Those were some of the leadership values a group of federal employees tossed out at a meeting held just hours before the president’s State of the Union address. They had gathered to hear a lecture by organizational consultant Pamela Wilhelms on “multidimensional lead ership,” the intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual factors that make good leaders and enable them to motivate employees and infuse their agencies with energy.

“People who create results use all their leadership dimensions,” Wilhelms told the audience gathered at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. for her lecture, sponsored by the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government.

Wilhelms, who has spent 18 years thinking about leadership issues and worked has for a decade at the Office of Personnel Management’s Western Management Development Center, believes “leaders’ moods are contagious.” A boss who hits the door each morning with a smile and good vibrations can get an organization moving, while an angry or frustrated boss often sends signals that discourage colleagues from giving their all, she said. “Leaders have to get a grip on what they bring into the room.”

"Too many federal employees feel their... supervisors are not up to par."

The government, like individuals, also needs to get a grip on leadership issues and how to develop its next generation of executives.

To be sure, there are good and great leaders throughout government—serving in the military in Iraq, in State Department hardship posts, in federal law enforcement and in federal research labs. But too many federal employees feel their top managers and supervisors are not up to par. OPM surveys of federal employees show that only half, at most, feel motivated by their leaders, are satisfied with their leaders’ policies and practices, and have respect for their senior leaders.

Survey data, of course, has to be taken with a grain of salt. Skepticism comes easily to the federal workforce, which adopts a new management reform agenda every time the White House changes political parties. The skepticism is helped along by regular turnover in top agency political positions.

Sizing up federal leadership also is made more difficult by the government’s accelerating shift from an Industrial Age model, where management told people what to do, to the Information Age, where we’re learning that no one person can resolve all the issues as quickly as a plugged-in, networking team.

Leadership issues seemingly pop up in every national crisis. The roles of leaders—and chains of command—are at the heart of much of the debate over the response to Hurricane Katrina.

The people who serve in government will soon launch another kind of transition that will put a spotlight on leadership issues. Linda M. Springer, director of the Office of Personnel Management, estimates that 60 percent of federal employees and 90 percent of Senior Executive Service members will be eligible to retire over the next 10 years.

As old hands depart, their replacements will not embrace a traditional career path that spans 20 or 30 years, she suggests, but will prefer to come and go from public service every few years, or take jobs suitable for telecommuting, or come into the federal service late in their careers and offer their expertise for a project. In the future, an increasing number of employees may work far from headquarters and at odd hours of the day and night.

Springer, who offered her views at a forum sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government and the Washington Post, said projections of a large retirement wave make it more important than ever for agencies to look for ways to train employees more quickly and to operate performance management systems that deliver rewards to top talent.

Fortunately, federal agencies can find numerous partners to refresh their thinking on how to develop their next generation of leaders. The Federal Executive Institute, Defense Department training programs, OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board offer a wealth of information. The government also can draw on the expertise of consultants and learning experts through standard procurement contracts—and even through a few Google searches.

Like the group that gathered at the PBGC to hear Pamela Wilhelms, most want leaders who will serve as our coaches and teachers, who are honest and candid and who check their ego at the door.

Stephen Barr writes the Federal Diary column at the Washington Post. He also hosts an online discussion, “Federal Diary Live,” each week at www.washingtonpost.com.