A Change Agent for President?
March 22, 2006
An article by Michelle Grattan in last month’s Australian online periodical, "The Age," entitled "Following Howard's way to victory," offers an interesting summary of John Howard’s ten year career as the Australian Prime Minister. The article looks at the last decade in terms of change, and how PM Howard has quietly facilitated rapid transformation in Australia. This article discusses everything from vast economic expansion to the rebirth of a national identity. One quote, from lecture given in the beginning of 2005, labels PM Howard as a change agent. The full quote reads:
"In my view, he is best understood as a change-agent and I believe this is how Howard sees himself. ....recently he quoted Burke approvingly saying, ‘a state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation’. Howard’s record shows him as a pragmatist, uninterested in utopian visions, but focused on change that is achievable and utilitarian."
This perspective gives rise to an interesting question: Can a politician who is elected to the highest level of federal authority be considered a change agent? If we consider a few characteristics identifying change agents that are discussed in the whitepaper, and remove them from the context of the U.S. government, it could be argued that Australia has found just that with PM Howard. He possesses qualities that align him with the four profiles of a change agent. More accurately, he acts as a hybrid of two archetypes: He has the experience and vision of a Transformational Leader who simultaneously exhibits the brash authoritative manner of an Over-authorized Senior Director. He faces similar institutional challenges as government workers in the United States, although instead grappling with the complication of inter-agency cooperation, he has to deal with a system of partisanship and checks and balances.
At the same time, Prime Minister Howard lacks one key element that is used to help identify and understand a government change agent. Change Agents often operate in challenging environments grapple with Transformation at any level. In contrast, a politician operates within the very system that supports and builds change. For example, voters generally expect some degree of change from politicians, which is why it is rare to hear of a campaign platform based on constancy. This is an important distinction to make. Although change agents, both elected politicians and agency employee’s, are trying to enact change, only one of these groups faces an institutional challenge. This speaks to the unending determination a government change agent must possess, especially when operating within an infrastructure that isn’t designed to support their cause. Such determination makes change agents a true rarity in federal government.
Lynn Torres highlights this dilemma, "While all potential change agents have a great vision, they will eventually brush up against the infrastructure. A successful policy interpretation or policy / law change, with willing participants from a spectrum of disciplines, will be required to push the vision from a pilot program to long-term change."
With Prime Minister John Howard, the sheer volume of change he has overseen warrants recognition. Paul Kelly pays Howard an enormous compliment by saying, "Howard's governance record will be more conspicuous for the changes he made rather than the changes he refused to make". Few people elected to public service can look back on their careers and claim to be remembered with such accolades.
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