ABSTRACT

Developing federal government leaders who are prepared for complex and dynamic operating environments has been a recurring theme of this handbook. This chapter explores several areas of change that leaders in the 20th century did not have to confront but that are now creating enormous challenges, and opportunities, for the 21st-century leader. These challenges include managing change in an extraordinarily dynamic environment to ensure that organizations are resilient and can adapt to that changing environment, developing new ways to understand workforce and demographic changes through workforce analytics, using social media effectively and responsibly, and utilizing big data to manage programs and achieve the vital missions that federal agencies have been entrusted with by Congress and the president.