How to Get Meaningful Feedback from Your Supervisor
For those of you who also want more meaningful feedback during your progress reviews, you might want to try some of these suggestions.
Overseas Business Travel Is So Glamorous! Or Is It?
When I interview candidates for vacant Civil Service positions, at some point in the conversation, the candidate asks, “Will I have the opportunity to travel overseas?” Traveling internationally for work, whether you are in the public or private sector, can feel like a perk. Yet often the purpose of the trip is integral to your jobRead… Read more »
4 Fantastic Ways To Uncover A Company’s Culture
“Company culture” is one of those phrases that gets thrown around a ton, but it can actually be quite hard to unearth just what a company’s culture actually is. The interviewer isn’t likely to tell you outright that most people in the role you’re applying for burn out after 18 months, or that coworkers areRead… Read more »
The Color of a Dress & Public Perception
What color is this dress? Black and Blue? Gold and White? Something else? Like thousands of others, you’ve probably already responded to the social media sensation about perception over the course of the last week. Did any of you get the correct answer? Perception is also incredibly important in the government community–not only to our employees, butRead… Read more »
The 13 Most Bizarre .Gov Domains
What does the U.S. government need with 5,300 domains? Because that’s how many there are on 18F’s complete list of .gov domains. There are plenty of oddball URLs that will have you scratching your head and wondering: What were they thinking? Some domains have no website in place. We’re left to guess—or Google—if these parked domains were registered for campaignsRead… Read more »
Workplace Violence/Harassment Policies
Better To Be Prepared… Than Being Accused of Not Being Responsive To… “Shhh… ! We don’t discuss this here. Besides, it will never happen..” What am I alluding to, here? Workplace Violence. Even though we are all familiar with the phrase “going postal,” does your agency have a formal, up-to-date, policy regarding this type of situation? How aboutRead… Read more »
Mea Culpa Emails: For When You Call Subscribers “Fatties”
Is that email you’re about to send 100% perfect? Are you sure? Of course, you’ve checked off every best practice and made sure your subscriber data is correct, but at the end of the day, you’re only human. Sooner or later, you’re going to miss something.
Booms-Day Prepping
Happy Monday, all! Anyone else feeling a little bleary-eyed and delirious after binge watching “House of Cards” in a dark room all weekend? No? Just me? Okay. Before locking myself in a room with nothing but my Netflix account and some sustenance to make it through the weekend, I actually did venture out into theRead… Read more »
Measuring Creativity: Part Two
Last week we looked at indicators that might be measured in relation to factors that can foster creativity and innovation in organisations. In this post we’ll consider possible measures of creative activity and the outcomes of creativity. Creative activity The measurement of creativity itself is arguably about monitoring ideas that are generated. This can beRead… Read more »
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
Aspiring front-line managers often ask me, “What would you do as a front-line manager the first week on the job.” I tell them I would start having conversations with my team members that foster emotional connections. The first questions I would ask my direct reports are, “What is your personality and temperament, what are strengthsRead… Read more »