Career senior executives are the backbone of leadership within federal agencies. They are relied upon by political appointees to "know the ropes" and by their staffs to guide them to meet the requirements of the political leaders. Senior executives play a key role in transforming organizations to effectively meet the increasing demands of the American public.

Two areas of growth are essential for a 21st century government executive to successfully carry out agency priorities. First, they must have an intense focus and orientation on organizational outcomes. Second, they must be able to galvanize their work force — to bring out the best in their people.

Outcome-based performance measures are essential to 21st century leadership, but meaningful outcomes are difficult to quantify in policy-based bureaucracies.

In the corporate world, measurable outcomes are generally profit-based; shareholders demand performance from corporate leaders, and their ability to produce is very evident. In large bureaucracies like federal agencies, when responsibility for outcomes is diffuse and many external factors have a substantial impact on results, there can be a general complacency, and a feeling that any one leader — or even one organization — can't make a difference in resolving major social issues. The problem is that, as Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right."

There has been increased pressure to revamp performance management systems to be outcome-based, but these efforts have actually been counterproductive for federal executives to tackle big, audacious goals that they aren't certain they can accomplish. Linking pay with performance encourages the creation of "safe" goals — ones that executives believe they can control and that they already know how to carry out. Meaningful outcomes, however, are not so easy to gauge. True outcomes relate to the net result, what will be achieved at the end of an array of tasks, potentially over a timeframe that extends beyond any single performance-rating period.

Changing from a process-based organization to one based on true outcomes is extremely challenging. For example, issuing a federal grant to a constituency is not an outcome but rather a task. Ensuring that the grant achieves its ultimate objective, whether that is improved math skills for elementary school students or cleaner water in American waterways, is the real outcome that must be pursued.

When leaders shift their focus from processes and tasks to outcomes, they begin to see a distinctively different landscape in front of them. They can consistently lead toward clear, concise, measurable metrics. They may take actions that they wouldn't necessarily have considered at the beginning of the assignment. They can create results that they never would have imagined, if holding a safe, task-related focus. For example, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates established the measurable outcome of limiting the mobilization of Reserve component members to 12 months, the military services responded with innovative ways to improve pre-mobilization training for their part-time soldiers that maximized the time available for overseas deployment.

Achieving these results require strong leadership to galvanize the organization — and necessary stakeholders outside the organization — to a common, aligned vision or goal. The federal senior executive is the linchpin to help others make a personal connection with their everyday work and the overall goal. An engaged, committed senior leader who inspires others with ongoing conversations about the future is an essential part of organizational success.

Leadership growth is needed for today's senior executives. Federal agencies have given senior executives little support to upgrade their skills to meet 21st century demands. While there are many inspiring, committed career senior executives at work on today's challenging issues, more needs to be done to give our federal career members the tools they need to tackle today's complex, challenging problems.

It is difficult to transform the thinking of people who have grown up in a process-oriented organization to thinking centered on achieving extraordinary outcomes. It is challenging to change the mindsets of people within large bureaucracies from helpless complacency, to becoming personally committed to tackling goals that are bigger than can be achieved by one person.

These are competencies that can be learned, but it requires training to improve thinking and relationship skills. It requires federal agencies to invest in their senior executive to give them tools they need for the challenges of the 21st century.

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Jennifer Buck is the former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for reserve affairs. Henry Fischer is a former Marine Officer, Gulf War veteran and director of Gap International of Philadelphia, a management consulting firm.