W. Robert Pearson

State
W. Robert Pearson
Director General of the Foreign Service,
Chief Human Resources Officer

What W. Robert Pearson is not is as interesting as what he is. He is the director general of the Foreign Service and chief human resources officer for the State Department. He was ambassador to Turkey from September 2000 through the volatile days following Sept. 11, and the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq. He has represented America in France, at NATO, in China and New Zealand, and speaks French, Chinese and Turkish. He is a 27-year veteran of the Foreign Service, a former member of the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps and a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School.

But even though he is now the head of human resources for the sprawling foreign policy agency, he is not a certified human resources professional. Thus, he thinks about his job from the perspective of an ambassador or a Foreign Service officer in the field. He's overseeing the creation of career development plans, so employees will know what skills and training they need as they move along. He's created a skills database so that State Department leaders can figure out who to call when certain skills are needed. The department used that database after the December tsunami to identify people with experience in Sri Lanka. He's added more language proficiency-and leadership and management training-to skill requirements. He's requiring more Foreign Service officers to serve in tough posts.

When he talks about his efforts, he doesn't talk about improving training, as an HR specialist might. He talks about boosting "the readiness" of the workforce for the foreign policy challenges the country faces. "All of this is aimed at making us a more results-oriented and results-effective Foreign Service," Pearson says.

While beefing up skill sets, he also is working on HR issues that could improve the financial well-being of Foreign Service officers. One is finding more work for spouses. Another is changing a law that prohibits senior officers from receiving the same pay overseas that they receive in Washington. "We send them overseas and to tough places, and they get lower base pay," Pearson says. "That's something that's very important to set right."