YGL Blog

Interesting article about how government employees are viewed on film:

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=45789&dcn=e_gvet

Emily Long writes, "The study, conducted by political science professors Michelle Pautz of the University of Dayton (Ohio) and Laura Roselle from Elon University in North Carolina, analyzed the annual top 10 grossing movies from 1992 to 2005 for portrayals of government employees. Sixty percent of the films depicted government systems negatively, yet individual employees generally were portrayed positively. Civil servants often were portrayed as attractive, knowledgeable, well-trained and efficient, research found."

If we are perceived in a positive light, do we have a personal responsibility to raise the brand of our agencies and departments? Or is this something that can be done by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)?

How does being part of YGL raise the brand of government and the people who work for it?

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

 

 

Human Resource professionals and others new to the workplace may already know what the obstacles are to a First-Class Federal Workforce.

Check out the new report by the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton LLP along with their recommendations:

http://ourpublicservice.org/OPS/publications/viewcontentdetails.php?id=147

Young Government Leaders along with several organizations have long advocated for progressive and cutting edge teleworking as a key factor to retaining a government workforce at competition with the civilian sector.  Young people especially want flexibility and new ways of working to accomodate different lifestyles.  Requiring agencies and departments to embrace and foster telework opportunities, along with learning to lead with employees logged on, is challenging but doable. 

Both the House and Senate are working on the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act to expand telecommuting.  The Senate measure (S. 707), sponsored by Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, passed in May, and the House version (H.R. 1722) passed on July 14.  After conferencing, both chambers will then vote on the final bill before sending to President Obama to sign into law.

Key requirements, include:

1. Provide training to teleworkers
2. Distinguishing between teleworkers and nonteleworkers for performance appraisal, training, and other purposes
3. Agencies must appoint a telework manager to serve as a resource and be notified of grievance procedures
4. Agencies must incorporate teleworking into continuity of operations plans
5. Requires the GAO to establish a system for evaluating each agency's telework policy
6. Requires the GAO to report annually on telework policies
7. OPM must describe telework regulations
8. OPM must provide telework assistance and guidance to agencies

To find out more about the bills, you can go to Congressional Research Service (CRS) summaries here:

* S. 707
* H.R. 1722

Also, are you a leader who wants to implement telework effectively and get the most out of your employees? Check out the Graduate School's related class:

Telework: A Manager's Perspective

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

Good News—the US Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) completed its review of the YGL and Young Government Leaders trademarks and the government did not refuse the mark on any preliminary issues. Both trademarks passed the initial stage!

Next, both trademark applications will be published for opposition by the public. USPTO will send us a 30 day notice before the marks are published in the GAO Register. At this point, anyone can oppose the trademarks for a 30 day period. After this period, if there is no opposition, then both trademarks will become final.

Again, thank you to our Chief Financial Officer, Starrlese Jones, and our Advisory Board, Shaw, Bransford, and Roth, who are leading this effort!

Yours in Service,

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

On Friday, April 23rd, I had the opportunity to see the Boston YGL Chapter first hand.  Jessica Foley, Social Networking Chair, set-up an event at the Greatest Bar near Government Center.

There was a very lively turn out of 40 people, and plenty of good food to snack on. It's really great to see the Boston Chapter with so many vibrant and dedicated public servants. I had a lot of interesting conversations about life as a government employee outside the Beltway.  (And It was quite the night for Boston sports too!)

I even had the privilige of seeing a good friend and graduate school colleague, Massachusetts State Representative, Mark Falzone.  As a young politician, Mark is very supportive of public service employees and was eager to see our group in person.

Finally, a very special thank you to Boston's Co-Chairs: Nick Alexander and Leigh Ann Nally. Keep up the great work.

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

Young Government Leaders took a major step forward this past week with an event in the Philadelphia area on Tuesday, April 27.

