I hate word “bureaucracy” because it degrades public sector workers at all levels. For many reasons, countless pejorative metaphors, theories, and political actions about public sector workers have decorated the iron cage. Public sector staff can weave webs supporting real collaboration, see contacts outside the hierarchy and rules; they seek out connections with people who… Read more »
Understanding and identifying your personal communication style can help you manage work with others who may have different communication styles.
Just like a good fairy tale, a mentoring relationship should have a happy ending. Each mentoring relationship is different and has its own dynamics. Nevertheless, there are certain things you should think about when you are starting a relationship with a mentor. Just like any other relationship, these partnerships require love and caring to growRead… Read more »
Australia is following the UK and the USA’s digital government lead: the citizen experience is rightly being placed front and centre in “a relentless focus on the needs of the user”. The newly released Digital Service Standard & Design Guide now provide the criteria that Australian Government digital services will meet as they embark on… Read more »
Planning your career seems difficult, but approaching career development with the four-step model can help you break it down
The glass ceiling remains impenetrable for the majority of women in the Federal service. The SES continues to be dominated by men.
Wunderkind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about risk taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.[1]” And yet a recent government-industry conference[2] included a discussion on the question of whether federal leaders will take onRead… Read more »
“Be careful what you wish for!” – Teachers and parents probably admonished you with that warning. But, here you are, all grown up. Working for your government and loving the whole concept of it! So, why would this vestige of days gone by be of any consequence for you? Well, because we forgot its meaning.Read… Read more »
A common thread among the recent spate of state health insurance exchange rollout failures (e.g., Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon) was the states’ inability to effectively procure, manage and coordinate IT services from multiple contractors. In each case, the aftermath was a rash of finger-pointing between and among agency managers and contractors, and in someRead… Read more »
This is not news so much as awakening. In the deep recesses of my public servant heart I knew…felt…denied that the day of reckoning was here. Yet, it has arrived in the form of “Cities of the 21st Century,” a report published last month by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Zogby Analytics. TheRead… Read more »