A couple weeks ago, GovLoop kicked off its Fall 2012 Mentors cohort and we wanted to say “congratulations” to the Finalists and their mentors! As many of you know, the GovLoop Mentors Program is a first-of-its-kind, government-wide initiative that connects public sector professionals across agencies and at every level (federal, state and local). This freeRead… Read more »
This afternoon, I’m leading a webinar entitled “Using Social Learning to Mentor Agency Professionals” through an invitation from ASTD Government and The Public Manager. My slides are below. In brief, I suggest that mentoring involves three basic elements (and has since the word first appeared in Homer’s Odyssey): 1) Advice 2) Admonition 3) Assistance WhileRead… Read more »
I was just reading an article titled “5 Ways Leaders Must Build a Family Environment to Achieve Excellence.” The article cites a McKinsey study which learned that family-controlled companies outperform their competitors and extracts some lessons for creating great teams, including: Give Teams a Sense of Ownership Everyone Must Protect One Another Instill Values toRead… Read more »
At some point in the last 10 days (or if you’re like me, for *most* of the last 10 days), you’ve likely tuned in to the Olympic Games. From volleyball to swimming to track and field and beyond, you and I have had a chance to cheer on fellow Americans who strive to be theRead… Read more »
My son is nearing two and half years old. Just in the past couple days, he’s started asking the question that seems to be the serial signature of kids his age: “Why?” It reminded me of a principle I learned in my project management training: the importance of asking “why?” five times to determine theRead… Read more »
Some people say “like” and “you know” so often that you want to strangle them. Others say “um” often and enthusiastically. Some people swallow nervously and spasmodically. Some people let their voice swing up in pitch at the end of every sentence as if they were always asking questions. For some, it’s happy feet –Read… Read more »
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stockRead… Read more »
I don’t know about you, but I tend to over-prepare for public speaking opportunities. Recently, I was reminded of one of my very first gigs, which began with an email that read: “I hate to tell you this, but I am really sick and cannot make it to Virginia Beach tomorrow to deliver my presentation.Read… Read more »
“Social media did not create the problem of distraction, but it is clearly an amplifier. Indeed, a study [PDF] by Clifford Nass et al. at Stanford showed that heavy media multitaskers are more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli than light media multitaskers. Heavy multitasking may encourage even heavier multitasking because it leads toRead… Read more »
About a year and a half ago, we started realizing that GovLoop would be facing a significant problem over time. Members were producing hundreds of pieces of content each month in the form of blogs and and discussions. While that’s a great problem to have as it signifies a vibrant, active community, it also meantRead… Read more »