Job descriptions are one of the most shared documents among organizations. Have you ever wondered how complex organizations with unique needs and circumstances can all require basically the same job duties? Fact is, they can’t. Take a good look at your organization and you will find that many of the employees work in the “otherRead… Read more »
In March, top Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the causes of federal employees’ low morale. The last few years have been challenging for federal employees and leadership. With a three-year freeze on basic federal pay rates, multiple government shutdowns, and unpaid furlough daysRead… Read more »
Shortly before I left my previous job in April, I was sitting in a meeting when the host explained “this is the meeting before the meeting before the meeting,” and I couldn’t help but make a wise crack about it… after all, I had one foot out the door. I had spent the past threeRead… Read more »
I wonder, how many adults equate their annual performance evaluations with your progress reports of our primary school years? I doubt many, we tend to think those things are beyond us. The fact is, did we not even as adults going through our higher education years consider that our “grades” matter? As you know, sometimesRead… Read more »
It’s not rocket science. When we feel like our work is appreciated, we work harder and give our best – but when we feel like no one notices our efforts, we start not to care too much about our jobs. As a manager, you have a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of this basic humanRead… Read more »
By Latesha Goodman, Acquisition Analyst Imagine you’re an analyst who has recently joined a project team. Your job duties include generating large, complex program documents on tight deadlines. Producing poor quality deliverables will put your stakeholder’s schedule and budget at risk. You know accomplishing this task will require the input of various team members, manyRead… Read more »
Like fantasy football, achieving federal goals in your organization starts with a draft. The success of your mission depends on hiring the right employees, creating an intentional strategy, and knowing when to trade. A weak team will lower productivity and end an otherwise promising fiscal season. But, how do you build a team that willRead… Read more »
A few weeks ago, GovLoop hosted a Career Energizer event. The program featured an awesome husband-wife duo: Larry Chloupek is an award-winning mentor at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He’s also the first person to complete the Boston Marathon on crutches (and break a world record in the process!). Jennifer Chloupek is an Executive Coach atRead… Read more »
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to receive some really good advice from senior government leaders. I carry these “golden nuggets” around in my brain and refer to them often. Hope they are useful to you! 1. “If you want to be successful, be polite, be professional, and have a good work ethic.” 2. “TheRead… Read more »
I’m a data geek. I’ll own that. I love what data can do, what it can inform, what it can tell me. I constantly find myself mentally connecting conversations I’m in and meetings I’m part of to the data that could best inform the discussion or the decisions. It’s a bit of a problem. AsRead… Read more »