It is rare to find a government executive who will take a risk, but Marcus Peacock is one.
Mr. Peacock is the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and he has shown real leadership with his push to use blogging to support EPA's mission. In July 2007 (coincidentally, when DotGovWatch also began) he began
The Flow of the River. It created the momentum to establish EPA's newer, larger blog:
Greenversations, which Mr. Peacock now writes for.
There has been a good deal of discussion among federal web managers regarding the pros and cons of blogging. But in general, government managers are afraid…afraid of criticism.
Marcus Peacock was
criticized by a Washington Post reporter for something he wrote in his blog. His response was the right one—to keep writing.
Mr. Peacock also recently sent a hard, but wise, letter to the federal web community that warrants sharing. He wrote:
I can accept the fact that senior leaders may look at blogging and decide they don't have the time or don't need to use this particular tool to get their point across. But senior leaders who don't blog because they risk being criticized don't deserve to be called 'leaders.' If snarky reporters keep you from speaking your mind, then you've got bigger problems to deal with than whether to write a blog. You can't lead people without taking risks.
My advice: don't give in to the snarks. People want good leadership. They know it when they see it. They also know snarkiness when they see it. The beautiful irony is criticism increases attention to what you are saying and the next thing you know you will have a much bigger following than before. (My readership went up ten times after the Amy Winehouse article.)
This is absolutely true.
Every agency, no matter the size, would benefit from open and frank communication and discussion with its customers. This is where a blog can be a useful tool. Not an over-edited blog focused on public relations—agencies already have their websites and press releases for that—but an honest and open discusson.
Mr. Peacock deserves great recognition for his willingness to take risks to further EPA's mission. He even wrote a
blog entry on risk taking where he hit on the reason why the government may lack the innovation of other sectors. A colleague of his said, "You don’t get rewarded for taking risks, but you get punished for making mistakes." That about sums it up.
So, thank you, risk-taking government bloggers and executives! Keep up the good work.
Subscribe in a reader
Follow on Twitter
As a political appointee I can take some risks others can't. The people to really admire are those careerists who are willing to change the way they do business in an effort to better serve the nation, even though it may put them at some personal risk.