Category: Management
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5 Key Challenges & Solutions For Internal Communicators
These ideas surfaced at a recent “lunch and learn” event widely attended by government communicators, but the concepts are applicable in any organizational environment. Theme #1: Employees Aren’t Interested How do you increase the likelihood that employees will “tune in?” Most importantly, build (or rebuild) trust between leadership and the workforce. Before key information leaves…
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The Why & How of Federal Internal Communication
It enables the management controls required by law (FMFIA, 1982). The below guidance from USAID explains it well. “Information should be communicated to relevant personnel at all levels within an organization. The information should be relevant, reliable, and timely. It is also crucial that an agency communicate with outside organizations as well, whether providing information…
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Communication Standards: A Universal Best Practice
The difference between personal and professional is that at work, the individual must subsume their individual ideas to the decisions vetted and implemented across the organization. It follows that good management consists of communicating to the staff member what the realities of the organization are, as well as helping them to see where they can…
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How To Become Your Own Career Coach
It might surprise you to hear this, but your true work skills are not necessarily what you think. For example, I am a creative person, but at work I tend to do better in managerial roles that focus on team development and process optimization. The dominant methods of career skills assessment are limited: * Personality…
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Lead With Diversity
Diversity and inclusion are morally right and financially sound, just as their inverse, “homogeneity and excluding people,” are morally wrong and unprofitable. At the same time, you have to do it right. It’s not about deciding who has the right to speak—it is about highlighting and eliminating the toxic power dynamics that shut quiet voices…
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Responsible Communication and the COVID Vaccines
On the plus side, Moderna vaccine safe.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid…On the minus side, does not necessarily prevent you from getting COVID19.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec…My opinion – give it to elderly/high-risk people, while also reopening society. COVID is just a part of life now. WHO warns Covid-19 pandemic is ‘not necessarily the big one’Experts tell end of year media briefing that virus…
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Reimagining Performance Management: A Simple Achievement-Tracking Tool
I. What Is This? An easy-to-use, optional tool for continuous self-management and positive self-reinforcement. (Note: The current version was designed in Access and tested in Windows.) Here is a link to the tool – you want the Access file (it ends in .accdb). The link also takes you to this document (the instructions) in Word…
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The “Personal Accomplishment Tracker”: A Powerful Brand Management Tool
Performance self-management along brand lines is a radically different and positive change for most employees. This is a data entry form I developed in Access to align with the VA “ICARE” values – Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. You can do the same thing pretty easily, and then generate reports broken out per value…
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Branding Your Federal Agency
“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” It’s an old joke that belies a common frustration among Federal communicators: We are indeed passionate about serving the public, and though our work is far from perfect, negative stereotypes about government agencies, as well as Federal employees, are commonplace. Worse yet, it sometimes seems that…
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How A Federal Communicator Should Deal With The Media
1) Here is how a Federal communicator should deal with the media. I am telling you this based on experience and data, not my personal opinions or an agency’s direction or any partisan influence. (Pic: Free Image on Pixabay – Left Hand, Line, Male, Hand Download this free picture about Left Hand Line Male from…
Management Excellence 