More than 100 young federal, state, and local public servants showed up at Club Quarters (www.clubquarters.com) in Central Philadelphia to find out more about YGL.  In partnership with Aetna, the Graduate School,  and the Philadelphia Federal Executibe Board (FEB), we sponsored the event to bring the YGL experience to the area.  Aetna and Club Quarters graciously provided door prizes, including, a Philadelphia Phillies jersey, baseball bat, and overnight stay at any Club Quarters located in Boston, New York, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and London!

Sean Henry and Joshua Debeary of Navy Inventory Control Point (NAVICP) are leading the effort to stand-up a Philadelphia Chapter and plan even more events for the future. They are looking for volunteers to serve as Chapter Officers and Committee Volunteers to plan social networking, professional development, and community service events in the Philadelphia area.

If you want to help, contact Sean and Joshua at philadelphia@younggovernmentleaders.org or contact YGL National at admin@younggovernmentleaders.org.

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are launching The Federal Coach, a thrice-weekly federal leadership column and blog hosted by Tom Fox, director of the Partnership's innovative for Government Leadership.

Each week, The Federal Coach will offer advice about how to break through the bureaucracy and overcome professional obstacles unique to the public sector. It will also feature interviews with inspiring leaders in the federal government who bring a unique perspective to these issues.

Check out the Website: http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/fedcoach/

Coming to Washington, DC in 2007, I joined Young Government Leaders (YGL) because of the reasons Steve Kelman raises. Check out the interesting article addressing this question, "Do Agencies make new employees do busy work?"

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=44652&dcn=e_gvet

I think there is a follow-on question as well: do we expect less of our new employees because our older workforce is not very talented? Or do you rise to the level of your boss? If your boss is mediocre, then why should you be any different?

I've always thought that we expect less of our new workforce because the crop of middle managers survived instead of thrived.

If government recruits the"best and brightest" does it retain the "even better and brilliant"?

What do you think?

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

Great example of the age old debate: valued public servant or entrenched, lazy bureaucrat!

Let's thank Senator Kaufman for raising the issue and helping us to think which one we want to be!

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

 

When Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) gets mad, he gives floor speeches, arranges displays of placards and hands out awards.

And if you spit out the term "federal bureaucrat" around him, he will likely do all three.

Kaufman has been mad - for almost 30 years now, as he recalls - about the verbal abuse federal employees take from anyone who wants to show general disgust with Washington.


"It's bugged the hell out of me to hear people denigrate federal employees," Kaufman says after pointing out a 10-chart display of "great federal employees" he brought to the Russell Rotunda. Since Kaufman's January 2009 appointment to the Senate, he has honored one federal employee per week, for a total of 46 employees, to combat what he considers a pervasive problem - the American people using public servants as punching bags for their dissatisfaction with Washington.

Kaufman gives a floor speech every week to highlight a Federal Aviation Administration adviser, an Army National Guard member, an FBI information officer or some other federal employee he considers exemplary. He even made it to the Senate floor for his regular speech during Washington's blizzard last month.

Kaufman came up with the chart display, which ran last week, after having walked through the Russell Rotunda for 22 years on his way to work for then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). The rotunda would frequently host displays, and he thought his "Great Federal Employees" program was a good fit.

In addition to working for Biden, Kaufman was a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for 13 years. He says nearly all of his interactions with federal employees during that time proved that they constitute a smart, dedicated, intelligent and diverse workforce and are not much different from the private sector. (Kaufman spent seven years at the start of his career in the private sector as an engineer for DuPont.) So he just doesn't see any basis for sweeping attacks on public servants.

"It's like blaming [United Auto Workers] for the problems of American automobile manufacturers," he explains. "The problem is not with the UAW workers; the problem is the automobile manufacturers making bad cars."

Kaufman began to focus on the denigration of federal employees, as he frequently refers to it, after noticing a slow build-up of the behavior over the years, but no one incident stands out in his mind.

