On Monday, October 28th, we co-hosted a seminar with The People Lab featuring Dan Honig, BSC Associate, Associate Professor at Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy and University College London in conversation with Elizabeth Linos, Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School.
In this talk, Dan Honig discusses the relationship between empowerment and compliance-based management in the public sector. He outlines research showing how excessive focus on compliance and control tends to undermine performance and motivation among public servants, demonstrating through examples drawn from different countries that when public sector workers are given autonomy and feel connected with their mission, they perform better and are more likely to remain committed to their roles. Honig rejects some common misconceptions about how to manage public servants, arguing that the desire to serve the public good remains universal across countries and the generational gap.
Through examples like Hurricane Sandy relief efforts and child protective services in Detroit, Honig illustrates how compliance-oriented accountability systems, while intended to prevent abuse, often create contradictory incentives that make it hard for mission-driven bureaucrats to serve effectively. He highlights that empowerment and compliance aren’t mutually exclusive, and that government agencies are putting too much emphasis on compliance. In conversation with Elizabeth Linos, the two HKS alumni explore how these ideas connect to larger questions of trust between government and individuals, generational changes in public service career paths, and the challenge of measuring success rather than simply attempting to prevent failures.
We offer training programs and host events featuring researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and academics who are working to solve complex problems. Visit our events page to view all previous BSC events.