Sound Bite Leadership Creates Frantic Governance and Customer Strife

Organization personnel become ineffective when overwhelmed by chaos and fear and customers suffer

Welcome to the gazebo! Take a seat. I’m honored you’re here!

---

This Week’s Summary:

• DEI changes shamefully jeopardize medical care to gay and trans veterans

• Executive orders that get sound bites cause confusion and lack detail

• 1.4% of American workers are impacted by Executive Order chaos

• Millions of Americans and World citizens are impacted by this chaos

• Watch for an exodus of the most qualified people from public service

• We all lose when the best and brightest go elsewhere

---

As a veteran, I am fortunate to have access to the VA Healthcare System and I get all of my medical needs through my local VA Hospital (Hines) here in the Chicago area. Whatever you may have heard, I can say that my healthcare needs have been met as well, if not better, by the VA Medical System than I had experienced through prior civilian providers. Those who serve the veterans at Hines, from the administrative folks, to the nurses, to the doctors, are respectful, professional, and motivated to “Serve those who have served.” There is a positive, welcoming energy at Hines that helps to make a visit to the doctor less stressful. I appreciate it and make an effort to let them know that their work is valued.

In my most recent routine physical visit I was talking to the one of the nurses about recent political changes, and she mentioned something that saddened me deeply. I thought you should know about it.

“If you were a gay or trans veteran, I don’t know if I would be able to treat you based on the new DEI rules.” I was stunned! How can the VA deny a veteran the medical care he or she has earned because of an arbitrary new designation other than “Veteran!” It’s not her but her leaders that are the problem.

Image created by Ed Paulson using ChatGPT. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.

The nurse was clearly troubled by what she was saying and her sadness impacted me. This must be happening all across government today as the rug is pulled out from under so many and in such a blunt instrument way. I can only imagine the sadness permeating organizations like USAID¹ which provides funding for food, medical, and other assistance to people around the world. It was just shut down and all funding, including that already allocated by Congress, has been stopped. Elizabeth Shackelford wrote a great piece on this for the Chicago Tribune which I hope you and our Congressional leaders will read. For the folks at USAID, their work isn’t just for a paycheck. It is a mission that makes a difference in the lives of others and creates international goodwill towards the USA.

Within the flurry of DEI and other executive orders passed down recently, the new rule regarding veteran benefits appears to be “Thank you for your service, except if you are trans or gay?” What a crock of SH*T!

When ideology becomes law it can have a serious impact on people’s lives. What are the affected veterans to do? Where do they turn for their healthcare needs, especially those who may have some service-related injury? Remember: Bullets don’t care if you are trans, gay, straight, male, female, old, or young. They injure all on a completely equal basis which means that our obligation to make sure that they can live a healthy life after serving must be fulfilled. Sadly, the new administration does not appear to feel that way.

Not to mention that these harmful changes can severely erode the hard-earned trust that the VA has worked so carefully to restore since the Vietnam Era. You older veterans know what I am talking about. It took a lot for me to trust the VA for my healthcare.

You know the saying about trust: It takes years to develop and can be lost in a moment, and once lost it is hard to get it back.

OK, Ed, you may be thinking, this is a management newsletter. How does it relate? Simple. Management involves people, and people work more effectively in an environment of trust, not one of intimidation and fear. Sure, you can get short term results with threats, but lasting change and innovation happen when the culture supports open engagement, not fear of retaliation.

I, like many of you, have been overwhelmed by the quantity and range of draconian changes being handed down by the new administration in the past few days. To me this just looks like another attempt for our new President to gain media attention by creating sound bites that not only stroke his ego, but also help satisfy the appetite for retribution of those who propelled him into office. (BTW … remember … there was less than a 2% popular vote difference, contrary to the “mandate” perception the Administration would like us to believe. This means that a LOT – nearly half of voters - did not vote for these changes, me included, but nobody seems to be talking about that. Where are the Democrats in all of this? It is like they have been stunned into silent inaction.)

As confusing as it might be for us as citizens, imagine how confusing and stressful it must be for the government employees who are charged with immediately implementing these changes, or losing their jobs! The fact that any of these policies are being implemented at all is a testimony to the professionalism and competence of these employees, contrary to what their current leadership may be saying about them. In case you were wondering, there are 2.3 million government employees who make up about 1.4% of the total US workforce, working in 650 different occupations across 100 agencies.²

Some say that the best leadership style “asks forgiveness not permission” but that approach is not without its cost. And that cost will likely show up in the lives and performance of the employees.

Imagine yourself as an employee who has just been threatened with the wholesale elimination of your entire agency. (Yes. It is happening in case you have not been following the news.)

Or again imagine you are an employee who has just seen a totally unqualified person installed as your new agency leader. Assume that you also know that this person got the job not based on qualifications and competence, but on ring (a*s?) kissing such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who is against vaccines or Pete Hegseth who may be a veteran but who has no experience managing a large organization of any kind, let alone like the PENTAGON!

