There are days when it can be really difficult to jump start those creative juices and feel prepared to tackle some of our strategic initiatives at City Hall. As Chief Innovation Officer for Kansas City, Missouri, I have had to realistically manage my own expectations of myself – evidently it is impossible to be wildlyRead… Read more »
Mondays are hard. We all know that. Gearing up at the start of the week isn’t as easy as just having an extra cup of coffee. Sometimes, we need a little something extra to really get back in the workweek groove. Luckily, I have just the recommendation. Almost six years ago (!) we started aRead… Read more »
One of my favorite sitcoms, How I Met Your Mother, ended last month. In the final episode the character, Marshall Ericksen, an environmental lawyer, was shown working for a corporate law firm; a job that made him miserable. He had resolved to say only positive things about his job and in one scene was askedRead… Read more »
Have you ever attended leadership training programs sponsored inside your organization, listened to the wonderful information being presented, and thought to yourself, “Yeah, that sounds great, but it doesn’t work when I get back to my office”? After 24 plus years of federal service, and more than seven years as a leadership instructor, and executiveRead… Read more »
I try to remember to do basic research every once in a while, where I figure out how the world works without a goal in mind. This contrasts with applied research, which is about solving particular problems or taking advantage of specific opportunities. The distinction can be pretty clear in science. For example, in physicsRead… Read more »
I was reading Deb Green’s post, Preventing the Miserable Workplace — that was miraculously trending on the GovLoop homepage this morning, four months after its original publish date — and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a fed employee friend who is unequivocally unhappy with his workplace. Deb’s post is about howRead… Read more »
The song “If I Ruled the World” by Nas inspired this post. Hip Hop music inspires not just the urban community, but this genre of music inspires the world to dream big. But, some artists and leaders of the music industry do not show their fans how to be rulers of their own fate. ItRead… Read more »
Have you ever voted with your feet? Voting with your feet means you’ve left a job because you were absolutely miserable doing the work. You weren’t challenged by the work, you felt you were just a cog in a wheel, and no one really knew you for who you were, just the jobs that youRead… Read more »
“Just as the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so too do the manifestations of man find nourishment in the visions of our solitary dreamers.” – Wayne Dyer, author of The Power of Intention Today’s aspiring government leaders find themselves too often facing impossible challenges with few resources available to help them. More thanRead… Read more »
The phrase “letting go” has long been a vital part of my stress management overview, especially related to breaking the “erosive spiral” of that all-consuming “b”-word. (When it comes to stress, actually, a number of emotionally charged “b” words jump to mind, for example, “botox,” or when you have a BMW colleague, which I recentlyRead… Read more »