THE ULTIMATE FIXER

A leader is often known by the people he/she surrounds himself/herself. This is especially true for a US president-elect because the modern presidency is too complex for any single person to get results. So, I am closely watched President-elect Biden make his staff and cabinet appointments and was pleased to discover his appointment of the Covid-19 coordinator- Jeffrey Zients.

If you have not heard of Zients, that is understandable. He apparently does not seek the limelight. From videos I have seen of him he is polite, respectful, and positive. One former colleague of his describes him as possessing a high level of emotional intelligence. During the Obama Administration he was known as “Mr. Fix-It” as he was often called upon to lead agencies or programs out of chaos. He is no expert in areas like IT or health care, but Zients knows how to lead people and manage resources. I consider him the ultimate fixer in the most positive way.

An ultimate fixer is almost an indispensable person for any leader. In the past I called such people “wizards.” These people cross boundaries to perform their magic with the total confidence of the leader. Franklin Roosevelt had his Harry Hopkins, Ronald Reagan had his William Clark, Donald Trump had his Mick Mulvaney, and Barack Obama had (and now Joe Biden has) Zients. Fixers are generalists rather than specialists in that they are flexible, adaptable, and have the agility to organize to get results.

Zients was born in suburban Washington, DC. After graduating from Duke University with a major in political science he moved to Boston and became a consultant. He returned to the Washington area and engaged in numerous business ventures. He is credited in helping to bring back major league baseball to the nation’s capital in the form of the Washington Nationals team.

President Obama first appointed Zients in 2009 as the federal government’s first chief performance officer. Then, over the course of the next several years, Zients was twice acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (once for 16 months), program manager for both “Cash for Clunkers” and the ACA Heathcare.gov website, and finally director of the National Economic Council. For the past four years Zients has been an investment banker.

When asked at a Washington economic forum during the Obama Administration on how he led the effort to repair the broken healthcare.gov website Zients answered in a typical fixer way- set a deadline, organize a team, get one general contractor, and work hard. Thus, Zients has a well-deserved reputation as a management expert who knows how to best use systems and processes to get the desired results. I expect to see him appointed to other posts in the Biden Administration.

Finally, Zients has served as White House Chief of Staff for President Biden since the resignation of Ron Klain on February 8, 2023. This post has been most enigmatic for Zients. With President Biden in political freefall due to health and policy concerns, the public has not heard from Zients, so, we are not informed of his management style with the President or with the White House staff. Even more specifically, we do not know of his attitudes towards such policy issues as immigration, inflation, crime, or even the presidential candidacy of Vice President Harris. Perhaps we political and policy wonks will learn something in 2025 and beyond.