Dr. Geoff Smart

Geoff Smart is the #1 thought leader on the #1 topic in business. He is the Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, a leadership consulting firm, and his purpose is to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world.

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Books
      • Who
      • Power Score
      • Leadocracy
    • Keynotes
  • SMARTtools
  • SMARTthoughts
  • ghSMART
  • Email Geoff
You are here: Home / Hiring / Hiring Government Leaders: Lessons from the Private Sector

November 9, 2020 By Geoff Smart Leave a Comment

Hiring Government Leaders: Lessons from the Private Sector

__________________

A government is only as good as who is in it!

I’m proud and happy that my ghSMART colleagues and I today published a landmark study on “Hiring Government Leaders” at the request of a Washington D.C. think tank.

A new administration’s #1 priority is hiring a talented and diverse leadership team that will elevate the quality of life of its citizens. However, this is easier said than done. Approximately 50% of hiring decisions are considered mistakes.

We drew on a half-century of research and practice in the private sector and public sector, and propose a practical framework to improve the speed and accuracy of hiring cabinet and senior staff, and reduce the chance of costly mistakes. While this article was primarily written for “presidential hiring,” the actionable take-aways are relevant for elected and appointed government leaders to use at the federal, state, or local levels to improve the performance of their administration, department, or agency, for the good of us all.

Please click to read our new article here: https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/hiring-government-leaders-lessons-from-the-private-sector/

__________

Dr. Geoff Smart is Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, the leadership advisory firm. The firm exists to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. In 2020, Vault named ghSMART the #1 company to work for in its industry, in overall satisfaction.

ghSMART has published four bestselling leadership books: Who: The A Method for Hiring (by Smart and Street, #1 in the category of “hiring”), Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) into Government (by Smart), Power Score (by Smart, Street, and Foster), and The CEO Next Door (by Botelho and Powell).

Geoff can be reached at geoff.smart@ghsmart.com.  

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Government, Hiring, Leadership, Other Tagged With: government, hiring, leaders

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for SMARTthoughts email newsletter
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SMARTthoughts for Leaders:

  • Balancing Legacy with Change: Lessons from the Founder-CEO Transition at Marshall Industries
  • (no title)
  • The Rx for Business Success: Systematic Hiring
  • After 400 Career-Oriented Conversations, This Surprised Me…
  • How One CEO’s Shift Drove Industry-Leading Growth
  • Wondering ‘How to Motivate Employees’ Is a Management Fail
  • 3 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Monday Morning
  • Thank You
  • 5 Mistakes Leaders Make With Job Descriptions
  • Remote Work is No Joke
  • Don’t Come Back to Work
  • 26-Year Anniversary Letter to Colleagues
  • Are You a Great “Remote” Leader? Take This Checklist Challenge
  • Is It Possible to Have a Job That Is Fulfilling and Lucrative — but Still Have a Life Outside of Work?
  • Hiring Government Leaders: Lessons from the Private Sector
  • ghSMART Turns 25
  • How Crisis Revealed the Cultural Roots of the #1 Consulting Firm to Work for
  • Successfully Convince a CEO in 3 Steps
  • The 2 Secrets to World Class Service—It’s Not What You Think
  • 3 Reasons Why Recessions are Awesome for Great Companies
  • Do You Know Someone Who Has What It Takes to Get Hired to the Consulting Firm Ranked #1 in Overall Satisfaction?
  • Three Things to Say and Get Hired to Your Dream Job
  • Do You Have a “Ninja” Executive Assistant?
  • Confidence
  • Two Reasons Why Smart People Make Dumb Career Moves
  • ghSMART Unseats McKinsey as #1 Firm for Client Interaction, According to Vault
  • 5 Tips to Spot Candidates with the Right–and Wrong–Stuff
  • ghSMART Appoints Kevin Burns Senior Advisor and Founding Member of Chairman’s Council
  • Opposite Day—How to Fail at Becoming CEO
  • ghSMART Appoints Mike Peel As Senior Advisor And Founding Member Of Chairman’s Council
  • They Will Love Your Reflection
  • The #1 Most Important Word in Business, Which You Rarely Hear
  • Run Your Next Meeting Like A CEO
  • Why You Will Reach the Top of Your Field, And Others Won’t
  • 3 Questions No Leader Should Ever Ask
  • The 3 Hardest Questions about Your Career
  • Great CEOs Give Their Teams Freedom to Choose
  • 3 Simple Closing Techniques for Smart People
  • 5 Ways Smart People Blow the Close
  • Hold People Accountable with this Simple Leadership Hack
  • Set the Right Priorities with this Formula You Learned in Econ101
  • What if the Secret to Job Happiness is Who You Work With?
  • 3 Ways to Get Your Life Back
  • How to Hire Team Players
  • 5 Practical Ways to Learn Something New in Business
  • 3 Ways to Run Meetings Like a CEO
  • 5 Ways to Answer Questions
    Like a CEO
  • 10 Smart Public Speaking Tactics You’ve Never Tried
  • The Key to a Happy Life
    Isn’t What You Think
  • Stop! Don’t Make the
    #1 Mistake in Business

Copyright © 2025 by G. H. Smart & Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.