People move around a lot in the field of city and county management; I have an Outlook database that can prove it. And when the city manager or another leader leaves, it’s tempting for a government to try to have other staffers cover that work until someone new is hired. I think it’s almost alwaysRead… Read more »
I have a big announcement (details below), but before I share the good news, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on why I created GovLoop (which I launched from my spare bedroom in summer of 2008). GovLoop started from a need I had as a government employee. Every day at DHS, my bossRead… Read more »
“Winter is Coming” is a key theme of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. With its warning of constant vigilance, the meaning is clear – no matter how good or calm things seem now, the good times and serenity won’t last forever…and you need to prepare and be proactive to ensure you’re ready for… Read more »
Data visualization software can help data analysts more efficiently distill and communicate pertinent information to their customers. Likewise, the customization available in many data visualization packages enables consumers of data to more easily obtain and sort through the information they need. In a previous blog post, I explored how the U.S. General Services Administration isRead… Read more »
Imagine a virtual place where people who work in the wider public sector could find and network with each other, collaborate and publish, share anything, create and join expert groups. A place where a public servant or health worker or councillor or local government officer or charity worker or trustee could find and connect withRead… Read more »
It doesn’t matter how much you love your job – burnout can still be a real danger if you’re not careful. I skirted the edge of it last week after a month of working quite a few more hours than normal, taking breaks only to hunt down something to eat, and dreaming about client work inRead… Read more »
Government increasingly spends more time, money, and effort into strengthening cybersecurity. But is government getting the return on such investments that it should? (ISC)2, the largest not-for profit membership body of certified information and software security professionals worldwide, recently released its seventh Global Information Workforce Study (GISWS) in partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton, Cyber 360Read… Read more »
Are you faced with an ethical dilemma? Work through this handy checklist from CRMlearning based on “Ethics 4 Everyone” by Eric Harvey and Scott Airitam. Before you take action, ask yourself… Is it legal? Does it comply with our rules and regulations? Is it consistent with our organizational values? Will I be guilt-free if I doRead… Read more »
There are a lot of stereotypes about people who work in government. Meet real government employees though and you quickly realize that most of the negative stereotypes are unfair. No matter where in government you work, and whether it’s at the local, regional, or national level, chances are that you’ve got coworkers that fit one ofRead… Read more »
Mentoring has long been an effective informal career development tactic in many government agencies. In a testimony to Congress, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Associate Director and Chief Human Capital Officer Nancy H. Kichak described the use of mentoring by federal agencies: “Mentoring is critical and can happen in many ways – through formalRead… Read more »