Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been calling for more resources for the State Department since he took over as defense chief in 2006. Gates understands that the military instrument of national power has limitations. A recent opinion piece in the Washington Times written by E. Wayne Merry titled, Foreign Service Leadership Gap?, highlights an area that may help resolve some of the State Departments resource problems.
In his opinion piece Merry zeroes in on the leadership, or lack there of, within the State Department. He argues that the State Department Director General position should be elevated to a level commensurate with that of a military service chief, and that the position should be given similar responsibilities. The military service chief is responsible for how their service will perform in 10 to 20 years’ time and assures that it receives the personnel resources, technology, and political support it requires.
Merry argues that the State Department promotes diplomatic rather than leadership skills and this would seem to be where the shortfall lies. An organization is only as good as its people AND the quality of the leadership provided those people. In my experience, the State Department has excellent people -- true patriots trying to serve our great country. However, being a good diplomat does not necessarily mean being a good leader.
Great people all trying to do great things does not lend itself to greatness unless a singular leader is empowered to make strategic decisions for the future of an organization – decisions on funding, manning, training, and equipping that organization for success. Obviously, the Secretary of State is not a good choice to get into the nuts and bolts of running the State Department. Merry’s suggestion of empowering the Director General makes sense.
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