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 »
At a recent professional networking group event one of the other members asked me if I could tell him about organizations like the Federal Communicators Network (FCN). By way of background, FCN is a listserv that communicators in the federal government use to exchange ideas about the field of communications. The group, which also hostsRead… Read more »
Before my current state government position supporting AmeriCorps programs, I spent two years working as a community development consultant in Madagascar, the large island off the southeast coast of Africa. While living and working in Madagascar — a country and culture so different from our lives here in America — I learned a lot about perspective. And perspectiveRead… Read more »
We’ve all said at some point we wish that we had more time in the day. Chances are we would put more on our plate and complain about the same issue. Time is a commodity. Everyone has 24 hours in a day-how you spend them makes the difference. Invest some of my spare time workingRead… Read more »
We disagree with things people say or do all the time. At work we may disagree with a method, an outcome, a piece of data, a decision, what is said, or how something is said. We shouldn’t be afraid to disagree; it is a natural part of good communication. Topics of great importance inspire passionateRead… Read more »
There’s no shortage of government resume tips out there. Whether it’s a federal or state and local position, it’s important to understand how to strengthen your overall resume for government. GovLoop has a number of resources to help you government-ize your resume. But what if you are just entering the government workforce or barely haveRead… Read more »
We all have that task or two on our to do lists that we just can’t make happen. The one that’s actually pretty important, but gets prioritized somewhere below cleaning out the litter box and doing all the dishes in the office kitchen. There are tons of reasons that we humans avoid work: It’s hard,Read… Read more »
When I first started working in an office, someone wise passed down this sage advice, “Make friends with the custodians and IT staff and your life here will be a piece of cake.” This turned out to be some of the best advice I’ve ever received. The custodial staff knows where everything is and theRead… Read more »
What if leaders wrote their resumes like their obituaries? Would future employers know them better? Could they identify their dreams, energies and passions as well as skills, knowledge and abilities? Would employers know if these candidates? • Served others rather than being served. • Developed people rather than controlled people. • Tried to impact peopleRead… Read more »
Have you said some version of these words recently? “I can’t trust him.” “My trust has been broken.” “We can’t put trust in them anymore.” These refrains are common and heartbreaking. In both its presence and absence, trust is a critical and yet also often elusive quality of effective working relationships. Being able to trustRead… Read more »