Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia’s operating standards for agency CIO:
Trust is the foundation: “Every success we’ll have is downstream of trust.
Trust among teammates, between agencies, with the public, and with our partners. Trust is extended to you on day one and it is yours to lose. You will be exposed to sensitive information: interagency cybersecurity gaps, budget vulnerabilities, contract disputes, employee performance data and more. With transparency comes responsibility. Don’t lie. Don’t omit to mislead. Know when to speak and when to withhold. If in doubt, do not tout. Confused? Ask a lead. No one gets in trouble for asking. Breach of trust is the one failure from which there is no guaranteed recovery. Everything else is coachable.”
Truth over comfort: We are truth-seeking above all. The truth is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, or career challenging—but we pursue it anyway. Call out broken processes. Identify policy contradictions. Challenge assumptions, even from the top. We don’t sugarcoat: the stakes are too high. This is a mission-driven team, not a compliance-driven bureaucracy.”