Other bloggers have written some excellent articles on ways to improve government hiring practices including Donna Dyer’s excellent blogs. I see an issue regarding promoting people within the federal government and offer a suggestion for improvement from the state of California. Where’s the Promotion? On several occasions, my supervisor lamented the lack of easy, transparentRead… Read more »
No doubt you’ve listened to some of the more colorful speeches this graduation season. But many of us―who are long past our cap and gown days―may not consider ourselves students anymore. In reality, we’re learning all the time: reading articles, talking to colleagues, retweeting, leaving comments, listening to podcasts…the amount of information we absorb isRead… Read more »
It’s small, but mighty. If ignored, it gets worse. It can cause us to limp, stumble, and ultimately fail. What is it? It’s our “Achilles’ heel.” We have weaknesses. Some weaknesses, such as dishonesty, aggressiveness, or blatant disrespectfulness, are glaring. Others, though not as obvious, can be just as debilitating to a leader and theirRead… Read more »
“Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go” I attended a webinar a few weeks ago that was based on the book, “Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go,” by Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni. The webinar and book talk about the critical role that supervisors play in employee engagement and development. The webinar madeRead… Read more »
The late Zig Ziglar, a well-known author, sales trainer and motivational speaker, is credited with saying, “You can get anything in this world you want – as long as you are willing to help others get what they want”. Too often however our focus is either on what we want, or what we think othersRead… Read more »
Your job requires a certain level of technical proficiencies and knowledge – “hard skills” that you’ve learned in school and on-the-job trainings. But how do you develop those harder to define “soft skills” like charisma, active listening, communication skills, time management, and optimism? Soft skills complement your hard skills, and are just as crucial anRead… Read more »
Transitions happen in every organization. Consequently, the results include co-workers and leadership leaving to join new offices on a regular basis. Some call it staff turn-overs or others view it as “staying power” if you decide to not move on. Sometimes when people leave to take on new opportunities, it is because they out paceRead… Read more »
I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s day and had a chance to spend it, in person or in spirit, with your own mom. Although my own mom passed away many years ago, and I miss her terribly, she still influences my life today. I think back when she was alive and what a richRead… Read more »
In my previous post, I talked about the benefits of having a skunk works of federal developers. How can this team help with your Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software choices? Your internal development team cannot (and should not!) build every piece of software you need. They should focus on unique, mission specific processes thatRead… Read more »
There are many personal challenges in life, such as illness and death of those close to you, marriage, birth of a child, a divorce. For me , it’s been a career change for my wife and subsequent sale of a home with a move and purchase of a new home. Some say successful people justRead… Read more »