Aspiring front-line managers often ask me, “What would you do as a front-line manager the first week on the job.” I tell them I would start having conversations with my team members that foster emotional connections. The first questions I would ask my direct reports are, “What is your personality and temperament, what are strengthsRead… Read more »
Nobody wants to think about knowledge management, but everybody needs it. Here are the basic things an organization should have covered as part of its KM system. 1. Establishing an information architecture for multiple user groups, permission levels, and knowledge sharing environments. 2. Maintaining the architecture, adding and removing people from user groups. 3. LocatingRead… Read more »
What wicked wonders await us in the next season of the hit series, House of Cards? If you’ve been binge watching, you know that the main character, Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, is a politician with some violently strong management methods. With Season 3 of House of Cards premiering on Netflix on February 27, 2015, it’sRead… 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 »
Super Bowl XLIX was this weekend. The Seattle Seahawks had second-and-goal at the 1 with 26 seconds remaining. The Seahawks were only one yard away from a second consecutive championship. Everyone, including me, knew that the only logical thing was for the quarterback to hand off the ball to their best running back to run theRead… Read more »
All employees want great managers, yet not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy that luxury. But what really makes an awesome manager? Some people say that an inclusive and positive can-do management style is best to promote leadership and productivity. Others argue it’s more effective for a manager to use fear tactics to get resultsRead… Read more »
Getting promoted to a management position at a young age deserves a hearty congratulations! But it can also be quite the challenge, especially if many members of your team are older than you. Young managers walk a fine line, balancing the need to demonstrate their capabilities on the one hand without alienating their older teamRead… Read more »
Said no one, ever. Sprinkle in a touch of government – ‘when I grow up I want to be a middle manager for the government’ and even your own child wouldn’t want you to show up on career day. In a meeting last week, co-workers were joking about being the dreaded ‘middle manager’, and IRead… Read more »
Generally, the first step towards problem solving is identifying the problem. How can the government expect to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the 21st century without first understanding what problems it’s up against? Chris Dorobek has been interviewing various government professionals to get their take on the biggest issues facing the U.S. government todayRead… Read more »
Management expert Gary Hamel says it is time we kill the bureaucracy. He recommends a new approach called Management 2.0 where people move from guardians and gatekeepers to joiners and enablers. Over Management Some of us work in suffocating bureaucracies of multiple management layers. It is difficult to get our high level bosses to listenRead… Read more »