Changing Public Sector Organizations from the Middle

Abstract

Public sector change initiatives have mostly been driven by a top-down management approach that has its roots in the private sector. Although this strategy has been very successful in guiding private sector change management functions, the same methods and practices have not shown to be as effective in the public sector. Successful change management in public sector domains is much more elusive because private sector solutions often fail to take account of the unique cultural, political, and organizational differences that underlie our Federal, State and Local governments.  Research conducted for this paper suggests that middle management ranks in public sector organizations have much more power and influence than their private sector counterparts. Hence, a successful change management strategy that primarily focuses on co-opting and empowering middle management in leading an organizational change effort may yield a much higher rate of success than traditional top-down methods.