Denise Turner Roth, the administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), was named to the role just this past August--but she has been in public service for more than 18 years. During that time, she's worked for members of Congress, the District of Columbia government and as city manager for Greensboro, N.C., where she reorganized departments and divisions to promote efficiency and improve service delivery.
In an interview, Roth spoke about her leadership approach and the evolving role of GSA. Roth was interviewed by Tom Fox, a guest writer for On Leadership and the vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q. What is your approach to managing and leading?
A. The key for me has been to identify and articulate our mission with our senior leadership, to get buy-in, to engage with our stakeholders in terms of how we impact them and what they need from us, and to meet with staff to communicate our vision. My management style is very collaborative. I think it's important that everyone knows what the needs and the goals are, and they have to be held accountable.
This post was originally featured on The Washington Post's website.