Government Executives Bring Wealth Of Experience To Private Sector Business

When executives who have held positions in the government transfer to private sector business, they bring with them knowledge and experience they have acquired over time. This quickly becomes very valuable to private business enterprises. These executives understand the incentives, the needs and goals of both sectors and are able to apply this knowledge to any position they undertake.

This kind of manager who has worked in more than one sector is rare. He can help address challenges in the private sector like:

• Training workers effectively and efficiently to be more productive
• Putting programs into place to help control things like health care costs
• How to effectively use new technology and finding ways to train others in its use in the most cost-effective way
• Understanding differences in culture within an organization and the motives that drive people
• Knowing how to communicate the importance of executives becoming good leaders, and the importance of developing these future leaders from within the organization

Leaders Who Transfer Between Sectors Are Goal-Oriented

Executive leaders who have successfully transferred between high level government careers and executive positions in private sector business have some crucial things in common; they have a strong drive, determination and a desire to achieve goals. They also seem to be able to blend their desire to achieve things for themselves with the wish to help others. They can often be more altruistic and philanthropic than those who have always exclusively worked within the private sector.

As leaders accumulate different skills from having worked in both government and private businesses, they become adept at seamlessly transferring these skills between the two sectors. Leaders like Robert Bratt, who spent over 20 years working in the Department of Justice and who now works as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of U.S. Operations at DLA Piper, have learned how to bring their abilities and special talents they have gleaned from public service into the corporate world.

Ways Executives Transfer Between Government Organizations And The Private Sector

Many times, leaders say that their transfer from a high position in a government agency to a similar position in private business happened purely by accident, or by being in the right place at the right time. Some executives get the chance to transfer because of the people they know who are already employed in the private business. Still others say the most important factor in having success in transferring is the ability to network effectively with corporate leaders and their peers from both sectors. Private business and government agencies want to hire and retain the best executive talent possible from what can sometimes be a small pool of candidates.

In 2014, a management exchange program was implemented in the Department of Homeland Security which allows managers with skills in specific areas of private business to be able to transfer to the government agency in a temporary way. This program is known as the Loaned Executive Program, and begins with managers working for up to one year in a volunteer capacity. Many of the managers have their salary paid by their private employer. Those who choose to participate in this program often see it as a learning opportunity they might not have otherwise.