One of my favorite leadership experts, Robin Sharma, proposes an interesting theory called “Leading without a title.” Sharma uses this concept to explain a new model of leadership versus the old model. The old model of leadership was based on command and control. It was believed that change and real impact could only be broughtRead… Read more »
Some government research programs place a large emphasis on product development. At the same time, as government employees, we must be very careful not to appear to endorse any particular company or product. How can we reconcile these two concepts? One thing that probably doesn’t surprise you about being a government employee is that weRead… Read more »
I still remember looking longingly at the Safeway “Help Wanted” ads offering $9/hour to bag groceries while I slogged away at yet another unpaid government internship. Like most other DC-based grad students, I regarded unpaid internships as a rite of passage. Yet the trade-off — a rich, rewarding internship experience — was not always partRead… Read more »
Why is this important? The best organizations have high performing learning and development (L&D) departments. There is a direct correlation between organizations that are successful and how much value they place on L&D. Many organizations are struggling with finding the right people to fill technical jobs due to the shortage of skilled workers to fillRead… Read more »
We know that government is slow to adopt new technologies and change. But the technologies now exist to provide you as a constituent or as a state leader with the ability to see where state dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved virtually in real-time. It is now only a question ofRead… Read more »
My post on engagement from a few weeks ago, The Myth of Social Media Engagement in the Public Service, generated a healthy debate on the nature and inherent value of engagement in the public sector. Some interpreted my post as saying that I held little or no value in engagement for the public sector. ThisRead… Read more »
I have always been interested in happiness. Even before Pharrell Williams made it fashionable to sing about and dance to, I was interested in what made people happy. When I was given the opportunity to do some research for a Masters degree in Public Leadership (Virginia State Univ 2013) citizen satisfaction with local government becameRead… Read more »
In my last blog, I talked about how to increase everyone’s productivity by tweaking your meetings. What about making your personal time more productive? Technology helps you multitask and do more, right? Wrong. Mutitasking creates lower quality results making you less productive. Here are seven productivity tips that I have combined from inc.com, a listRead… Read more »
When I was an undergraduate student in the college at the University of Chicago I worked; I worked a lot. I worked multiple jobs to ease the guilt I felt over my family suffering financial hardships that were exacerbated by the price tag of my education. In addition, I finished college in three years toRead… Read more »
It’s one solution or the other. If “A” is true, then we should definitely do “B” – it’s so obvious! Let’s solve this problem one step at a time. As government officials, we often feel our job duties are closer to those of an ‘inferno abatement specialist’ (government speak for “firefighter”) than those of aRead… Read more »