"It's much more just a constant," he says. "It's like a lot of things; I remember somebody once told me, 'Once you see a yellow Volkswagen, the world's full of yellow Volkswagens.' "

He notes that bad-mouthing Washington is now in fashion around the country and that those sentiments can spill over into federal-employee disparagement. After thinking about it, Kaufman comes up with one recent example of rancor targeted at public servants.

"There's a memo going around town on financial regulatory reform that says, 'Be sure to use the term "bureaucrat," ' " he says, explaining that people often contort that word to use it in a pejorative sense.

Kaufman has found the federal employees he highlights in a variety of ways. He says he regularly contacts people he respects to ask them for suggestions. He has also been in touch with the Partnership for Public Service and other organizations that work with federal employees.

The public servants Kaufman has honored range in experience, expertise and demographic background. For example, one employee, William Phillips of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has helped develop new fields of atomic research and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997. Another one, Iris Morales, analyzes and corrects beneficiaries' issues at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Though his Great Federal Employees program isn't a part of his legislative agenda, Kaufman sees it as one of his official duties. He hopes to highlight 100 federal employees before he leaves office at the end of the year.

"A lot of being a senator is speaking out on issues to try to change attitudes," he says, "and that's what I'm trying to do here."


Source:
http://thehill.com/capital-living/84585-the-public-servants-defender
The contents of this site are (c) 2010 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsisiary of News Communications, Inc.

Are you an Idea person? How about leading your YGL Chapter Book Club?

http://www.squidoo.com/morebooksforlinchpins

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

This is a great example of a young government leader transforming government from within.

http://scotteblin.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/hanging-tough-with-your-boss.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fscotteblin+%28Next+Level+Blog%29

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

Young Government Leaders is pleased to announce that our 2010 marketing materials are in!

The Executive Board selected Identification (ID) Card Lanyards due to their appeal and wide use among young feds. We also have coffee mugs courtesy of our sponsor, Aetna.

If you are a Road Show Speaker or Chapter Officer, please contact us at admin@younggovernmentleaders.org to reserve these materials for your next special event.

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

I am pleased to report that we submitted the necessary paperwork to the U.S. Patent Office to trademark "Young Government Leaders" name.  With more than five years of using the name, it's critical we take this step to ensure long-term viability.

This also demonstrates Young Government Leaders is an organization with a long-lasting purpose and mission and a recognized brand. With the support of our Chapters, we plan to continue operating and bringing even more professional development, social networking, and community service events to YGL members.  We hope to provide additional scholarships, more awards, and the development of a next generation summit in the coming months.

We appreciate all the efforts of Shaw, Bransford, and Roth staff attorney, Maria Coleman, and Advisory Panel Member, Debra Roth, for their help and guidance through this process!

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

Young Government Leaders is working with the Performance Institute to make this year's 2010 Government Performance Summit the best of its kind.  Director of Program and Events, Jeff Press, is coordinating with summit organizers to include speakers and events applicable to young federal workers.  This year's summit will focus on using leadership, measurement, and a motivated workforce to drive results. 

The Government Performance Summit is part of the Innovations in Government Series, a project of The Performance Institute to highlight and spread best practices in government management in a new era of citizen transparency and public sector accountability. Join us on May 10-12, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia.

For the past eleven years, federal leaders have gathered to explore the latest mandates and best practices in performance management, program measurement and evaluation at the annual Government Performance Summit. The Summit is led by speakers from the upper echelons of the Executive branch and leading Federal Managers who offer their experience and advice to managers looking to improve the results earned by their programs and agencies – putting attendees in the room with the decision-makers on management policy from the Administration and Congress.

This is a great training opportunity for young federal workers.  If you need to convince your department or agency to fund attendance, then consider these important factors.  The Government Performance Summit is known for its expert speakers. After spending three days learning and sharing with the brightest minds in federal government, you will return to the office motivated and ready to plan, measure, budget, evaluate and report program results.

• You get to develop your own program agenda. The Government Performance Summit sessions fall into seven categories: performance for emerging leaders, performance for the experienced manager, program performance, people performance, budget management, citizen transparency and ask the expert. You can choose sessions that best apply to your current situation and organization. You can follow one theme for all three days or choose sessions from several tracks to get the targeted information you want.

