US Federal Government Transitions Insights

Consciously shaping the relationship between the director and the deputy director is critical for effective governance.

Incoming chiefs of staff have a wide array of responsibilities to fulfill and need to define clear objectives for their tenure. These seven tips can help them successfully execute their roles.

Five management steps can help new US executive federal appointees ensure a successful first 100 days in office.

People are your best asset in a transition. Eight best practices can help you to ensure that your team functions at the highest level during the short transition period.

Agency review teams are often the largest function of governmental-transition organizations and critical for continuity of government. A few best practices can help maximize their effectiveness.

How the shift from campaigning to transitioning is managed can set the foundation for an administration.

Transfers of power are complex—in times of crises, especially so. Here are seven lessons for leaders at all levels of government transitioning into new roles.

The government transition period between an outgoing and an incoming government leader is a remarkable opportunity to capitalize on the momentum of the election and lay the foundation for success. A six-step approach can set an incoming administration on the right path.

The upcoming government transition presents public-sector leaders with the opportunity to establish processes for successfully scaling digital technologies.

Government leaders can challenge the norms of how their organizations work and dramatically increase their decision-making speed and agility.

Moving to the cloud is fraught with challenges. By answering five questions up front, public-sector leaders can ease and accelerate the journey.

If you can recognize and avoid them, you can make your programs more successful—quickly. Start on your very first day.

Attracting digital talent to government jobs has been a challenge, with consequences felt throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Leaders can rethink their approach to build resilience for future crises.

Key negotiation practices can result in significant cost savings in public-sector procurement.

Organizing for the future requires adopting an operating model that is more dynamic, more flexible, and less structured than most companies use today. Following five steps can help companies unlock value by making their structure more agile.

“Mission command” and other military principles can guide policy makers and business leaders thrust into crisis.

Decision making takes up a lot of time, much of it used ineffectively. New survey results offer lessons for making quick, high-quality decisions that support outperformance.

Public-sector leaders recently met with leaders from the region’s most innovative companies to learn about their culture of innovation firsthand. Here’s what they heard.

Five essential disciplines can more than triple the success rate of public-sector change efforts.

Public-sector organizations have shown they can be nimble in a crisis. Focusing on agility could help them keep pace with changing needs during challenges—and beyond.

The upcoming flu season in the Northern Hemisphere is expected to increase demand for COVID-19 testing. Decision makers may ask: Will there be enough flexible testing capacity to respond to global demand and avoid second lockdowns?

Europe and the United States have entered the endemic stage of the COVID-19 outbreak: the virus is widespread, is significantly less fatal than it was in 2020, and is spurring only limited changes in public behavior. These endemic conditions are likely to continue through the summer and autumn, unless and until immunity-evading new variants emerge. As immunity wanes, however, the next stage remains highly uncertain. In this update, we discuss the outlook, the current and potential future use of boosters and therapeutics, and the shifts in response strategies to the COVID-19 crisis around the world. We also introduce the McKinsey COVID-19 Immunity Index—a tool for understanding a community’s current level of risk from the disease.

Hispanics and Latinos are key to the US recovery but have been damaged disproportionately by the pandemic. Targeted interventions are required to improve their health and economic outcomes.

After seven months of responding to the pandemic, we have learned some things. Here are some of the key lessons and how to apply them.

McKinsey’s Center for Societal Benefit through Healthcare shares insights on underlying health inequities that contribute to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and vulnerable populations.

Examining what worked in response to previous crises can help policy makers as they make plans to revive economic activity.

Board directors and executives can pool their wisdom to help companies grapple with the challenge of a lifetime.

The safety protocols of hospitals, grocery stores, and other establishments that stayed open during the COVID-19 pandemic can offer ideas for businesses preparing to welcome employees and customers back.

The unfolding public-health and possible economic disaster of the pandemic will disproportionately affect Black Americans—unless stakeholders respond immediately.

To successfully implement large technology systems, first accept the complexity, and then take these six actions.

Leadership transitions are an opportune time for public-sector CIOs to accelerate technology modernization using our three-vector strategy.

The upcoming government transition presents public-sector leaders with the opportunity to establish processes for successfully scaling digital technologies.

Artificial intelligence can help government agencies solve complex public-sector problems. For those that are new at it, here are five factors that can affect the benefits and risks.

Automation can enable governments to provide outstanding levels of customer experience, driven by innovations that are as sensitive to people as they are to technology.

