Avoid Cliches…Like the Plague
When you use a cliche, it’s as though you’ve temporarily left the conversation and told your listener, “Here, talk to my Great Aunt Melba.”
Leadership
Explore the latest leadership tips and career development guidance for federal employees looking to grow, lead, and advance. This category covers workplace leadership skills, communication strategies, career advancement advice, team management, professional development, and federal workforce leadership best practices. Find practical insights from our authors on becoming a more effective leader, improving performance, and navigating leadership challenges in today’s federal workplace.
Don’t Hit ‘Send’ Until You Have Read These Email Tips
The emails you send at work are like any other professional documents. They reflect your professionalism and competence, and when you send them you lose all control over who sees them and how they’re used and interpreted. So before hitting ‘Send,’ read these email tips.
Become a Better Listener in 10 Minutes
Want to advance in your career, enhance your professional reputation, or just have more meaningful relationships? Listen up. One of the most powerful—and underappreciated—interpersonal skills is being a great listener.
Three Simple Tips for Better Writing
Writing is a single-task activity. Study after study has shown that multi-tasking is a myth. Our brains can be devoted to only so many mental tasks at once. Try singing a song while adding a couple of two-digit numbers in your head. Or better yet, notice how someone turns down the car stereo when looking for an address.
Do You Make These Seven Common Writing Mistakes?
Periodically, Uncle Sam tries to get people to write clearly and directly. The efforts usually fail. Chances are you spend a good deal of your time crafting documents to communicate or persuade. Avoid these seven common mistakes and your written documents will be clear, persuasive, and will deliver better results.
Writing an Effective SES Resume
Writing your Senior Executive Service resume will probably be the trickiest one you have ever written. Here are practical tips that may help you in securing one of the most elite and competitive jobs in the country.
Ethics and Government Employees: How Do Federal Employees Compare?
Is government ethics an oxymoron? With an entire agency and numerous ethics advisers spread throughout federal agencies, one would hope that level of misconduct in federal agencies would be minimal. It isn’t minimal but a new report shows that the federal government is at least ahead of state and local governments in the ethics arena.
Police, Firefighters, Power and Money: Taking Power from the States and Giving it to the FLRA
A little-known bill pending on Congress could be the “mother lode” of bureaucracy for one small federal agency. State and local governments may not like more power being transferred to an agency in Washington but what they want may not make much of a difference.
Readers Say Change in Leadership in Congress is Positive
In a recent poll of FedSmith.com readers, most think the election results are a positive event and that contracting is the most significant issue facing the federal workforce.
Defining Your Personality With New Technology
Adding a touch of personality to your e-mail may brighten someone’s day but may also unintentionally irritate or attract unnecessary attention.
