Starting today, Young Government Leaders will cross-post their weekly blog on GovLoop. This is a great series written by the executive board of YGL with topics ranging from mentoring, leadership, to managing life outside the office. Please check out the original blog at the YGL website We will begin by posting a few of myRead… Read more »
Recently, I finished the book How Washington Really Works. It is just one book in a series (Bureacracy, Case for Bureaucracy, Hardball) I’ve been reading trying to understand the government space where I work. Since my master’s is not in public policy, a lot of this is still new to me and I am basicallyRead… Read more »
Back in the 1980”s (you remember the 80’s-the “me generation”, big hair, bad rock and roll), institutions began to develop courses on ethical behavior in response to a perceived lack of ethical behavior in the workplace (venerable Harvard Law School placed an ethics course in their curriculum which generated more then a modest amount ofRead… Read more »
Looking at the residence listings of GovLoop members made me feel a bit of an outsider; so many are from what I would consider the “DC Area.” It made me wonder how valuable GovLoop would be for me, as a Washington Outsider. But then I got to thinking: what, if any, are the real differences?Read… Read more »
Management is (to paraphrase Casey Stengal) :”75% art and the other half is science” . To individuals entering the profession, managing can appear to be an endless minefield with potential disasters lurking at each step. Yet veteran managers often appear to subordinates as magicians able to generate optimum performance effortlessly. Over the next several weeksRead… Read more »
Since my last post discussed dealing with failure, I wanted to come back with a blog on success. I once wrote a 800 word essay with tips for success for Gen Y. While it never came out (you can thank some merciless editors), I don’t think I need 800 words to summarize my article. YouRead… Read more »
When you are early in your career, mentors have often told me “you should take risks” and “if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying.” While I understand their advice, it is still really hard to fail for the perfectionists out there. One of the best talks I’ve been to recently was Karen Evans from OMBRead… Read more »
Are you already nervous? Don’t worry – this is a post about public speaking, you don’t have to talk. Public speaking is one of those skills you just have to practice until you get better. The little known trick to public speaking is 90% of speakers are really bad. You can worry yourself sick aboutRead… Read more »
Several years ago, about 6 months after I started working for a new employer, my supervisor called me in to his office to give me feedback on how I was doing. During our conversation, he told me, “I only hire people who are lazy.” Not wanting to be tagged with that moniker, I figured IRead… Read more »
SBA Administrator Karen Mills will speak at a National Press Club luncheon, Monday, Dec. 14. Mills’ speech, “Building Businesses, Creating Jobs, and Strengthening our Economy,” will highlight the Obama administration’s efforts to ensure that small businesses have the resources they need to continue to drive economic growth and create jobs. The nation’s largest single financialRead… Read more »