Transforming a Federal Agency

Chapter 6Understanding How It Got This Bad

Understanding how the financial infrastructure deteriorated provided initial insights into what it would take to improve operations. Lack of leadership and accountability represented the core deterioration—followed by lack of attention to good governance, people, processes, and technology.

Lack of Leadership

Leadership matters. No company, entity, office, or group of people can function effectively without leadership. No matter how big or small an assembly of employees, it needs a leader to operate within its designated charter. HUD did not have a CFO for about six of the eight years of the Obama presidency. It was not a priority for the administration. The first CFO Obama appointed resigned after 16 months, and the second CFO unfortunately died shortly after being confirmed. In essence, the Office of CFO was leaderless for eight years. Hence, the deterioration in HUD's infrastructure. Leadership matters.

There are multiple examples in the private sector where leadership changes alter the course of an organization. CEO changes often occur when a company needs a new strategy or direction, such as if unexpected turmoil occurs, if operating results are below expectations, or if shareholders lose faith. Good leaders know how to turn things around to improve operations and results.

But strong leadership is certainly not required at just the CEO level; the importance of leadership permeates throughout every organization. Every supervisor, ...