Should I Even Bring It Up? Competence vs. Performance Errors
Do you understand the difference between competence errors and performance errors? Here’s how you can use this linguistics concept to give better feedback!
Posts Tagged: Theory
How To Motivate Your Online Community
During the final session of the online communities 101course we tackled the one question that every online community manager wants answered: What is the magic formula to motivating your members so that they engage with and create content. Govloop’s Engagement Strategist, Lauren Modeen (@exilauren); and GovDelivery’s Director of Engagement Services, Joseph Porcelli (@josephporcelli), discussed howRead… Read more »
Managing Complexity
The deficit showdown reflects a challenge of modern times: how can government – and society – deal with increased complexity? A new book may point the way. Noted government observer Donald Kettl, wrote several years ago that the government of the future needs to develop three things to deal with increased complexity: knowledge-driven organizations, theRead… Read more »
Starlings, Transparency, and Thad Allen
I always consider a conference a success if I come away inspired by one big idea. That happened to me at the recent annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration. I’ve been mulling over a series of presentations given at that conference that coincidentally helped me think more clearly about “complexity theory” andRead… Read more »
Does Gov 2.0 Lead to Improved Government? Proving the Case
Gov 2.0 advocates claim that their various projects in social networking and open government will, of course, lead to improved performance from government agencies and more satisfactory citizen engagement. But where is the proof? As Poister, Pitts, and Edwards (2010) conclude from their analysis of the last twenty years of strategic management in the publicRead… Read more »
Organizational Entrepreneurs: 21st Century Leaders
Making Mountains out of Capitol Hill A first time visitor to Capitol Hill will probably be surprised to find the legislative branch of United States government essentially run by twenty-something-year-olds fresh out of school. “I’m 33 and I am past my time,” Eric Johnson, former Chief of Staff to Robert Wexler (D-FL), told a groupRead… Read more »
Generative Order – Reason for Change
Generally I have used the “generative order” as a theory to understand change. Based on this theory that is based on entropy (also that deals with systems dynamics) following is the brief discussion about when the change occurs. Change affects everybody. And it will happen again and again, when the entropic equilibrium is disturbed. ItRead… Read more »
The LMX Theory
Have you noticed that managers often act differently toward their different employees? Do you sometimes see managers who have favorites? Well, if so, you are witnessing the workings of the LMX theory of leadership. The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory holds that leaders have two different types of relationships among their followers. In essence, leaders establishRead… Read more »
Top 5 Leadership Characteristics for Process Improvement Success
Recently during a visit to the GSA conference held in San Antonio, I had the opportunity to speak with several people in the federal government about Lean Six Sigma. In most cases they shared with me that they had “tried” Lean Six Sigma and it did not work or “we did that and are nowRead… Read more »