Posts By Lauren Girardin

5 Easy Ways to Get Your Team to Trust You

When you’ve earned your team’s trust, they can achieve greater success together and individually. They’ll work more collaboratively and accomplish tasks with greater efficiency. When they know they can put their trust in you, your team will be more likely to support your decisions and bring their full enthusiasm to their work.

What You Need to Know About the Possible Government Shutdown

The U.S. federal government is mired in political budget wranglings that may result in another government shutdown. If this seems all-too familiar, that’d be the painful memories of the last government shutdown in 2013. But, the federal government can’t stop completely. And, even though the possible government shutdown is just a couple of days away, it’s far from certain that it willRead… Read more »

How to Work from Home if You’ve Never Done it Before

When the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) urged D.C. federal agencies to let employees work from home during the Pope’s visit from September 22–24, the idea threw many govies into ecstasy. While government will officially be open for business, the OPM is encouraging “workplace flexibility options” like telework or a day off so they don’t add to the expected holy mayhem. Many agenciesRead… Read more »

5 Website Best Practices from the 2015 Center for Digital Government Award Winners

If you’ve ever worked on a website project, you know one of the first questions a designer asks is: What are your favorite websites? But, it’s not always easy to come up with a list of the best websites. Great websites have to be memorable, modern, unique, and free of frustrating glitches—no small feat for mostRead… Read more »

How to Give Back on the 9/11 Day of Service

Though government workers serve every day, September 11 is a special reason to give back to the community in a whole new way. The 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance is a way to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and honor the remarkable community response that followed. Through the 9/11 Day of Service, AmericansRead… Read more »

Time Management Books That Can Save the Day

Time is the one thing we will always have less of. That’s why there are so many books on time management, to-do lists, productivity, changing habits, and project planning. Some of those books are little more than self-help claptrap. Others contain enough useful points to make them worth flipping through, but are far from life changing. However, the best timeRead… Read more »

Yay or Nay on Feedback USA?

For four years, many have been eagerly awaiting cross-agency action on President Obama’s 2011 executive order streamlining service delivery and improving customer service. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently launched the pilot of Feedback USA to help agencies meet that goal. But, does Feedback USA look like it’s going to be worth the wait? Feedback USA is adding customerRead… Read more »

Prepare Yourself for the End of Summer Bummer

There can be a lot of stress at the end of summer. Fall’s coming on fast and that means the extra work of end-of-year campaigns and deadlines, year-end reviews, Election Day, and the holiday season. The blissful summertime quiet of your office is vanishing as your coworkers return from their vacations. And, perhaps your boss has suddenly stopped procrastinating about year-end planningRead… Read more »