216 Public Administration Review • March | April 2012 management practices that can be adapted to govern- ment, fundamental diff erences exist between the two sectors. Th is run-government-like a-business rhetoric undoubtedly will gain even more momentum as we move further into the silly season of the presidential campaign. In contrast, this article provides more evidence that managing in government is distinctly diff erent from managing in the private sector. While those of us who have devoted our careers to government may take this on faith, much of the general public has a diff erent view. One key area of diff erence relates to the public and private sector workforces. Th ese diff erences include what motivates our employees to serve—and succeed— in government and how leaders who understand these motivations can apply this knowledge. As documented in “Pulling the Levers” and elsewhere, this understand- ing should inform how government agencies select, develop, motivate, advance, and retain talent. Th is research also can be linked to the critical issue of why public sector leaders should focus on improving employee engagement and the steps leaders can take to drive higher levels of engagement. Other research has documented that employee engagement can be a powerful force for individual and organizational eff ectiveness. In the private sector, this translates into superior fi nancial performance as well as lower turno- ver, less employee lost time, and fewer accidents. Th e latter impacts clearly translate to the public sector. Moreover, research on employee engagement that specifi cally focuses on government shows that agencies with higher levels of engagement have more success achieving their strategic goals. Th e link between the work of Wright, Moynihan, and Pandey and the engagement research stems from the According to a 2011 survey conducted by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, state and local government execu- tives reported that the number-one issue they face today is morale. Recently released results from the Partnership for Public Service’s annual “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” rankings (based on surveys of more than 265,000 federal employees) showed a decline in job satisfaction across the federal government. Th ese results should not be surprising given the current wave of attacks on the public sector and, sadly, on public servants. A diffi cult economic and political climate has led to a decline in confi dence in government, as well as public sector pay freezes, cuts in worker benefi ts, threats of government shutdowns, and the certainty of budget reductions. In this tough environment, “Pulling the Levers” has important implications for practitioners. In particular, the results provide the following: • Additional—and timely—evidence that the public sector is indeed diff erent from the pri- vate sector. As a result, managing in gove.