Weekly Roundup: April 4-8, 2022
Submitted by MKeegan on Fri, 04/08/2022 - 14:46
Friday, April 8, 2022
A Government That Delivers. OMB is updating Performance.gov with information about the challenges and opportunities that inform the three PMA Priorities, as well as the goals and key success metrics developed by the Workforce and Customer Experience Priorities. OMB is also releasing the names of the team members from across Government — Strategy Leads — who will ensure that PMA Priorities and goals have the sustained attention they deserve and the focus and expertise of subject matter experts who drive day-to-day implementation.
Fed Experts, Educators Stress the Need for K-12 Cyber Education. At the “Expanding the Nation’s Cybersecurity Workforce: A National Imperative” forum hosted by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the Florida Center for Cybersecurity on April 5, National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, stressed that “our cyber education efforts need to” address everyone, not just those in the cybersecurity industry.
Expanding the Nation’s Cybersecurity Workforce: A National Imperative. Watch discussion on "Expanding the Nation’s #Cybersecurity Workforce: A National Imperative," with remarks from National Cyber Director @NCDInglis and panel of cyber experts with @CyberSecurityFL @NISTcyber @evans5560 @napawash @BusOfGovernment
Performance measurement is alive and well. Steve Kelman reviews the current slate of the Biden administration's priority performance goals and corrects the record about the use of performance management.
Senate Confirms LaPlante to Head Pentagon Acquisition and Sustainment. The Senate confirmed William LaPlante to be under secretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense (DoD) on April 7 by voice vote. Most recently, LaPlante served as the president and CEO of Draper Laboratory. Before that, he worked as the senior vice president for the MITRE Corporation’s National Sector, overseeing Federally-funded research and development centers for DoD and the Department of Commerce.
DISA Official Predicts ‘More Deliberate’ Usage of Hybrid Cloud. Having an on-premises data center and a cloud computing environment – otherwise referred to as hybrid cloud – is the norm for many Federal agencies and industry partners, and an official from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) predicts a “more deliberate usage of hybrid cloud” in the next few years.
DoD Names New J-6 CIO, JADC2 Program Gets New Director. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has announced the appointment of Air Force Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien to be the next Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the J-6 Joint Staff and director for the J-6 command, control, communications, and computers/cyber, according to an April 5 Department of Defense (DoD) release.
Bring your leadership into focus with 6 questions. Leaders can use the "5 W's" and "how" to understand their key stakeholders, where their leadership is most needed and other key questions, writes Meredith Persily Lamel, CEO of Aspire@Work. "Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all job, and by using this 'six paths' framework of questions, you'll better understand and assess context and how you fit into your specific role as a leader," Lamel writes. SmartBrief/Leadership
Use this process to make tough decisions. Leaders can do better with tough decisions by clearly defining the problem and its urgency, whether the decision is a team or solo responsibility, then asking stakeholders for feedback and holding meetings to finalize the decision, says YSC Consulting CEO Eric Pliner. "Avoid ambiguity or soft-balling the message because you're afraid that stakeholders won't like how you want the decision to be made," says Pliner. Inc. (tiered subscription model)
9 ways to focus on what's important versus what's urgent. Don't allow other people's supposed emergencies to prevent you from working on what's important for you, writes Frank Sonnenberg, who outlines how to identify your priorities and goals. "The problem is, if you don't focus on important things, they'll become an emergency one day," Sonnenberg writes. Frank Sonnenberg Online
How leaders can help teams work smarter, not harder. Help you team increase their sense of well-being by clarifying a few priorities, keeping meetings short and providing flexibility in how the work gets done, writes Suzi McAlpine. Having too many strategic priorities, for example, hurts team effectiveness and contributes to burnout, McAlpine writes. Suzi McAlpine
Why leaders must challenge ideas that quash honesty. Going along to get along can land us into "collective illusions" that may make leaders censor themselves for fear of being rejected or misunderstood, says Todd Rose, co-founder of the think tank Populace. "There is a critical role for organizational leaders to commit to conditions that enable people to be honest about what they think at work," Rose says. McKinsey
Workers give low marks to pandemic leadership. Leaders in the US struggled to manage the pandemic, including with strong communication, supporting morale and assuaging anxiety about the future, according to a Sanborn & Associates survey. "That is the new challenge of leadership: not just to reduce the anxiety experienced at work, but lead in building better outcomes for employees and customers despite what challenges may come," writes Mark Sanborn. Mark Sanborn
Aon CEO: Why resilience should be baked into companies. Making "resilience a company-building capability" instead of a one-off exercise has helped Aon find new opportunities even during a crisis, says CEO Greg Case. "Those who clearly establish how resilience fits into their core business -- and use that understanding to inform better decision making -- can most effectively protect and build their businesses," Case says. McKinsey
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Next Week on The Business of Government Hour: Improving AI Strategic Coordination: Insights from Pamela Isom, Director, Artificial Intelligence and
Technology Office, U.S. Department of Energy. What is the mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office? How is it working to transform the Department of Energy into a world leading AI enterprise? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Pamela Isom, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office within the U.S. Department of Energy…next week on The Business of Government Hour.
Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Friday at 1 p.m. on Federal News Network 1500AM WFED
