Too Many Chiefs; Not Enough Authority

Alan Greenblatt provides a tepid response to the proliferation of public sector positions with the title of chief. Greenblatt's concern: that they're might be too many "chiefs" in city halls with too little actual power to deliver any improvements to the city.

The source of inspiration or the article: the city of Atlanta's hiring of a position with that title in October 2015. According to Greenblatt, the hire signals two things: "One is that thinking about what’s good for bicyclists is a priority for Mayor Kasim Reed. The other is that it’s starting to get a little crowded in the 'C' suites."

Greenblatt focuses on the latter of these two trends as an example of "title inflation," or the "everybody get's a trophy" ethos of contemporary American culture.  

Although Greenblatt acknowledges that many chiefs (or czars, as they are also sometimes called) have important work to do, their roles are also limited by budgetary limitations and a lack of real authority over partner agencies. "The worst-case scenario is that new chiefs come in and act as just one more person who can call meetings," writes Greenblatt. "By contrast, when Boston Mayor Marty Walsh created a chief streets officer last year, he invested that position with complete oversight of the transportation and public works departments."