When author and speaker Josh Kaufman and his wife had their first baby, he knew he needed to find another approach to learning in his now-limited free time. In his TEDx talk, The First 20 Hours (based on his book of the same name), he talks about his journey to re-learn how to learn, byRead… Read more »
Please share a success story from your work in the last month. Last year, I asked staff to respond to this request in a meeting. And the response I got surprised me: silence. Unfortunately, staff could not identify one; not because they hadn’t done great work, but because they were lost in process, policy andRead… Read more »
Innovation can happen at your office every day – when employees find new solutions to challenges, big and small. Learning how to be innovative helps you to be more effective and satisfied at work.
Effective leaders want to be challenged to expand their own skillset. They team with other experts who will challenge their ideas, pushing them to grow. They strive to be good role models to support and uplift their team members as well as recruit other experts into their organization. People that are the best want to… Read more »
Why do government systems fail? That is essentially the question raised by MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough following word that IRS data got hacked. MSNBC’s Morning Joe on government IT problems The short but exceedingly provocative discussion that followed spurred me to think: How would I answer that question? What are the big obstaclesRead… Read more »
What is one thing managers can do to increase creativity, productivity, and commitment by their employees? A recent study by two psychologists, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, concludes: “If you focus on supporting the daily progress of people working in your organization, you will not only foster the success of the organization but also enrichRead… 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 »
When managers can successfully delegate duties within their team, the entire organization benefits. The art of leadership rewards managers so they don’t have to do it all. Synergy makes the group stronger and more meaningful to the individuals comprising the team, including the manager. Leaders want to work with other leaders, not micromanagers who hoard… Read more »
An informal mentor can be a great career development resource, whether you are trying to manage work/life balance, navigate career decisions, or develop new skills.