• The Government Performance Summit will increase organizational results. This year’s Government Performance Summit is comprised of two days of sessions addressing the key challenges agencies are facing related to the new administration’s efforts to change the way government works, the evolution of the federal workforce and more. You will learn skills that will have a lasting effect on your work, from motivating your staff and creating outcome-based performance measures to producing performance information that is meaningful to stakeholders, Congress and the public.

• Government Performance Summit speakers are experts. We hand-pick the best and brightest in the federal government to share their expertise with you. You won’t find information this specific, on this many performance, planning, management and measurement topics, anywhere else.

• You’ll learn how to make the most of the resources you already have. Whether you want to inspire and engage your team to improved performance or need to get by on reduced program budget, you will learn tips for maximizing your current resources.

• It’s a networking opportunity. At the Government Performance Summit you will step away from the office and connect with other government managers and discuss cross-agency goals and how you can work together for increased government results.

 Tim Sommella
 President
 Young Government Leaders

Jeff Press, YGL Director of Program and Events, and I had a conversation with Dagne Fulche of Government Executive's Excellence in Government Series.  YGL will be assisting to develop future conference agendas by serving on the Planning Committee this year.

Government Executive's Excellence in Government Series is a three day event focusing on a particular issue across government.  This year's series will take place on April 19, July 19, and a date to be determined in November. 

For years, the Excellence in Government Series focused on senior leaders in Departments and Agencies.  With last year's series focusing on "Making Government Cool" and YGL Past President, Kate Walker, participating as a panel moderator, Dagne thought this year offered a great opportunity to bring YGL into the mix.  We're really excited to be participating.

This years's theme is the "People Factor."  YGL will routinely reach out to its members for feedback and we look forward to hearing from everyone on this topic.

Tim Sommella
President
Young Government Leaders

In my brief tenure as a Federal employee I have observed that civil servants are not in it for the fame, fortune or even the benefits - but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. House of Representatives from trying to sweeten the deal.

In the past few weeks the House has passed, and shuffled off to the Senate, two bills that will have a significant impact on current and future Federal employees. The first bill is the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009.

As you can imagine from the title, the Act is designed to provide four weeks of paid parental leave to Federal employees for the birth or adoption of a new child. This addition is going to be an amazing benefit for those of us who plan to go forth and multiply in the coming years. Under current law, Federal employees are given 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for and bond with a new child. Unfortunately, to take advantage of that precious time off to adjust to the new family member in your life, you either have to have spent years accruing sick time and annual leave or be financially secure enough to pass on three months of paychecks. Neither of which are likely options for younger and/or recently hired employees. There are numerous details on the when, why and how you can take this new benefit. But, as this bill has not fully churned through the Senate, it’s hard to say what the final bill will look like when, or if, it’s ever ready for President Obama’s signature.

In the meantime, you can follow it here as it traverses the bureaucratic slalom that is our bicameral legislature:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h626/show

Also, Senator Webb has posted a decent fact sheet for the legislation on his website if you don’t feel up to parsing the legalese in the bill’s text:

http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/factsheet&q&afeppla.pdf

The second bill, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Enhancement Act of 2009, contains several provisions to expand retirement savings options for federal employees. It is tucked down at the bottom of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, as if hoping no one would bother to read down that far. (http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1256/text?version=pcs&nid=t0:pcs:1081) While it’s certainly not the most thrilling read, its provisions are important so I’ll list the highlights here. Specifically, the bill:

1. Automatically enrolls new federal hires into the TSP.
2. Enables employees to invest their retirement money into mutual funds of their choice.
3. Includes a Roth 401(k) option so employees can pay taxes up front rather than when funds are withdrawn.
4. Permits spouses of deceased federal workers to continue managing their funds in the TSP rather than requiring them to withdraw and reinvest the funds elsewhere as the current law mandates. The bill advanced through the Senate this week after members wrangled over numerous amendments.