Now picture that you are an expert in your field and working for an agency like the EPA, CDC, or others, and realize that you will be required to comply with whatever mandates this unqualified person lays upon you, no matter how irrational or unfounded, or immediately lose your job. What would you do?

I know what I do and actually have done when faced with this situation. I would seriously look for another job outside of government. And, let’s face it, the private sector likely offers better pay and benefits. Don’t take my word for it. Check out this CBO report comparing wages and benefits between private sector and government employees.

Many public sector employees work for the government out of a sense of public service as well as the belief that their job will be stable for life. It is a sort of trade off. They get the peace of mind that comes with job security and are willing to accept less compensation along the way as a result. Why would I stay knowing that my job is in question, that I will be asked to do things I am ethically uncomfortable with, while all the while living under the threat of retribution? The only reason I would stay would be if I didn’t think I could find another job outside of government. If that were the case, I would probably keep my head down, mouth shut, and minimally do what is asked of me.

“Minimally” is the operative word when we start to consider the implications of all of this chaos and uncertainty. The best and most qualified folks will exit government, and those left behind may be the least qualified “Yes Men” which will erode efficiency and effectiveness - not enhance it. Try to imagine how well government will function when daily operation is left to those with the least marketable skills working at minimal effectiveness.

As if that weren’t enough, add in the 100% return to the office mandate and there is even more motivation for the most talented folks to leave. Ironically, remote work was considered such a major benefit of working for government, that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) included it as a selling point to overcome the lower pay levels by selling a quality-of-life argument.

“Job security, deferred compensation, and the flexibility to work from home are other job attributes that workers may value. By offering more of those job attributes, the federal government and private-sector employers can recruit and retain a highly qualified workforce while spending less on wages and benefits. Federal employment offers more security than many jobs in the private sector, making federal employment more attractive for workers.”

Congressional Budget Office Report

The recent return to office mandates attacks this statement on all counts.

If the new administration is looking for a way to clean house of its most qualified personnel, then they are on a solid path to making that happen. This might be good for the new President and his Project 2025 cronies as a way to minimize resistance to their ideological aspirations, but it will not be good news for us, the American people, for whom they are all supposed to serve. Fewer qualified people serving in a chaotic environment with continual rule changes and job threats is a great formula for making government dysfunctional. And even if and when qualified new people are hired, it will take them 6-18 months before they start to develop the solid level of competence that the prior employees already had.

Image created by Ed Paulson using ChatGPT. Remember these bad old days?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t miss the long lines, painful inefficiencies, and uncaring bureaucracy that plagued the government of my youth. Sure, there will always be problems, but on the whole, state and federal government seems to have shifted in my lifetime from “be grateful I am helping you at all” to “how can I help you!” It may not seem like a major shift, but the context is completely different and creates a completely new and better customer (that’s us) experience.

We in industry know that customer satisfaction is the magic sauce for increasing repeat business, improving customer retention. enhancing efficiency and increasing profitability. In this scenario, we, the people, are the customers and government is here to serve us, not the other way around. After all, our taxes pay to keep the lights on. There isn’t anything lost by having committed and engaged government employees serving our needs instead of those left behind because they had no place else to go. That is the road we are on … like it or not.

By the way, if you are looking to hire skilled professionals, you might start hunting for them within the government ranks. There should be plenty of highly qualified candidates and you could be doing them and yourselves a favor.

What About Your Stories?

What are your thoughts about the disruption currently happening in Washington D.C. and across the country? The good, the bad, or the downright ugly and unconscionable? Hit “Leave a comment” and let me know—I’d love to hear them.

As always, thank you for stopping by. Peace.

QUESTION: How do you like the new format of using links more than footnotes? The links are more efficient but do not allow me to comment in more detail. What do you think? Do you have a preference or thoughts on when to use each?

Don’t Miss A Thing! Subscribe Now!

If you liked what you read, then click the Subscribe Now button to automatically receive the next edition. I’d love for you to join us! It’s free, by the way.

Don’t miss out on something helpful and/or thought provoking simply because you forgot to visit my site. Automatically receive my management communication success newsletter every Monday to start your week off on a solid note! Your information will never be shared and it will only be used for us to communicate with each other.

---

BECOME MORE SUCCESSFUL THROUGH BETTER COMMUNICATION

LEARN A LIFETIME OF COMMUNICATION SECRETS BY READING ED’S “GETTING THROUGH” BOOK

Listen to Ed Paulson explain his latest book “Getting Through.”
(Short 3 minute video)

“Getting Through: A Systematic Approach To Being Understood” (ISBN: 9798987950807) is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers. It is only 130 pages long and can be read in just a few hours. Those few hours will change the way you communicate forever!

Getting Through: A Systematic Approach To Being Understood (ISBN: 9798987950807)

Copyright © 2025 by Ed Paulson. All Rights Reserved.

1. USAID – United States Agency for International Development

2. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60235