The inauguration of a new president has special importance for federal workers. While the world spends today discussing the festivities, the faux pas, and the fashions of yesterday, the four million employees who work for the president in the federal executive branch begin the task of achieving President Barack Obama’s vision.

Others will analyze his inaugural address’s import on foreign affairs and social issues; federal employees should note one passage in particular –

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.” 

How does Obama intend to accomplish this? Nancy Killefer appears to be the answer. Killefer has been selected by Obama to be the nation’s first ever chief performance officer (CPO), responsible for cutting or realigning programs that aren’t effective or that are duplicative. Most recently a top executive at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Killefer also has a long Washington resume including a stint as assistant Treasury secretary who helped overhaul the IRS in the late 1990s.

However, as White House CPO Killefer will have limited direct power. She can’t actually implement any of her proposed reforms; that is up to the agency heads to do. But Killefer will also hold the position of deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where she will help create Obama’s performance management system. This dual role will help her authority with agency heads who know that OMB approves their budget.

It won’t help with congress, however. Congress controls the federal budget, and vocal interest groups support nearly every federal program. While Obama appears to have a great deal of political capital at the moment, Killefer will have to be careful in choosing how to spend it. Not all battles can be won, or are even worth winning, so she will likely focus on big ticket programs rather than relatively insignificant ones whose budgets are measured only in the millions.

Killefer’s most significant challenge at the outset will be gaining the trust of the federal employees who she says herself will be central to this effort to improve the effectiveness of our government. Since Obama has already made it clear that the goal is to cut programs that “don’t work,” she will be perceived as an adversary by many.

Those who work in the private sector already know to be on edge when their employer brings in the “consultants.” It appears that federal employees will soon get to experience the anxiety too.