I don’t drink coffee, but I take my coffee breaks seriously. Coffee fueled an important span of breakthroughs in human thought, according to Steven Johnson in a popular TED talk. Johnson posits that English coffeehouses provided the necessary space and stimulant to drive a sustained era of innovations that began in the mid 17th centuryRead… Read more »
You’ll find all types in an office, right? As a manager with a team ranging from the type A worker bee who’s more detail-oriented than even you are to the brilliant-yet-frustrating creative who’s full of fantastic ideas but lacks follow-through, your communication style needs to be flexible. A good manager understands that each employee requiresRead… Read more »
One of the first things you do when you purchase your first house is get cable. The next is to get addicted to HGTV. I didn’t even stand a chance; I was hooked within the first 30 minutes. Within hours, even though my fiancée and I were lucky enough to get a house with minimalRead… Read more »
The federal performance appraisal system is somewhat similar to performance reviews in other job sectors. It’s an assessment of how well you’re performing your duties, whether you’re meeting expectations, if your skills still align with the job you have, how well you communicate or work in groups, etc. Such appraisals come into play when itsRead… Read more »
Slow days happen for a couple of reasons. It could be that our workload is just lighter that day – say we’re waiting for necessary information to start on a project, or it’s simply the off season in your field. Or, maybe there are legitimate projects to be done, but because of burnout or generalRead… Read more »
Last week, I wrote a post listing nine things federal employees can do to reach their income potential. This week, I list the last 12 habits based off the book, Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, by Tom Corley. They are: You Reject Self-Limiting Thoughts – Successful people command their thoughts andRead… Read more »
One of my company’s core values is “Inner Voice”. We internalize and implement this value in many ways, but the gist is: ‘Say what you’re really thinking.’ We encourage every single one of our employees, no matter what their title or role is, to speak up and voice their opinions, concerns, questions, reflections, etc. By puttingRead… Read more »
Baby boomers are retiring in droves and the government is in desperate need of the next generation of public servants. But government doesn’t just want anybody – they want the best and the brightest. One program that is looking to help attract the top talent is the Presidential Management Fellowship program. For more than 35Read… Read more »
I stumbled into the federal government by accident. When I quit swimming after my sophomore year of college, I waited tables to help pay tuition. As my senior year progressed, I realized I needed to gain some accounting experience. A local tax preparer called and asked my roommate if she was interested in a job.Read… Read more »
When I was little, I dreamed about growing up to be a princess. Not the kind that lives in an ivory tower and spends the royal treasury at the beach. The kind that actually helps her country. Now that I’m a little older, I have realized that we can’t all be Kate Middleton and haveRead… Read more »