Leadership Quote by John McCarthy

McCarthy’s jab lands because it punctures a comforting myth: that the problem with bureaucracy is simply the people who make a career of it. “Amateur bureaucrats” sounds like an oxymoron, but that’s the point. He’s warning that red tape isn’t only a product of entrenched civil servants; it’s also the hobbyhorse of politicians, appointees, and reformers who parachute in convinced they’re the antidote to the system. They arrive with slogans about efficiency and “getting things done,” then compensate for their inexperience by overcorrecting: more forms, more sign-offs, more rules to prove seriousness and avoid blame.

The subtext is a politician’s two-way swipe. On one side, it’s a critique of novice governance: ideological staffers, inexperienced committee chairs, or local officials who mistake control for competence. On the other, it subtly rehabilitates the professional bureaucracy as a necessary evil - the people who, whatever their flaws, at least know where the pipes are and which valves explode under pressure. In that framing, expertise isn’t glamorous, but it’s stabilizing.

Contextually, the line reads like a defense of institutional memory in an era when “outsider” branding is treated as a governing philosophy. McCarthy is arguing that process exists for a reason: to manage risk, ensure continuity, and distribute accountability. The cynical edge is that amateurs often hate bureaucracy right up until the moment they need it to shield them. Then they build an even tighter maze, because nothing creates paperwork faster than fear.