We are at that time again in the ebb and flow of government life when political appointees begin heading for the exit, leaving their jobs for new opportunities. I hear from some federal managers that this 18 to 24 month ritual, part of the natural cycle in Washington and the federal regions, can leave bigRead… Read more »
Daniel W. Yohannes is the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. foreign aid agency that works to promote poverty reduction in developing countries through economic growth. Prior to this role, Yohannes worked in banking and economic development for more than thirty years. A native of Ethiopia, Yohannes is also an active philanthropistRead… Read more »
As I listened to President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, my ears perked up on a number of fronts, not the least of which was his call for the government to spur American innovation through promising new federal investments in education, biomedical research, information technology and clean energy. Also causing me toRead… Read more »
As the commissioner of Internal Revenue, Douglas H. Shulman presides over the nation’s tax system, which collects approximately $2.4 trillion in tax revenue each year and processes 250 million returns every tax season. The IRS touches every facet of American society, including individual taxpayers, the tax-exempt sector, small businesses and large corporations. Shulman has experienceRead… Read more »
Federal managers are facing what some have called the “ice age,” the era of pay and hiring freezes that could have a significant effect on the government workforce. Like many federal managers, I was in Washington during the last “ice age” and its affects were detrimental. Another hiring freeze would likely leave critical positions unfilled,Read… Read more »
Michael J. Astrue has been the commissioner of Social Security since 2007. As commissioner, Astrue has focused his efforts on reducing the disability backlog and improving service to the public, particularly through electronic services. He has served in all three branches of government and spent 14 years in the biotechnology industry. Astrue is also anRead… Read more »
The tragedy in Tucson has captured the nation’s attention and increased the anxiety of some federal employees–everywhere from the Internal Revenue Service to the U.S. Postal Service–that they too may face the threat of violence simply by doing their jobs. As the Washington Post chronicled last week, reported attacks on federal employees are on theRead… Read more »
Carol Waller Pope is the chairmanof the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which is an independentfederal agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 1.6million federal employees worldwide. Pope is the first FLRA career employee toserve as chairman and has been with the agency since 1980. In this year’s Best Places to Work rankings,the FLRARead… Read more »
With the NFL playoffs now underway, the annual firing and hiring of coaches has begun. The Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings were the first teams to make a decision by promoting first-time head coaches to lead their teams. Picking a rookie can be a risk, but for teams wanting to progress forward, their fresh perspectiveRead… Read more »
Happy New Year! This week’s questions come from federal managers atthe U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.Please continue sharing your ideas and questions by leaving a commentor emailing me at [email protected]. To start, I wanted to share some of your great leadership book suggestions for federal leaders in 2011. They are: •Read… Read more »