Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is opening up about the frustrations of his job, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Tillerson, the former chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, said his life has changed since being appointed secretary of state.
"Well it is a lot different than being CEO of Exxon because I was the ultimate decision-maker," he said.
"That always makes life easier."
As a chief executive, he said, "You own it, you make the decision, and I had a very different organization around me. One that I spent my whole life with, people knew me very well and they knew what to expect.
"We had very long-standing, disciplined processes and decision-making — I mean, highly structured — that allows you to accomplish a lot, to accomplish a lot in a very efficient way."
His comments to reporters came on a flight returning to the U.S. after meetings in six countries, the Times reported.
He said the government is not "a highly-disciplined organization."
"Decision-making is fragmented, and sometimes people don't want to take decisions. Coordination is difficult through the interagency (process)."
Tillerson recently blew up at Johnny DeStafano, head of the presidential personnel office over delays in approving staff appointments, Politico reported.
He had also complained the White House was leaking damaging information about him to the press.
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