeus are pretty different guys.
Which got us to thinking some more: Anyone with the government for more than a couple of years has experienced a changing of the guard. And they must have cataloged a few observations about such changeovers along the way.
According to an often-repeated bit of common wisdom, change comes from the top. But how often does that happen?
So our question for you is: At the rank-and-file level, how much difference has a past change at the top really made at your agency? Is the effect greater at some agencies than others? Or do the changes have a day-to-day effect only in the executive ranks?
What’s your experience?
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