重新定义改革

In Brief2 When governments succeed in improving public servicesand stepping up their performance, the impact can betremendous. For example, the most satisfied citizensare 9 times more likely than dissatisfied citizens totrust their government. Yet around 80% of initiatives totransform government performance fail to meet theirobjectives, according to research by the McKinsey Centerfor Government (MCG). That high failure rate representsa huge waste of effort and resources—and drivesincreasing citizen discontent in many countries.What distinguishes successful transformations fromfailed initiatives? Research by MCG, together withdozens of real-world case studies, shows that a set ofpeople-centric disciplines more than triples the chancesof success of major change programs in the publicsector. Successful transformations are rooted in a deepunderstanding of human behavior, and deliberatelybuild capability, motivation, and momentum. Butsuch thinking is rarely part of traditional governmentpractices and culture.In this paper, we present a set of fundamental reframesthat public-sector leaders need to embrace if theyare to design and deliver successful, people-centricgovernment transformations. Those reframes are asfollows:ƒFrom “can’t change without a crisis” to“always keep improving”.Many observers assumeit is near-impossible to change governmentswithout a crisis to shake them out of their inertia.But MCG’s research finds that fewer than 20% ofmajor change efforts are undertaken in response toan external crisis or a major performance failure.Transformations are far more likely to be triggeredby new leaders with new visions, or the internalrecognition that business-as-usual practices havebecome outdated. That is a reminder that, whileburning platforms can help catalyze action, mostpublic services are keenly aware of their limitationsand are self-motivated to improve.ƒFrom “it wouldn’t work here” to “learnfrom others”.Many government leaders expressskepticism about how much their institutionscan learn from others—whether in the public orprivate sector—given the specific circumstances oftheir country, region, city, or department. But MCGfinds that the opportunity to apply and adapt bestpractices from other organizations is much greaterthan commonly assumed. For example, governmentsthat have consciously learnt from similar countriesWorld Government Summit and mechanistic they can become an obstacle tosuccessful transformation. Indeed, only about30% of transformation initiatives are implementedexactly as planned. Plans should be developed inrapid “sprints”, then changed and improved onceimplementation begins. Planning should also beparticipative: organizations that involve frontlinestaff in transformation planning are nearly twice aslikely to be successful.ƒFrom “manage process” to “activelyproblem-solve”.Traditional program-managementoffices in government transformations are akin tomusic critics: they carefully observe and assessa performance, and after the fact they report itssuccesses and flaws in a standardized template.Truly effective coordinating units, on the otherhand, are like conductors: they actively coach theplayers, providing real-time feedback that constantlyimproves the performance. They focus on impactrather than just milestones, and action rather thanmeasurement. And rather than reporting on progressand process, these units take an active role inproblem-solving the day-to-day issues facing thetransformation. Government change efforts needmore of such “conductor” units, which are typicallycalled transformation management offices ordelivery units.3 have achieved savings of as much as 20% in areassuch as transport. If other countries were tolearn from and match the improvements alreadydemonstrated in existing pockets of excellence, theworld’s governments could save as much as $3.5trillion a year by 2021—or keep spending constantwhile substantially boosting the quality of keyservices.ƒFrom “try to please everyone” to “havethe courage to prioritize”.Governments’ broadmandate puts pressure on public-sector leadersto try to please everyone—setting more objectivesthan it is possible to deliver or launching moreprograms than can reasonably be completed.But many of the successful government leaderswe have spoken to have emphasized the powerof prioritization: they have singled out a few keyareas, such as e-government or education, anddevoted disproportionate attention and resourcesto achieving rapid impact in those. Even within suchpriorities, successful governments explicitly chooseand commit to a small number of specific outcomesto focus on in the transformation—and avoid makingtheir goals too broad.ƒFrom “communicate top-down” to“nurture two-way engagement”.Many governmentinstitutions continue to be hierarchical organizationsthat follow the protocol of top-down, one-waycommunication cascades—on the assumption thatcivil servants simply need clear instructions in orderto act effectively. But MCG’s research sho