The Washington region tends to slow a little after Memorial Day. The traffic is a little lighter (most days) and Fridays somehow seem to end a little earlier. If you’re a developing leader, I would suggest that you use this time to take a step back and consider a question I get all of theRead… Read more »
This week I spoke with Norm Mineta, who represented San Jose, CA in Congress for 20 years, as well as served in Cabinets of both Republican and Democratic presidents. As Secretary of Transportation for President George W. Bush after September 11th, Mineta was tasked with guiding the creation of the Transportation Security Administration – withRead… Read more »
The Gulf Coast oil spill has become one of the greatest environmental disasters this country has ever faced, and many are already blaming our federal government and its leaders for a failed response. It’s appropriate to question our leaders — even in a crisis — but we should consider both facts and context before rushingRead… Read more »
Although it’s been a short week, I had some interesting comments around the importance and impact of job mobility and other issues confronting our government’s rising leaders. Please continue sharing your ideas and questions by emailing me at [email protected] or posting in the comments section below. Q: I’m a newer federal employee, and I wouldRead… Read more »
A few years ago John Mayer won a Grammy with the song Waiting on the World to Change. It’s an upbeat, even memorable song, but here’s my worry: That federal leaders may be taking this tune as their theme song when it comes to enacting government-hiring reform. I know what you’re thinking — hiring reform,Read… Read more »
In response to Monday’s column on hiring reform, several readers correctly highlighted that some federal agencies do several things better than the private sector when it comes to hiring. Here is one of those comments: There are a few things that [agencies] do far better than the private sector – posting salary ranges, defining jobRead… Read more »
Do you ever feel like your current role at work places you in charge of 10 billion different things? Well, David S. Ferriero does. As the 10th Archivist of the United States, David leads the National Archives and and Records Administration in preserving our nation’s most valuable documents. This week I asked him about hisRead… Read more »
When I think of waiting, I think of the DMV. As painful as that experience usually is, at least I have a number. I know that I’m making progress. Eventually, I know that I’ll talk with someone. Now, compare that to the federal government’s dysfunctional hiring process. The Obama administration’s hiring reform plan unveiled lastRead… Read more »
In this weeks Q&A I discuss issues ranging from retaining your agency’s LeBron James to bringing best practices to government. Q: In follow-up to your column on Monday, how do you keep LeBron if your culture does not support him? How does the federal government change its managerial style in order to keep the high-performersRead… Read more »
This week I interviewed Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who – through leading with ‘malignant optimism’ – tries to instill a culture at HUD that encourages creativity and risk-taking. Q: How can federal employees be better leaders? A: My sister, a psychiatrist, once jokingly diagnosed me as a malignant optimist, completely incurable,Read… Read more »