White House Fellows have been a select group since the program began in the late 1960s. Many of them either were or became among the nation’s top leaders. Colin Powell was an early fellow and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s senior medical correspondent, was a fellow from 1997-98.
Some of their insights on leadership are captured in
"Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows" by former Fellow Charles Garcia. Here are two:
There's more to life than work. Great leaders are fueled by strong and supportive relationships with the people they love, regular exercise and setting aside time for reflection.
Doris Kearns Goodwin (White House Fellow 1967-68), presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, concluded that those who live the richest lives manage to achieve a healthy balance of work, love and play.
"To commit yourself to just one of those spheres without the others is to leave open an older age filled with sadness, because once the work is gone, you have nothing left," Goodwin said.
Put your people first. To be a great leader you need to attend to your people with a laserlike focus.
Mitchell Reiss (White House Fellow 1988-89) has seen a leader's focus on people from National Security Adviser and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At a picnic for National Security Council staff and families, Powell thanked Reiss’ wife for allowing Reiss to work the hours that he worked at the NSC.
Reiss recalled, "That very brief but very personal interaction with Powell had an extraordinary impact on her. After he left, she turned to me and said, 'You better do a good job for that man. If you need to stay late at work, I will never complain.' That's the sort of transformative impact that leadership can have.”
Posted on Jun 24, 2009 at 8:18 AM0 comments
Government hiring is up. If you have vacancies and are actively recruiting, good interviews with prospective employees can help you find the right person.
For example, well-phrased questions can make a difference in learning about applicants and also keeping them interested in working for you. I found some useful tips on online job search sites:
- Drop long intros -- It’s tempting to start an interview with a monologue about the position or the type of candidate you are seeking. But too much information can lead a candidate to give back to you what you said.
- Forget humor -- Jokes or witticisms can backfire and be misunderstood.
- No closed-ended or leading questions -- If a question can be answered by a "yes" or "no," rework it to allow a candidate to elaborate. Instead of asking, “Do you have experience in customer service?” rephrase by saying, “Tell me about your customer service experience.” Also, don’t give an applicant your preferred answers by the way you ask questions. For example, instead of “Would you help out an irate customer if they complained?” try asking “What would you do if an irate customer called to complain?”
- Leave out marital status, children, personal life, pregnancy -- If you are curious about a person’s personal life because you are recruiting for a position requiring travel, you can explain the travel requirements and do no more than to ask if travel is acceptable.
On the other hand, if you are the interviewee -- the person looking for and applying for a job -- there are some no-no’s to consider, too. The worst mistake an applicant can make, according to 51 percent of hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder, is to dress inappropriately for an interview.
Another turn-off in an interview is speaking negatively about a current or previous employer. Appearing uninterested ranks third.
Other mistakes include appearing arrogant, not providing specific answers, and not asking good questions.
But the ultimate no-no, which some interviewees have done, is to answer a cell phone during an interview.
Posted on Jun 15, 2009 at 1:06 PM0 comments
Just out on DVD and more about dogs than people, “Marley & Me” tells a rather unhappy story of work life.
I was surprised that no previous commentary on the film noted what happened to the careers of the husband and wife who raised Marley, the yellow Lab.
As many Labrador retrievers can be, Marley was incorrigible and a character. But he also had Lab strength of character, protective and caring of children, and great for exercising the adults in his family. With a 100-pound dog, forget the treadmill.
Marley’s “mom” (Jennifer Aniston) was a prominent feature writer for a daily newspaper and his “dad” (Owen Wilson) was initially an investigative reporter. When mom and dad had babies of their own (three to be exact), their careers took drastic right turns.
Aniston gave up her career totally for the mommy track, and Wilson (portraying John Grogan) gave up his job as a reporter because it required travel. He became a columnist filing articles just twice a week. Of course, in real life, Grogan wrote the book on Marley that became a best-seller.
In the movie, it wasn’t clear how they managed to afford their lifestyle on one, almost part-time, income. More importantly, it wasn’t clear why they didn’t try to bring some work life balance into play rather than give up work.
