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CALM UNDER PRESSURE
During a crisis, it’s
not uncommon for otherwise quiet, unassuming managers to become the
glue—the connectors—that hold everything else together. These
people do not typically get the glory or the headlines, yet their
influence leaves an indelible imprint. At the Agriculture Department,
that kind of imprint is one that colleagues associate with Patricia
Healy.
MIX MASTERS
David Songco, CIO of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National
Institutes of Health, supervises just six federal employees but works
closely with dozens of contract employees from several companies.
It’s a managerial balancing act that he and a growing number of
executives in government are confronting every day.
BIG ON BUSINESS
Can a government organization
be run like a business? The Interior Department’s National Business
Center is doing just that. NBC, a cross-agency service provider, has a
solid business base and a growing portfolio. It’s also gearing up
to compete head-on with private-sector vendors for contracts.
HUMAN CAPITAL | BURROWING IN
What kind of
creature slips into a workplace, burrows into a lair and stays there for
the rest of its life? No, it’s not a mole, but a particular breed
of federal employee who bypasses the normal rating, ranking and
selection process and gains an inside track to a permanent,
benefits-laden government job.
PUBLIC SERVICE | GROWING GOOD GOVERNMENT
Another global consulting firm has decided that helping government
executives and service organizations is good for the public, not to
mention good for its business. Accenture Ltd. last month launched the
Accenture Institute for Public Service Value. Its mission is to provide
research and analysis to help public service agencies and governments
improve performance and better serve their constituents.
PERFORMANCE | UNAPPEALING RULING FOR DHS
The
Homeland Security Department’s proposed merit-based personnel
system took a hit last month when a federal appeals court upheld a lower
court’s decision that the system would illegally limit the scope of
collective bargaining.
WYATT KASH | BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
One of
the Bush administration’s strategies to improve the management of
government suffered a stinging, if not unexpected, setback last month
when a federal appeals court declared the administration had overreached
its authority in fashioning new workplace rules at the Homeland Security
Department.
SAM MOK | BALANCING ACT
Two employees sit in
neighboring cubicles working on the same project. Both have comparable
responsibilities and are equally effective. However, the similarities
end when it comes to what motivates them.
MALCOLM SLOVIN | IN TUNE WITH CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
Imagine an orchestra where every instrument, from
violins to oboes, is played by a percussionist. The resulting music
would no doubt be the sonic equivalent of a train wreck. That’s
because orchestras, like any team or organization, can only be effective
when the right people with the right skills are in the right
positions.
TELE-TRAUMA
Almost six years have passed
since Congress told agencies to maximize opportunities for their
employees to telework. They’re making progress, no question. In its
fiscal 2005 telework report, the General Services Administration found
that the number of eligible teleworkers and teleworking employees
continues to grow.
PERFORMING AS ONE TEAM
Col. David Coker,
project director for the Army’s Logistics Modernization Program,
says people have a formulaic image of the relationship between
government managers and contract workers.
INSIDE JOB | ON PAR AT STATE: BRADFORD HIGGINS, STATE
DEPARTMENT CFO
In September 2001, Bradford Higgins was
working in executive splendor on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs. A few
months later, he was serving in Iraq and living in a dusty trailer in
Baghdad’s 120-degree heat. He describes it as “the best
experience I’ve ever had.”
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