Several months ago, a coworker noticed I had a “throw down meeting” scheduled on my Outlook calendar. “Is everything OK?” she asked, eyebrows furled. I laughed, and realized I had some explaining to do! I told her “throw down” is slang for “fight” – those of us who work with troubled teens have heard aboutRead… Read more »
Young Government Leaders (YGL) and GovLoop present the NextGen Public Service Awards for superior public service and achievement. The 4th Annual NextGen Public Service Awards will be given at the 2014 NextGen Award’s Ceremony, which will kick off the NextGen Training Summit on July 23rd in Washington, DC. We have 18 finalists in six differentRead… Read more »
Achieving agency missions becomes harder and more complex every minute. But with less money in the budget, many agencies are stuck between the need to deliver new services and the cost of supporting old infrastructure. To break the cycle of dependence on proprietary systems and endless service contracts, agencies need simpler, widely compatible network infrastructureRead… Read more »
Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to monitor one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Being able to detect different emotions and label them appropriately as well as react to them appropriately is what emotional intelligence is all about. I would go a step further to say that emotional intelligence inRead… Read more »
What is your sense of the culture of your organization? Is it mission-focused, optimistic about succeeding and engaged in tackling difficult issues with an anxiousness to solve them? Or has it become a territorial, negative, bureaucratic enterprise where every opportunity is met with “we could never do that” excuses that roll off the tongues ofRead… Read more »
A special edition of GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER today. We’re LIVE! We meet every month with the simple idea, get smart people together and share ideas because we believe that the real power of information comes when it is shared. Better data means better customer service. Consider the way Amazon uses your purchasing history to suggest itemsRead… Read more »
Just before my 24th birthday, I landed what I thought would be a great government job. My boss was a long time public servant. She had worked hard for the government for her entire career and was proud of her service. I quickly learned that she believed in traditions, in doing things by the book,Read… Read more »
The secret to usability is not brilliant design. Even the most talented designers have difficulty being creative on demand. Artistic talent helps but it is not a requirement. Anyone can create good, usable products. There are a few techniques to help you create good designs. One secret to good design is using iterative processes. YouRead… Read more »
“Hey Sisyphus. That’s some rock you’re pushing up the hill!” Don’t you just feel like that some days? Pushing a rock up hill, hoping it doesn’t roll back down on you? Just to clarify, in the original myth, Sisyphus was condemned for eternity to push a boulder up the hill and having it roll down,Read… Read more »
Where are you going with your job? Do you know what you expect from your job as a foundation for your career aspirations? Sometimes the first job after college is the one we may stick with because it meets a certain need. Fast forward five years later and you realize that your world or yourRead… Read more »