Kids and dogs make life challenging and sometimes stressful, but also fun and meaningful. Private companies striving to retain and recruit valuable employees recognize the need for work life balance. The key benefits are flexible hours and flexible workplaces such as telework.
Government is catching on. Legislative proposals being considered by the Congress this week would provide paid parental leave for birth or adoption of babies. Another would expand telework, a benefit that the Office of Personnel Management is also promoting.
I’m waiting for a movie that shows some work life heroes – families with kids and dogs and jobs. But then, life as a fed is a balancing act every day.
Posted on Jun 02, 2009 at 8:02 AM0 comments
The new director of the Office of Personnel Management has his work cut out for him if he is as family friendly as his previous experience suggests. The 2009
Best Places to Work survey showed that employees gave agencies the highest scores for using their skills well and the lowest scores for having a family-friendly culture.
The
family-friendly culture category measured the extent to which employees believe family-friendly flexibilities are offered to them. These benefits include telecommuting, alternative work scheduling, and personal support benefits such as child care subsidies and wellness programs.
The top-ranked family-friendly agency is the General Services Administration (with a score of 59.8) and the lowest-ranked is the Homeland Security Department (34.1).
On the other hand, agencies ranked higher on work life balance, which measured the extent to which employees consider their workloads reasonable, and managers support a balance between work and life.
On work life balance, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ranked highest (76.6). Work life balance was one of the factors that made the NRC the top-ranked agency overall, the best place to work, with a score of 80.7.
The
survey also compared working for the federal government to working in the private sector. Federal employees score higher than private-sector employees on cooperation among co-workers to get a job done. Federal employees also feel they have opportunity to improve skills in their organization.
On the other hand, federal employees score lower on questions relating to satisfaction with their organizations. The lowest scores showed dissatisfaction with information received from management and knowing what’s going on in an organization.
Still, overall there has been a slight improvement over time in employee satisfaction. Maybe with a presumably family-friendly White House, this aspect of federal work life will improve too.
Posted on May 26, 2009 at 2:03 PM0 comments
A survey by the Telework Exchange found that a few more feds knew their agencies’ continuity-of-operation plans for the H1N1 flu (aka swine flu) compared to the 2006 avian flu scare. That’s the good news.
But the study also showed that many more federal employees (42 percent) had not received any guidance. Those that did mostly heard “wash your hands” rather than operational plans about how to continue working.
The study,
“H1N1 – Uncle Sam’s COOP Exam,” was based on a survey sample of 307 federal employees in early May
Following the 2006 avian flu scare, 21 percent of feds knew that that their agencies' COOP plans included plans for a flu pandemic. In the H1N1 sample, 33 percent knew their agencies’ plans.
The study also showed that if H1N1 infected a city in which federal employees work, only 51 percent would definitely show up for work. And if H1N1 cases were reported in their office, even fewer -- 26 percent -- said they would definitely show up at work
The top 10 most prepared agencies included the Commerce, Health and Human Services, Justice, Transportation and Veterans Affairs departments; the Navy; the General Services Administration; NASA; the National Science Foundation; and the U.S. Postal Service.
At the most prepared agencies, 16.43 percent of eligible employees telework as compared to 7.62 percent of eligible employees teleworking governmentwide. Little wonder that telework is viewed as a key remedy for flu planning.
How prepared are you to work during a serious flu outbreak?
Posted on May 19, 2009 at 7:30 AM0 comments
Just two years ago, I wrote about what was then the emerging phenomenon of government blogging. Today, government blogs have grown like Twitter.
By researching and interviewing some of the early starters, I looked into the potential of blogs for government and also for health care. Although still emerging in health care, blogging has found a place in government agencies, starting
at the White House.
For government, blogs are a way to reach broader audiences with information and, to some extent, hear back from people whom those programs are trying to serve. Blogs are another tool in the communication arsenal for agencies and organizations.
