You know what a toast is. You know that it should have an intro, body, and conclusion. You know that a toast should leave people with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Can you remember one that WOWed you? Do yourself and your honoree a favor and get your act together! PREPARE for the toast andRead… Read more »
Maintaining a diverse federal workforce and eliminating barriers to equal employment opportunity are not only required practices for federal agencies under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive 715, but are also crucial to encouraging a more effective and creative workforce with less internal strife. The private sector is now investing heavily in diversity programsRead… Read more »
As someone who writes stories for a living, I spend a good share of my time reading them. These days, my reading time is mostly spent among news articles and opinion pieces so I can sharpen my skills in technical writing and see how personal and technical writing styles have merged thanks to digital spaces like Medium. Even ifRead… Read more »
Whether this is your first time hearing these tips or this is a refresher for you, conflict management is one of the trickiest areas for people to navigate successfully. Yet, conflict is inevitable and can take a toll on your effectiveness and productivity (not to mention your stress level) if not resolved. I recently attendedRead… Read more »
Originally posted on the GovDelivery Blog. Once you have developed key performance metrics – your agency goal, objective, and tactics – the next step is defining your audience. Identifying and analyzing your audience allows you to discover information and create a link to establish common ground with the people you serve every day as a governmentRead… Read more »
Career development is an ongoing effort that successful people know how to navigate. Successful career developers have many common traits.
A mentor gave me an interesting challenge a few years ago, one that has stuck with me ever since. She challenged me to take 15 minutes a day to learn something new and to share with her what I learned. I thought what could I possibly learn in 15 minutes? Little did I know, IRead… Read more »
Do self confident, optimistic leaders ask this question often enough, at the right time? Risk experts Doug Webster and Tom Stanton think not. Writing in a new report for the IBM Center for The Business of Government, they observe: “The front pages of national newspapers constantly report on actions by private companies, federal leaders, orRead… Read more »
In the age of the empowered citizen, the age of trying to “control the conversation” is over. Well over. It’s taken us a long time to actually get that memo, and some of us are still processing the digital ink it’s printed on. What it means. Instead, there’s still a lot of focus on “brand-building”. Where a message is transmitted,Read… Read more »
As a manager, giving difficult feedback to an employee can be one of the hardest parts of your job. The conversation can be fraught with peril. If done well, giving tough feedback can help your team member grow – but if done poorly, you risk consequences like straining your relationship, or demoralizing him or her. SometimesRead… Read more »