Most noteworthy for federal employees was an amendment proposed by Senator Lieberman that, among other things, would have allowed federal workers in the Federal Employees Retirement System to add unused sick time to their retirement annuities - a benefit still afforded to employees in the older Civil Service Retirement System.

Ironically, given everything else crammed into a bill about smoking prevention, the Senate parliamentarians felt the need to declare this amendment non-germane and omit it from further consideration. For more information GovernmentExecutive.com has a good write up on the bill’s trials and triumphs in the Senate. http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=42923&dcn=e_gvet

Patrick J. Kelly
Issues Director
YGL National

With all the change going on in the Washington these days there has never been a better time for individuals with good ideas to stand up and be heard.

As it turns out, 13L (www.13l.org), Young Government Leaders and a handful of other great organizations are offering an opportunity to do just that - the 2nd Annual FedPitch.

FedPitch is an innovative, grass-roots initiative providing citizens the opportunity, and forum, to present their ideas on ways to improve workforce management in the federal government.

Sound interesting?

Want a chance to be heard?

Good. This is what you need to do. Step one, idea. Dig deep. Imagine you're in charge and you have all the time, talent and money in the world. What would you do to effect positive change in your department? Your agency? Your government?

Step two, go to www.fedpitch.org and submit your idea by April 4th.

If you dream big enough you just might be selected as a finalist on April 13th.

This is where the fun begins. Last year, 13L brought the finalists together to meet with professional speech writers to hone their idea to a two minute pitch. Then, they pitched their ideas before a live audience and a panel of judges on the National Mall as part of Public Service Recognition Week.

This year the presentations will be held on May 7th between 1:30 and 3:00pm.

If you'd like to see what you'll be up against, or just get some ideas for your agency, check out the finalists from last year’s competition: http://www.fedpitch.org/fp2008/FedPitch%202008%20Presentations.pdf

Patrick Kelly
Issues Director
YGL National

In May of 2008 during the 110th Congress, Representative David Price (D-NC) introduced H.R.6160:

The Roosevelt Scholars Act.

Despite the support of 24 cosponsors, it was referred to subcommittee and, like many bills before it, was never heard from again. However, now that hope and a new Congressional head count have come to Washington, Representative Price is planning to dust it off and introduce the new and improved Roosevelt Scholars Act of 2009 next month.

For those not acquainted with the Act, the Partnership for Public Service offers the following description: “The Roosevelt Scholars Act is a new initiative that will help the federal government recruit the best and brightest talent in key fields. The Act will create a scholarship program to fund graduate-level education in key mission-critical fields (e.g., engineering, medicine and public health, foreign languages, information technology, and law, among others) in exchange for a federal service commitment.

The model is similar to the military's ROTC program, which has proven to be an outstanding source of new talent for our nation's armed forces.” For those of you that are in information technology, this may sound familiar as it shares several similarities with the Scholarship for Service/CyberCrops Program (www.sfs.opm.gov) currently in place through the National Science Foundation. However, as stated above, the Roosevelt Scholars Act will have an expanded scope to create a farm team of future federal employees across numerous mission-critical fields.

Some highlights of the Roosevelt Scholars Act are as follows: Benefits

• Academic Costs: Tuition, Books and Fees.

• Living Stipend: Up to $12,000 per year.

• Total annual award not to exceed $60,000 and not to exceed five academic years.

• Eligible for noncompetitive employment through partner agencies. Service Commitment

• Complete an internship with an Executive agency prior to graduation.

• Serve a minimum of three years in an Executive agency following graduation.

The Partnership for Public Service is rallying support for the Act. They currently have more than 80 leaders of prominent colleges and universities, educational associations, and good government groups that have signed a letter of support, which is circulating on Capitol Hill. Additionally, they have launched a new petition for individual supporters to sign.

