Motivation is tricky. Many great blogs like Doris Tirone’s post talk about the dangers of believing a supervisor alone can motivate someone to be more efficient. External (extrinsic) motivators like money or praise are helpful, but internal (intrinsic) motivators are stronger and salient. One of the tools I have found most useful to understanding intrinsicRead… Read more »
How many of you are supervisors who wish you were giving more feedback and recognition to your staffs? How many of you are employees who wish you were getting more feedback and recognition from your boss? Whatever side of the question you fall on, manager and employee engagement through feedback and recognition is an essentialRead… Read more »
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain. William James To information security professionals, having a strong chain of policy, practice and architecture is indeed, life. The human factor is always the weakest link in any information security program. Why is that? People are our greatest asset!Read… Read more »
Our Office of Performance Management under City of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) City Manager Troy Schulte has managed an employee surveys over several years to identify where there are opportunities for internal service improvement. In an analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions, however, they have identified a few common issues that do notRead… Read more »
In part one of this two-part blog series, I described integrative thinking as simultaneously embracing two differing views or ideas, and considering multiple options while solving a seemingly “either/or” dilemma. This key leadership skill allows teams to break conventional “We have always done it this way” or “Let’s just go with the easy answer,” thoughtRead… Read more »
It seems like everywhere we look, we see big data calling our name. The profession of “data scientist” has been deemed the next hot job. Big data promises to solve all kinds of problems, from business logistics to tracking and treating diseases. These promises seem to have cropped up almost overnight. Think back to fiveRead… Read more »
In the virtual workplace of the future many high-performing millennials will be empowered by employers to decide when, where and how they work. These employees will be responsible for setting their own hours, as well as deciding if and when to physically commute to a traditional brick-and-mortar office. That is, assuming one still exists inRead… Read more »
If you have interns in your office, they have probably started working by now or will soon. Not only do they provide great work, former interns are your best ambassadors when they return to campus—they can help you recruit for next year’s interns, identify good candidates for entry level positions, and publicize the good thingsRead… Read more »
I wrote last week about the more automated kinds of feedback so here are some thoughts and ideas on direct user feedback. There are a number of approaches that we have followed so far: Usability testing In March we ran two days of user testing with people who use the NAO website. Many people wouldRead… Read more »
Gov.uk set an example and others followed In 2012, the Government Digital Service team launched a new home for the Cabinet of the United Kingdom replacing two sites: directgov and business link, and it was truly simple. No unnecessary imagery, homepage flashiness or marketing ploys. On gov.uk, you find information related to government services, andRead… Read more »