Also interesting is the use of blogs by journalists, myself included. When I was first asked to do a blog for Federal Computer Week, I wasn’t sure how that would work. I was used to researching and writing facts, citing two or more sources, and seeking out knowledgeable interview subjects for expert views. I was not comfortable giving my own opinions because that was not objective. I was trained as a reporter, after all.
I was also concerned about those bloggers without journalism training who were becoming credentialed at political and press events. How would a blog by a journalist have any more credibility?
What I have learned is that blogging that adheres to basic journalism rules is a reliable, readable and accurate source for those seeking balanced information. At the same time, it also is OK to have a point of view and a sense of humor.
Blogs by government agencies are more credible and reliable than the myriad of blogs you can find online on similar topics. Many of them, but not all, are
listed on USA.gov, a site that also has its own seven bloggers doing “govgab.”
Still, there are times when I really do want just a personal view. I pay attention to blogs about people’s vacation travel, especially where to stay or not.
What is your view on government blogs?
Posted on May 12, 2009 at 1:34 PM1 comments
Heads up: May 4-10 is Public Service Recognition Week, a time when many states and localities pay special note and honor the work of public servants. In fact, 49 cities are marking the occasion with special events, including Washington, D.C., where federal agencies are showcasing exhibits of “Government Goes Green” on the National Mall.
Speaking of recognizing public employees, new Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry showed some understanding of employee commuting problems in the nation’s capital. He announced he was here to “put some giddy-yap into telework,” with a plan to have thousands more employees working from home one or two days each week.
The plan includes establishing a telework managing officer in every agency and having training to remove managerial resistance to telework.
Meanwhile, Public Service Recognition Week, hosted by the Partnership for Public Service (
www.ourpublicservice.org/psrw) and the Public Employees Roundtable, will highlight the work of government programs at the Mall event.
The Opening Ceremony on May 7 will feature a naturalization ceremony by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. On May 8, a NASA astronaut will help kick off Students Day; May 9 will be Family Day with a performance from the U.S. Air Force Rock Band Max Impact and an opportunity to climb aboard an F-16 fighter plane.
The social network GovLoop is also taking part by hosting an online dialogue (http://govloop.com/group/psrw) for Public Service Recognition Week. With more than 10,000 members, GovLoop is encouraging participants to share their experiences of the week and suggest ideas to improve government.
Given the work of federal employees on so many challenging fronts – economic, health, environmental, defense and more – recognition is more than deserved.
Posted on May 05, 2009 at 12:17 PM2 comments
A war in two countries, an economic free-fall, and now swine flu. And hurricane season has not yet begun. It’s almost like the biblical plagues. A perfect storm of challenges and responsibility is stretching a new administration and employees in many federal agencies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was already engaged in disbursing and monitoring some of the stimulus funding to the health care system. In many states, local governments are hard-pressed to sustain funding to health care facilities. Now the CDC is tackling the heart of its mission, protecting the health of Americans from a swine flu outbreak that began in Mexico.
The strengths and talents of federal employees are being called to multiple tasks in ways not seen in recent years. To top it off, new leadership is still arriving to administration positions, including secretary of health and human services.
But absent leaders are not holding back any needed efforts. CDC is moving aggressively ahead on its mission with an acting director, senior staff and dedicated federal employees.
While it is still early, it may be useful to anticipate the needs of federal managers and employees facing so many new challenges. Research from the University of Michigan, to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, points to the importance of social support within an organization and regular feedback to employees in times of challenge.
"There is such a thing as too much stretch and too much challenge for individuals -- the key is figuring out what the optimal level of challenge is for each individual," professor Scott DeRue said.
Managers can take a number of steps to help employees avoid the negative effects of strenuous job challenges. Simply taking into account how an employee perceives a new challenge can influence the outcome. Establishing formal and informal support systems, such as peer discussion, is also important.
Even though the challenges are serious, experts advise keeping your sense of humor, sharing a laugh when you can to maintain some balance and perspective.
Posted on Apr 28, 2009 at 7:58 AM0 comments