Paul Alberti

Dave – a higer grade does not necessarily equate to supervisor. There are alot of higher grades but not all are supervisors, I hope they are managers and leaders of something though! I would like to think the grade level reflects the level of responsibility of the position – but after 27 years in DC, I know grade assignemnt is not a perfect…[Read more]

Back in 2012 the Valve Employee handbook was making its rounds across the internet – (http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1074301/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf). It was all about innovation, creativity and a streamlined company. very interesting read, but I have not heard about it in a while. I found an article from a former employee at Valve – and the…[Read more]

If there is no chance for failure, there is no chance for success. Darren Hardy Success Magazine

Telework is still not in the business culture of many agencies. To say federal employees “can” telework and actually say we “are” teleworking is a big step. There is still a good bit of management pushback on telework; “if I can’t see them, how do I know they are working?” is a very common response. So to realize the full benefits of telework,…[Read more]

“The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrting, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” Edwin Bliss

Good article. For a supervisor to ask those four words, they need to have the confidence in their own abilites and be prepared to get an answer they are not ready for. But it would improve the trust level in the office; especailly if the idea was acted on and the indivdiual was given credit for the idea.

Good morning Eric. just following up, did you have a moment to check out Carroll’s book? Very interested in your thoughts, I am trying to set up a mindful leadership class for my Office, ultimately to have it included in the Leadership Development program. Given the topic, it is not an easy sell. But the research is very impressive.

I recently started reading The Mindful Leader by Michael Carroll – http://www.amazon.com/The-Mindful-Leader-Management-Mindfulness/dp/…. This is not something we normally talk about – but 100 pages in – seems like a great idea. Anyone else have any exposure or experience with Mindful Awarness?

Eric, your point of leaders have to lead for the individual is very important and frequently forgotten. We are all different and require a different approach. Some need more input and guidance than others, some like feedback, som just like to be left alone til they are done. Leaderships is not for the feint of heart!

I find it interesting, I have been having conversations with people on leadership for years, only recently online. Considering leadership is something we all do at some level, there are classes, certificates, even undergraduate and master’s level programs – and we are still discussing it. People know good leadership – but cannot define it.
When I…[Read more]

I like that. There are studies that show if you ask an expert how to solve a problem – they hedge and build in buffers because they know all the variables, issues, possibilities and they take forever to solve the problem. Someone who is not familiar with the issue is not constrained by all the minutia and frequently solve the problem. Not to say…[Read more]

Here is some positive support!
http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2012/05/viewpoint-do-not-interfere-americas-federal-workforce/55696/.

Yawn … we got a nice memo from our Secretary on how proud she was to serve with such dedicated people; really inspired my week. Nor have I seen any posters, banners or coffee corners from senior execs. Kind of just passing by – maybe the funding was cut or it is an off year for Public Service appreciation. Or maybe people are just so jaded and…[Read more]

Management by cliché does not work. Do more with less, low hanging fruit, best practices, think outside the box, work smarter not harder and the list goes on. There is a point where programs fail because they are not staffed or funded properly – regardless what the boss or the budget says. When staff are over worked, under resourced and then raked…[Read more]

I have taken the Strength Finders and the Strength Based Leadership surveys and similar to the MBTI the assessments were accurate. We invested a day to put my office of 30 some people through MBTI and later this month doing the Strength Finders assessment for everyone. I suspect we will not make any staffing adjustments for anyone based on their…[Read more]