If you would like to support the Roosevelt Scholarship Act or learn more about it, please visit their website: http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/governmentaffairs/rooseveltscholars.shtml

Patrick Kelly
Issues Director
YGL National

How do you know what a good professional "network" looks like?

Is it the quality of information sharing?

Is it the professional connections you can make?

Is it the personal connections you can make?

Is it the access you have to new opportunities?

Is it the ability to add a line to your resume?

YGL has over 1800 members, yet our "network" means different things to each of them. Some enjoy coming to our professional development events, like the one we recently had in January on TSP or the one coming up on resume writing. Others like socializing at our Third Thursdays Happy Hours (like the one tonight at Eyebar!). Others prefer to use our LinkedIn network to contact colleagues and build their virtual network. And others are content to just scan our newsletters and not join us on the town, in the seminar room, or on the web.

I understand a "good network" means different things to different people, but there must be some common elements of a "good network" that make it valuable. What are they? And what does it take to get someone to step out from behind the computer and reinforce their virtual network with face-to-face connections?

Respond to this blog or come network with us tonight (Feb 19) at Eyebar.

We'll be there at 6pm!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2422687464#/event.php?eid=65148513640

Mary Morrison

YGL-DC Social Networking Chair

Web 2.0: What is it? Who’s using it?

How to introduce it in your organization? What to expect from a new national administration in 2009?

On October 22, 2008, these questions and more were answered at the Web 2.0 event sponsored by Young Government Leaders (YGL), in coordination with our partners at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), The Public Manager and our corporate sponsor, Cisco Systems.

Our expert panel consisted of Frank DiGiammarino, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at NAPA; Mary McCaffery, Senior Advisor to the Office of Environmental Information at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Andrew Krzmarzick, Senior Project coordinator in Business Development at the Graduate School, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Alan Balutis, Director and distinguished fellow of CISCO’s Internet Business Solutions Group.

The mission of YGL is to provide a community and infrastructure for current and future public service leaders that will educate and inspire to transform government. Web 2.0 plays a pivotal role in all of this because it leads to more efficient government by breaking down stovepipes, inspires innovation and serves as an enabler for knowledge sharing and management.

Some highlights of the event were:

- Closing the gap on transformation. NAPA launched a website, http://www.collaborationproject.org/, which is an initiative aimed at leveraging the benefits of Web 2.0 and collaborative technology to solve government’s complex problems.

- Getting to Active Transformation. Discussed how Facebook and TSA blogging were forms of incremental passive and active transformation, respectively. Expanded on Active Transformational Initiatives such as the Pugent Sound and Virtual Alabama.

- Change in your agency. Clear problem, people who care and a real value exchange. Focusing on the ‘who’ by bringing in a wider array of stakeholders and embrace the opportunity. Do not empower the status quo. - Information sharing and collaboration. Solicit knowledge, tagging and facilitating internet collaboration. Some people want to contribute, but don’t want technology to get in the way.

- Collaboration tools in your agency. Why? Tie it to the mission. Who? Owner/Audience – you need a champion. How? Decide which tools. What? Content is the key to success. When? Create a schedule to implement and evaluate. Andrew explores Web 2.0 in the federal environment in his blog, http://www.generationshift.blogspot.com/. His slide presentation on how Web 2.0 is changing government can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/akrzmarzick/web-20-for-young-government-leaders-oct-22-2008-presentation.

- Culture change. The government needs the ability to actually deliver and embrace collaborative technology. A citizen-centric model of service delivery is critical. Using technology to reach out to the American people for ideas on improving government. The mixed crowd of over 60 people from both public and private sector took advantage of the opportunity to engage in open discussion with these experts and the event was a complete success. If you are eager to learn from our leaders throughout the private and public sector, have ideas to share or just want to get involved, take a look at some of YGL’s upcoming events by visiting

http://www.youngovernmentleaders.org/ or send me an e-mail (shaun.khalfan@navy.mil) for more information.

Shaun Khalfan

Chief Information Officer

Young Government Leaders