Posts By Hannah Ornell

Become a Brilliant Communicator (Part 5 of 5): Stop Wasting Time in Meetings

Last week, GovLoop and YGL hosted a half day training event for up and coming government leaders, who heard from experts on the topics of career management, leadership, communications, and more. One of the sessions, titled “Become a Brilliant Communicator,” provided tips on communicating via email and telephone, giving and receiving feedback, and holding successfulRead… Read more »

Become a Brilliant Communicator (Part 4 of 5): Improve How You Take and Receive Criticism

Last week, GovLoop and YGL hosted a half day training event for up and coming government leaders, who heard from experts on the topics of career management, leadership, communications, and more. One of the sessions, titled “Become a Brilliant Communicator,” provided tips on communicating via email and telephone, giving and receiving feedback, and holding successfulRead… Read more »

Facebook Town Halls and Google Hangouts With the President: Social Media in 2012

Today, technology is a critical component to transform and modernize government to truly create a 21st century government. For our year-end report, the GovLoop team set out to explore what technology trends shaped 2012 to help agencies meet organizational goals. The report also includes best practices, case studies, and identifies which trends will shape governmentRead… Read more »

Could This Be the End of ‘One World, One Internet’?

Next Friday, December 21st, is a big day for the internet. It is the culminating day of the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai, the only conference of its kind in 24 years. On the agenda is a of review the international telecommunication regulations. Since the previous meeting in 1988, much has changed onRead… Read more »

Become a Brilliant Government Communicator (Part 1 of 5)

Professional communication is probably the most important soft skill a person can have. Our communication style conveys our reliability, responsibility, professionalism, and knowledge. How we express ourselves virtually and in person can make a difference in job applications, interviews, sales pitches, team work, and so much more. Given the importance of the topic, we atRead… Read more »

Exploring How to Manage Up

Yesterday I attended and spoke at GovLoop and YGL’s half day training session for the next generation of government employees, NextGen+. I want to share with you some nuggets from Pat Fiorenza’s presentation on leadership and managing up, which has been a hot topic on GovLoop. What does it mean to be a public sectorRead… Read more »

A Strange Thank-You: A Species of Fish is Named After Obama

Ecologist Steve Layman from Geosyntec Consultants and biologist Rick Mayden from Saint Louis University discovered 5 new species of fish. The scientists decided to name a new species after Presidents and Vice Presidents who they wanted to recognize for their influential role in advancing environmental policies. The scientists explained their decision: “We chose President ObamaRead… Read more »

Did Voters Really Care About the Economy When They Voted This November?

Most Americans will tell you that their number 1 issue in this past Presidential election was the economy. So Obama’s contribution to the economic upturn in various cities must have helped him clinch the win, right? Wrong. I read an interesting study on the relationship between votes for Obama and the economy and was surprisedRead… Read more »

The Paradoxes of CIOs

What do you think of the role of the CIO in your office? Is s/he the tech expert in command of the IT staff or a top executive involved in strategic business decisions (or both)? Is s/he a peer or a subordinate to the CFO? Does the answer to these questions make a difference? AccordingRead… Read more »