Leadership

A Closer Look at the State of Leadership

Which are you, traditional or collaborative? If you’re a senior level executive who is middle aged, you probably came up through the ranks a bit, after education paved the way and experience opened doors. If you’re a senior level executive who is of a younger generation, perhaps connections made while in school, or a strongRead… Read more »

Does The President’s Budget Matter?

The White House released its fiscal 2015 budget proposal on Tuesday. The budget aims to “put a stop to short-sighted cuts to government operations” and to expand funding for federal-employee training. Federal employees’ pocketbooks would also get a slight boost. For the second year in a row, the Obama administration is proposing a 1 percentRead… Read more »

Follow the Data — and Follow the Money: How to Save State Taxpayers $21.5M a Year

Here’s a question. Say you are the facilities manager for a government building. How do you keep track of the operating status of all the equipment and infrastructure within the building? Would you know if a chiller was not operating at peak efficiency? Now, hold that thought… Wind the calendar back to 2008. Recognizing aRead… Read more »

A Bird’s Eye View of Leadership

The following is a brief look back over the last 20 years based on what I have seen senior executives do to enhance their leadership of organizations throughout the years. 1. Clarify expectations. Focusing on results equals creating a zone of focus. I’ve seen several leaders throughout the years, do a great job at clarifyingRead… Read more »

Is Gov The Lean, Mean, Shared Services Machine?

If you imagine government in its ideal form, it would have very few overlapping programs and departments. It would be a lean, mean, efficiency driven machine. But that government ideal is difficult to create. Our nation faces a variety of challenges: strengthening national security; protecting the environment, agriculture and natural resources; caring for Americans’ healthRead… Read more »

“You Talkin’ [about] Me?”

This is a guest post by Tom Steinberg, Director of mySociety, a not-for-profit social enterprise based in the United Kingdom. If the mayor of your city started talking about you in speeches, would you want to know? Or if the planning committee in your town started to talk quite a lot about your house, orRead… Read more »

10 Reasons Why Government Training Is About to Be Completely Disrupted

I just finished reading a brand new report released by Katie Parris and Mario Morino of the Morino Institute entitled, “Just in Time: The Beyond-the-Hype Potential of E-Learning” – and I plan to give it a re-read sometime soon! If you are interested in advancing your career or are responsible for helping others to doRead… Read more »

Why Your Organization Should Understand Resource Dependency Theory

Scarcity of resources. It is a problem that individuals and organizations attempt to solve on an economic, political, and social level on a regular basis. Contentment with wealth, power, or influence can be elusive yet motivating if managed properly. For the public sector, it is typically management of scarce resources that can enhance or hinderRead… Read more »

There’s No Match.Com for Mentorship

Dating sites spout all sorts of algorithms on love. They say if you join their dating service, their computers will crunch the numbers and find you the perfect match. Sometimes it works. But when it comes to government mentorship, finding the right person isn’t so calculable. There is not a match making algorithm for mentorship.Read… Read more »

Parameters Are The Problem

This was originally posted at cpsrenewal.ca. I recently ran across a business article about aligning your strategy with your environment. The hook was a cartoon of a man yelling “Why won’t this gigantic square peg fit in this round hole?!” Standare fare, age-old advice. Of course we should make sure that our strategies make senseRead… Read more »