What We Have Learned About Political Appointees

We have had the unique opportunity to spend the last three years talking with political appointees about their careers, their appointments, and their time in government. This three year effort, the Ernst & Young Initiative on Leadership, provided us with many insights and observations about the many stages in the appointments process. During this time period, we met with over 30 political executives at various points in their tenure in the Obama Administration. As an outgrowth of our research, we published a book Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government and are very pleased to be participating with the National Academy of Public Administration on the Political Appointee Project and this website.