The contracting career field has the same challenges and pressures that other technical fields have. Like life, Contracting Officers are the products of both their professional upbringing and their organizational culture. Let us talk about how that works out for most offices.
The Types:
At this point in my professional career, I am all right with asserting that stereotypes exist for a reason in this career field. Over two decades of doing this line of work, I will share the three major “boxes” COs tend to fall into. This list is obviously not all-inclusive, nor is it static.
- The Power-Wielder: You will often see a CO’s warrant (appointment certificate, a Standard Form 1402) displayed in their office. There are COs who see that appointment as an anointment, translating to unilateral decisions on acquisitions. “Because I’m the CO” is usually the explanation for most choices. This CO tends to merge authority with power. Decisions result in protests and a general lack of desire on the part of industry to work with their agency if the CO is associated with that effort. Why? Sometimes it is just a lack of experience, sometimes it is feelings of inadequacy, and sometimes they have just done one too many ratifications.
- The Proceduralist: This CO has either been subjected to an overwhelming amount of Policy review comments or burned for process errors in a protest. This has made them extremely comfortable with trading acquisition lead time for organizational and psychological safety in the form of processes and documentation. Unfortunately for the rest of the Government team and industry, acquisitions may get bogged down in meetings and “box checks” in the form of communications and internal checklists. Again, sometimes it is not their fault; COs can be forced into this role if they are in agencies that measure value in word count. Unfortunately, this is the vast majority of COs.
- The Producer: The evolved form of any good 1102, the Producer is a CO that accurately measures and counters risk while instilling disciplined speed in any acquisition they touch. They leverage creative strategies in every acquisition phase and have a rationale that non-COs can understand, support and know their role at every step. They are not only comfortable with the uncomfortable, but they also embrace anything that will make them (and the acquisition!) better, faster, and stronger. They are either extremely experienced, they learned the trade in a world-class acquisition organization, or both.
It is important to remember that in the end, these are human beings with their own stages of professional development, aspirations, fears, and experiences. There are going to be variations on these themes. COs are on a journey like anyone else in a profession; they will change types as they learn and grow. May you always land on a Producer for a CO!
