By Kathleen J. Siviter
Can Innovative and Holistic Leadership
HELP THE USPS WEATHER THE STORM?
F
or an already financially challenged United States Postal Service, the COVID-19 pandemic is dealing a heavy blow — one that calls for both shortterm and long-term holistic leadership. By the USPS’s own reports, in mid-March, the organization began experiencing significant mail volume declines as a result of the pandemic’s impact on businesses that use the mail. While the USPS has reported significant increases in packages volumes since mid-March — a bright spot in terms of revenue — it could be short-lived.
22
MAY-JUNE 2020 | MailingSystemsTechnology.com
Never has there been a more critical need for innovative and holistic leadership around the future of the Postal Service. I use the term “holistic” because there are forces that must work together in terms of leading the USPS both in the short and long term. Looking at “who’s on first” when it comes to USPS leadership can be a complicated exercise — there is no lack of political, regulatory, and appointed USPS “leaders.” So, who is responsible for leading the USPS into the future? Who can make what kinds of changes to help guide the USPS on the best path forward? Let’s take a brief look…
The Postmaster General. As the highest USPS employee position, the Postmaster General leads the USPS and its workforce in its daily operations as well as setting and implementing strategy; this individual is the executive “face” of the Postal Service. The Postmaster General is selected by the USPS Board of Governors, and at the time this article was written, it was just announced that the USPS Board has selected a new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. The Postmaster General, like the CEO of a private company, has the ability to set policy and strategy for most facets of