This guest post was written by Dan Chenok, executive director of the IBM Center for The Business of Government. This week, John Kamensky and I were privileged to attend the meeting of Senior Executives at the Washington Hilton, at which President Obama spoke as well as several agency heads. The event helped to frame whyRead… Read more »
Innately, we as humans don’t like problems. We like things to run smoothly, with no hiccups or bumps in the road. But therein lies the problem. Because we want so desperately to be problem-free, when they do come up, we are overwhelmed by them. But now that I’ve brought this to your attention, this willRead… Read more »
Late last month, Robert Lavigna penned an article for the Harvard Business Review titled “Why Government Workers are Harder to Motivate.” And this is certainly a topic he’d know a lot about: Lavigna has a long history in government HR, having served as the director of the Wisconsin Civil Service System, at the GAO, andRead… Read more »
“I wish that I could be like the cool kids, / ‘Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in.” – Echosmith, “Cool Kids” I believe “American Horror Story” (Season 1 free to watch online if you have Amazon Prime) has solved the bullying problem in America’s high schools. All you have to doRead… Read more »
I’ve got a lot of goals. Too many, if you ask my husband – and he’s probably right. I love to shoot for the moon when I set goals, but most of the time I’m trying to launch a dozen rocket ships at once – which is overwhelming, counterproductive, and normally causes all of them toRead… Read more »
She was standing at the head of the line, irritating all of us. What the heck is taking so long? I thought it and felt ashamed. Here I am at Caffeine Anonymous: am coffee junkie. The guy in front of me was doing a strange, nervous dance. His toddler was impatient too, and he wasRead… Read more »
The selection of the next Secretary of Defense is in the headlines. But there’s a new senior-level Defense position that will be important in coming years, and who is appointed will matter. Years ago, career executive David O. “Doc” Cooke was informally called the “Mayor of the Pentagon.” He was responsible for the internal administrationRead… Read more »
I solved the energy puzzle for the U.S. with the help of two EPA Innovation Team members. We knocked it out in about 15 minutes. We were playing Generate! The board game was developed by several EPA researchers as a way for students to learn about the intricacies of this country’s energy complex, from energyRead… Read more »
At GovLoop, we are pretty lucky. We get to talk to govies everyday who are passionate about what they do and the people they serve. Especially at our events and trainings, the excitement and dedication we experience in our GovLoop community is contagious. These people make us want to talk to them, learn from them, andRead… Read more »
Many ambitious young feds want to move into leadership positions. Hard work, coupled with the passage of time, can help you get a top spot in your organization, but even now, you can begin reaching for roles and responsibilities that will allow you to demonstrate your leadership skills. These opportunities might be big or small,Read… Read more »