He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) The budget season of 2010 for local government was particularly brutal. Many localities were taking deep cuts and scaling back. DepartmentsRead… 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 »
If you want to know about major innovation in the public sector then look to NASA. The space agency is a crown jewel of government innovation and a global role model for groundbreaking scientific research and discovery. NASA serves as a reminder to America of what’s possible when Uncle Sam harnesses his full potential, asRead… Read more »
The Obama Administration has done wonders in terms of young, fresh talent entering the public sector. The Pathways Program Initiative was initiated in 2012 to improve the federal sector by hiring more recent graduates, streamlining the federal hiring process and hiring veterans. Essentially, the program has three main facets: hiring process, internship program and theRead… Read more »
There’s much a leader can gain from working on her listening skills: an encouraged and inspired team, an environment that fosters idea sharing, and closer relationships with colleagues and other professionals. Listening isn’t just about being polite. It’s about respect, humility, and growth. So often we treat listening like waiting for our turn up toRead… Read more »
Back in the day, before the recession, you could hitch your wagon to a rising star in your organization, create a mentoring relationship, and find career success. Nowadays, your mentor is not likely to be around for your whole career—voluntarily or involuntarily. The hot phrase among career coaches is “Personal Board of Directors”, but IRead… 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 »
“No” is often not the worst answer. No reply is the absolute pits. It leaves the asker hanging and sometimes unable to determine and/or implement an alternative plan. Yet this phenomenon plagues an increasing number of people in today’s world. Are too many people adrift in a Kafkaesque combination of a messy e-mail inbox and/orRead… Read more »
What do I mean by asking ‘Does digital engagement really exist?’ As I have categorised this post under digital engagement it suggests that I believe in the concept, but lets see where this leads… I was struck last week by the comments of @betonykelly and @timolloyd from BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, England)Read… Read more »
How do we know if states (or my state) are acting efficiently with tax dollars and if programs or initiatives are working? Surprising, we know little from the states themselves. “Of course, our programs are working,” say the elected politicians! “Our programs are more effective than ever!” say the myriad of special interest groups clamoringRead… Read more »