As the story goes, when asked by his father about who chopped down the cherry tree, George Washington said “I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet.” While this actually did not happen, throughout his life, Washington demonstrated a strict adherence to telling the truth, especially to himself. Historical accounts tellRead… Read more »
There’s much a leader can gain from working on her listening skills: an encouraged and inspired team, an environment that fosters idea sharing, and closer relationships with colleagues and other professionals. Listening isn’t just about being polite. It’s about respect, humility, and growth. So often we treat listening like waiting for our turn up toRead… Read more »
Back in the day, before the recession, you could hitch your wagon to a rising star in your organization, create a mentoring relationship, and find career success. Nowadays, your mentor is not likely to be around for your whole career—voluntarily or involuntarily. The hot phrase among career coaches is “Personal Board of Directors”, but IRead… Read more »
Young Government Leaders (YGL) and GovLoop present the NextGen Public Service Awards for superior public service and achievement. The 4th Annual NextGen Public Service Awards will be given at the 2014 NextGen Award’s Ceremony, which will kick off the NextGen Training Summit on July 23rd in Washington, DC. We have 18 finalists in six differentRead… Read more »
“Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go” I attended a webinar a few weeks ago that was based on the book, “Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go,” by Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni. The webinar and book talk about the critical role that supervisors play in employee engagement and development. The webinar madeRead… Read more »
Seventy-four (74) is the number of school shootings since the country was brought to our knees by the senseless killing of 20 young students and six adults in Newtown in December 2012. Eric Cantor is the, now former, House Majority Leader widely regarded as the most conservative of the House Leadership brought down by aRead… Read more »
In a climate of fiscal austerity, it is far better to cut programs with minimal impact and improve existing programs, based on evidence from high-quality program evaluations. What is program evaluation? How can evidence and rigorous evaluation be best integrated into decision-making? Kathy Stack, Advisor for Evidence-Based Innovation, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sharesRead… Read more »
Are you finding new hires and promotions are planned for this summer in your organization? Although I typically think of summer as a lazy, almost “on autopilot” time of year, I notice every day that I’m getting emails from clients announcing job changes. Some are struggling with the onboarding process and helping to ease someoneRead… Read more »
Think back to when you were a kid. You had an idea and you knew it was right. The system for chores wasn’t good enough. You KNEW that if you and your sibling worked together the way YOU wanted the chores could get done easier and faster. Once you came up with a plan toRead… Read more »
How do we know if states (or my state) are acting efficiently with tax dollars and if programs or initiatives are working? Surprising, we know little from the states themselves. “Of course, our programs are working,” say the elected politicians! “Our programs are more effective than ever!” say the myriad of special interest groups clamoringRead… Read more »