Oftentimes federal workgroups innovate and/or develop best practices, but we do not share across systems. How do high-performing government agencies or private sector companies spread best practices to ensure integration? – Supervisor (GS-15), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Anyone who’s worked in a large organization can tell you how it is difficult to spread bestRead… Read more »
With the holidays rapidly approaching, are you looking for a last-minute gift for the federal leader in your life? To help make your shopping easier, here are my favorite five leadership books from 2011. Each book is an easy read and includes actionable ideas for federal leaders looking to navigate the ambiguity and challenges thatRead… Read more »
Jim Leach has been chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities since August 2009. Prior to being nominated by President Obama for the post, Leach served 30 years as a member of Congress from Iowa, and subsequently as a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and as interim director of theRead… Read more »
As a father of three children, including my three-month old son Charlie, I’m a big fan of the new NBC show Up All Night that deals with working parents struggling to balance family and careers. Focused on the holidays, the most recent episode played off the stress of the season to great comedic effect. AmidRead… Read more »
Senior government leaders appear hesitant to make decisions or convert risks into opportunity even when presented with data that justifies a certain decision. Why?– Supervisor (GS-14), U.S. Food and Drug Administration Decision-making is difficult in any organization given incomplete information, competing stakeholder demands and tight timeframes bearing down on leaders who are responsible for makingRead… Read more »
“Moneyball” is a highly entertaining movie that showed how Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane used data to improve his baseball team’s performance. It turned out, for example, that on-base percentages were more important than batting averages as an indicator of a hitter’s effectiveness because a walk can also get a player on base. GovernmentRead… Read more »
Ken Salazar is the 50th secretary of the Department of the Interior. Previously, he served as a U.S. senator from Colorado, Colorado’s state attorney general and the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Salazar has also been a farmer and a small businessman. This interview was conducted by Tom Fox, author ofRead… Read more »
John S. Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration since July 2010, oversees the management of a workforce of 60,000; security operations at more than 450 U.S. airports; the Federal Air Marshal Service; and the security of highways, railroads, ports, mass transit systems and pipelines. As a national security and counterterrorism expert during his 26-yearRead… Read more »
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), listed No. 1 in this year’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, had been rated 25th out of 30 large agencies six years ago. After initiating a set of management reforms geared toward improving employee culture and morale, the FDIC has seen their scores skyrocket –Read… Read more »
I’m a big believer in the old adage, “Everything that needs to be done to improve government is being done somewhere, just not everywhere.” The key, of course, is sharing those lessons across agencies to improve performance government-wide. Here’s a case in point. A few agencies have seen considerable improvements in the just released 2011Read… Read more »