Destruction of the “Administrative State” and the New Role Confronting Local Government: How a Historical Mentor Shows a Leadership Path Forward

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

By Michael Abels
April 4, 2025

The United States stands at a watershed moment in its national system of governance. This era is highlighted by the federal government seeking to destroy the “administrative state” and withdraw the federal role of addressing the public good. But while the federal government abandons its historical responsibility, the issues associated with advancing the public good will not disappear. The future will see the public turning to local government for solutions to the complex problems impacting them and that have been abandoned by the federal government. Included will be environmental, infrastructure development, social and economic equity issues. As the federal government vacates its national policy role, public demand for addressing large scale complex problems will shift to the level of government closest to them, state and local governments.    

This shift in responsibility will create new and complex issues for the leaders of local government. Local leaders will be required to tackle complex regional and national problems that are impacting their citizens but whose scope are far beyond the funding or policy authority of individual units of local government. 

Contemplating the draconian impact this revolutionary change in federalism will have on local government we can reflect on historical epochs where transformational leaders moved the country through cataclysmic challenges. One of those leaders whose lessons in leadership are applicable to local leaders today was General George C. Marshall. General Marshall served as Army Chief of Staff in World War II, and Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense after the war. A natural question is how leadership skills exercised by a national leader are applicable to local government? While Marshall managed national and international issues the abandonment of federal responsibility for the public good confront local leaders with unpredictable problems of similar complexity. As true in Marshall’s era these high impact complex problems with non-linear consequences require transformational leadership. 

Build Collaborative Systems 

To concentrate resources on national issues such as climate change and economic inequality local leaders need to establish collaborative systems involving multiple cities, counties and non-governmental agencies. These collaborative systems will require more governing authority than the current council of governments, or metropolitan planning organizations. And, if the states can escape the ideological polarization of being red or blue, the current Council of State Governments provides a foundation through which a state governing framework can be designed. For these possibilities the history of Marshall’s leadership provides a roadmap.  

Marshall took an army that was 17th in the world in size with 190K soldiers and in five years built the army to 1st in the world with 8.5 million soldiers. However large the army, America’s success came through Marshall building a collaborative international command that integrated the American and British efforts throughout all theatres of war. Nationally, Marshall convinced President Roosevelt to create the combined Joint Chiefs of Staff. Demonstrating commitment to mission over self, Marshall told Roosevelt that the Chairman should not be him but instead a Navy Admiral. Marshall understood that effectiveness of a unified system requires power sharing. 

Following the war, as Secretary of State Marshall continued his practice of collaboration through design and implementation of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan facilitated the post war economic revitalization of western Europe and created the foundation for long term peace that lasted until Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Empower Staff 

General Marshall was known for recruiting superior people for his staff and then empowering them to do their job. Marshall’s set overall goals and strategy and then expected his subordinates to design programs to carry out those goals and be accountable for results. A paper written for the Army War College describes the management philosophy that guided Marshall’s actions. Referring to his management burden Marshall commented to General Eisenhower, “The department is filled with able men who feel compelled always to bring problems to me for final solution. I must have assistants who will solve their own problems and tell me later what they have done.” Marshall expected his staff to make decisions and not be afraid of disagreeing with him. Because of the multitude and complexity of the problems he was confronting he expected his staff to solve their own problems and then tell him what they had done. Marshall applied his philosophy of delegation to actual operations. As Chief of Staff Marshall was deliberate in not intervening in General Eisenhower’s planning or operations in Mediterranean operations or the invasion of France. Marshall understood that as complexity of issues increases organizational members must be empowered to plan and implement decisions. Trust must be the apex in values that guide organizational behavior.   

Conclusion 

Leaders of local government face a challenging era. In a time where authoritarian leadership seems to be advancing in our national practice, historical leaders such as General George Marshall demonstrate how transformational servant leadership centered on collaboration has effectively shaped our country over the long term. While this article describes two of his leadership practices, other practices he utilized include instilling organizational calm, speaking truth to power, selfless service and strategic leadership. Marshall’s practice of strategic leadership can be explored in his November 2019 PA Times article. 

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Author: Michael Abels is a retired career city manager and retired Lecturer in Public Administration, University of Central Florida.  Author of a text-workbook through Routledge Taylor & Francis Group titled Policy Making in the Public Interest: A Text and Workbook for Local Government.  Authors email is [email protected].  

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