Career

Join Me on Federal News Radio Tomorrow Morning, As I Discuss the “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014” and What it Could Mean For Feds!

Listen live to my radio interview tomorrow morning about U.S. House of Representatives’ Bill H.R. 4031 – the “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014” and what it could mean for federal employees at VA and in other federal agencies. To hear that interview, tune in to the “Legal Loop” segment of theRead… Read more »

7 Tips to Get Motivated — Using Your Personality Type

Motivation is tricky. Many great blogs like Doris Tirone’s post talk about the dangers of believing a supervisor alone can motivate someone to be more efficient. External (extrinsic) motivators like money or praise are helpful, but internal (intrinsic) motivators are stronger and salient. One of the tools I have found most useful to understanding intrinsicRead… Read more »

5 Ways to Develop Those Elusive “Soft Skills”

Your job requires a certain level of technical proficiencies and knowledge – “hard skills” that you’ve learned in school and on-the-job trainings. But how do you develop those harder to define “soft skills” like charisma, active listening, communication skills, time management, and optimism? Soft skills complement your hard skills, and are just as crucial anRead… Read more »

Where’s the Love? The #1 Reason Managers Aren’t Providing You Enough Feedback

How many of you are supervisors who wish you were giving more feedback and recognition to your staffs? How many of you are employees who wish you were getting more feedback and recognition from your boss? Whatever side of the question you fall on, manager and employee engagement through feedback and recognition is an essentialRead… Read more »

Taking a Good Look: Workplace Environment and Women’s Empowerment

Our Office of Performance Management under City of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) City Manager Troy Schulte has managed an employee surveys over several years to identify where there are opportunities for internal service improvement. In an analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions, however, they have identified a few common issues that do notRead… Read more »

USA.gov does away with blog comments – Plus the 7 Gov stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: Shutdown, furloughs, pay cuts – oh my! Last year was basically Groundhog Day for feds, each day an endless cycle of bad news – at least, that’s what it felt like. But how bad was it, really? A new survey tries to capture the data. We take a look. You canRead… Read more »

The Time for Gov to Embrace Change is Now

Shutdown, furloughs, pay cuts – oh my! Last year was basically Groundhog Day for feds, each day an endless cycle of bad news – at least, that’s what it felt like. But how bad was it, really? A new survey tries to capture the data. In the new report, “Embracing Change: CHCOs Rising to theRead… Read more »

The Interns Are Here! … Now What?

If you have interns in your office, they have probably started working by now or will soon. Not only do they provide great work, former interns are your best ambassadors when they return to campus—they can help you recruit for next year’s interns, identify good candidates for entry level positions, and publicize the good thingsRead… Read more »