Confronting the Impossible in a Bureaucracy

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Michael R. Ford
January 16, 2026

When starting a new public leadership position, it is common for the new leader to announce a grand plan or strategy aimed at leading the organization and those it serves to greater success. Such grand plans often fail because they are created prior to gaining full knowledge of and buy-in from, personnel throughout the organization. The worst-case scenario is that a new leader alienates the people who must implement the top-down plan, thereby hurting organizational culture and sealing the leader’s ultimate fate in one fell swoop. But if it is not launching a grand plan, what should a leader do when starting a new position?

One strategy is to focus on the little things. After a decade-plus working in a large bureaucracy, I have noticed how often seemingly simple things are impossible. Working in a high-compliance environment, which is par for the course for public leadership, means navigating rules and procedures that often do not accommodate unique circumstances. I observe a typical pattern where a public employee is excited to do something innovative, attempts to do it, runs into bureaucratic barriers that cannot be solved and gives up. Over time, the culture of an organization is shaped by such experiences, and the entire organization fails to innovate because it is viewed as impossible.

I am sure those reading this column can share their own experiences with frustrating phrases like, “we are not set up to do that,” or “our policies will not allow that,” or the dreaded, “that is just not how we do things.” Those phrases are likely uttered from a place of honesty, but what they really mean is that an organization is not willing to change. In the public sector, where we serve a broad constituency whose needs are always changing, the inability to change at the organizational level is tantamount to not meeting the needs of those we aim to serve.

Hence, innovation and progress are not thwarted by the lack of big thinking at the top, but by the morass of small barriers that crush innovative thinking at all levels of the organization. While not a pretty situation, it does present an opportunity for a new leader to focus on the small things. It starts with meeting with employees and asking some simple questions: What do you want to do that is impossible to do? Why do you think it is impossible? How would your job change if you could do these things?

This simple exercise serves many functions. First, it gives the new leader some visibility throughout the organization, which is always a good thing. Second, it gives the new leader an honest assessment of where employees are running up against bureaucratic barriers. Third, and most important, it creates a to-do list. A list of tasks viewed as impossible but necessary by the individuals actually doing the work of the organization presents a new leader with a roadmap for organizational improvement.

I myself keep a document titled “The Impossible” of things I have tried to do but just cannot happen. Admittedly, I used to get frustrated when I hit a dead end on what seems like a simple task (ok, I still sometimes do), but I found documenting specifics helps me to process, and to explain to others where the bureaucracy needs reforming.

It is also important to remember that bureaucratic barriers are rarely the fault of an individual. It is easy to assume the messenger who tells you something cannot be done is the decider. Often the decision is a function of organizational culture, staffing being stretched thin to the point of making anything new too time-intensive, or a general lack of clear direction within the organization. As a wise professor once told me, people are products of their environment; a person working in an atrophied bureaucracy will behave accordingly.

The inability of public organizations to accomplish small tasks also relates back to trust in governing institutions. When a taxpayer is told something is impossible, it is natural they lose some confidence in their government. Such situations feed a negative narrative about the capacity of government and further the cycle of distrust and disengagement.

Calls for broad reform in government are common from both within and outside government. New public sector leaders, be they elected or hired, naturally seek to make their mark through large initiatives. But barriers to innovation often exist deep within the black box of bureaucracies. Public sector leaders seeking to reform their organizations are wise to identify and address those small barriers. Doing so can collectively reform organizations in a sustainable way.

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Author: Michael R. Ford is a professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he teaches graduate courses in budgeting and research methods. He frequently publishes on the topics of public and nonprofit board governance. He also serves as the Director for the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research and is an elected member of the Oshkosh Area School District Board.  

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