As companies extend commitments to remote workforces, cybersecurity teams need to address new risks while helping create business value in the next normal.

Government agencies have struggled to match the private sector in modernizing IT infrastructure. By reimagining the business case and executing more effectively, they can unlock value through greater efficiency and improved performance.

President Biden’s February 24, 2021, executive order calls for reviews of critical US supply chains. We share lessons and suggestions from our experience in building supply-chain resilience.

This continually updated interactive tracks how executives around the world have viewed economic conditions and the economic prospects of their companies, and how those views have differed over time and across industries, regions, and types of company.

Ending lockdowns alone won’t restore confidence or growth. Only when the novel coronavirus is under control will economic growth resume.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to devastate US lives and livelihoods, policy makers are challenged to emerge from it in a way that lays a foundation for a strong, healthy economy in the long run.

Companies need an understanding of their exposure, vulnerabilities, and potential losses to inform resilience strategies.

The erosion of US manufacturing isn’t a foregone conclusion. The decade ahead—with increased demand, new technology, and value chain optimization—will give the sector a chance to turn around.

Responding to the changes that the COVID-19 crisis has wrought on education systems around the world requires building on what we know works, as well as looking ahead to what we know students will need.

As school systems prepare to reopen, here’s how to create a safe and effective learning environment for everyone.

New evidence shows that the shutdowns caused by COVID-19 could exacerbate existing achievement gaps.

Despite decades of efforts by public-, private-, and social-sector organizations, racial inequity has only increased. Can a concerted, coordinated effort reverse this trend?

The right business ecosystems can mitigate or negate the effects of structural obstacles to business building for Black business owners—and add $290 billion in business equity.

The financial services talent pipeline shows a lack of representation of people of color, most acutely at senior levels. Changes in three key areas can help companies make progress.

COVID-19 has disrupted everything from economic markets to personal finances, but not everyone feels its effects equally.

The persistent racial wealth gap in the United States is a burden on Black Americans as well as the overall economy. New research quantifies the impact of closing the gap and identifies key sources of this socioeconomic inequity.

US government agencies are using analytics to mitigate fraud at scale and ensure benefits get into the hands of citizens who need them most.

Key negotiation practices can result in significant cost savings in public-sector procurement.

As public expectations rise, government agencies are doubling down on improving service delivery to delight their customers.

New data tools are giving government agencies the upper hand in taming fraud, waste, and abuse. Lessons from scaled approaches show how to capture the hundreds of billions of dollars at stake.

To structure and manage complex contracts with the private sector, governments must have a range of skills and expertise. Six success factors are critical to these efforts.

Next generation care management, health for all, consolidated care delivery, and reform efforts are among the trends that may shape healthcare in the years ahead.

In this video, Penny Dash and Shubham Singhal, two leaders of McKinsey’s Healthcare Systems & Services Practice, reflect on how COVID-19 is transforming the healthcare industry. A transcript of their remarks follows below.

The COVID-19 crisis reminds us how underprepared the world was to detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases. Smart investments of as little as $5 per person per year globally can help ensure far better preparation for future pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given the world a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance broad-based health and prosperity.

Income, employment, education, food security, housing, transportation, safety, and social support are all factors that affect health and well-being.

In response to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, many tax authorities are considering new approaches to tax management, adjusting their collections strategies to reflect the new reality.

Countries can not only take immediate steps to create a credible debt story for funding the deficit but also consider a portfolio of interventions to ensure their longer-term financial sustainability.

A look at how US financial decision makers are paying bills and their plans for spending government support funds during the COVID-19 crisis.

A lack of financial inclusion for black Americans exists at every level of the financial system. Understanding the sources of exclusion is the first step to fixing the system.

A look at the potential impact of what would be one of the most significant changes to the US retirement landscape.

Women leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates we’ve ever seen, and ambitious young women are prepared to do the same. To make meaningful and sustainable progress toward gender equality, companies need to go beyond table stakes. That’s according to the latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org.

Youngkin, chair of the Virginia Ready Initiative, talks about easing unemployment and strengthening Virginia’s economy by connecting people with training, financial support, and job opportunities.

Digital and artificial intelligence technologies will likely have a substantial economic and social impact. Governments can act now to create shared prosperity and better lives for all citizens.

Research shows that automation trends may be widening the racial wealth gap. This article reveals possible interventions that may help African American workers prepare for the future.

The health of local economies today will affect their ability to adapt and thrive in the automation age.