American University
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The Department of Homeland Security answers to ninety-two Congressional committees and another twenty-seven outside organizations. The Annenberg Public Policy Center says that's a total of one hundred nineteen different oversight groups. Bob Tobias is Director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the complicated web of leadership might be a big reason why Congress has never passed an authorization bill for agency.
July 22, 2014 -
Some changes are coming at the top of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with new leader coming in for the Veterans Health Administration next Wednesday. VA's General Counsel Will Gunn plans to resign early next month. The changes appear to be the result of a trust issue at the agency. Bob Tobias is director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He said on In Depth with Francis Rose that performance issues are in the public spotlight because of the problems at Department of Veterans Affairs, but the problem actually goes way beyond the VA.
June 25, 2014 -
The IRS keeps revealing more instances of lost emails of employees in its tax exempt division. This week's revelation from the House Ways and Means Committee follows Friday's disclosure that a computer crash eliminated thousands of emails from former division chief Lois Lerner. Investigators now say another six division employees had their computers crash. Two Republican lawmakers call on the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS. Commissioner John Koskinen faces skeptical members of Congress today. Dan Metcalfe is an American University law professor and executive director of the Collaboration on Government Secrecy. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the records management side of this issue.
June 20, 2014 -
The Associated Press reports the government is going to unusual lengths to cloak the use of surveillance technology by local police. Rarely has the federal government interfered in local open-records conflicts. But recently, the FBI told a court in Arizona, releasing information about police surveillance would make it harder for the bureau to protect the public from terrorism. Dan Metcalfe is an American University law professor and executive director of the Collaboration on Government Secrecy. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss how often the federal government intervenes in record requests involving non-federal agencies.
June 17, 2014 -
The overall size of the federal workforce is shrinking. Different sources show different numbers, but they're all headed down. The raw number of civilian employees actually grew between 2004 and 2012, but 94 percent of that growth was at three agencies. Bob Tobias is Director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He said on In Depth with Francis Rose agency managers are starting to drop the "do more with less" mentality. Read a related story.
June 11, 2014 -
The Sept. 30 deadline for Congress to deliver a complete fiscal 2015 budget plan is about four months away. Appropriations committees on Capitol Hill still have a backlog of agency budget plans to finalize. Bob Tobias is Director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He's already thinking about the possibility of another continuing resolution and what it means for your agency's fiscal 2015 planning process.
May 28, 2014 -
If you believe the surveys, federal workplace morale and employee engagement have declined in recent years. For a variety of reasons, a disconnect has occurred between federal employees and their managers. As part our special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees, we're exploring how feds can develop a new model of trust. Bob Tobias is director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He joined Tom and Emily on the Federal Drive and explained, first, you have to solve the gap between GS-15s and SESers, and the employees they lead.
May 22, 2014 -
Bob Tobias, director of the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, sees trust as a symptom of whether employee engagement exists or not.
May 21, 2014 -
Your agency has only two days left to hand in a self-assessment on how well it's following the Obama Administration's second-term management agenda. The White House wants your agency to take a broad approach to its strategic objectives. Bob Tobias, director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, is looking at how different administrations choose to measure your agency's management success. He spoke to In Depth with Francis Rose.
May 15, 2014 -
Charles Edwards and Kathleen Sebelius will tell you federal leaders only get name recognition when it's not positive. Staying on mission, within budget and keeping productivity high are just a few of the things federal managers and decision makers have to think about. Bob Tobias, director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, tells In Depth with Francis Rose it's time for you and your colleagues to look in the mirror.
April 30, 2014 -
Eight percent of the Senior Executive Service move to a different agency once while in SES. That's according to new research from the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton, which suggests creating a four-tiered SES classification system. Tier four is for executives who have worked at several different agencies and lead government-wide projects. Tier one is an entry level spot for current feds. Bob Tobias, director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, explains it all to In Depth with Francis Rose
April 16, 2014 -
Major reforms to the General Schedule are the solution for problems with federal hiring and promotion, according to new research from the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen. They're proposing reforms like cutting down to five pay scales instead of 15. They also propose replacing tenure-based pay increases with performance-based ones.
April 02, 2014 -
Your paycheck might be public enemy number one for the private sector.
March 19, 2014 -
Why can't the government do a better job at Freedom of Information Act requests?
March 19, 2014 -
Experts say Beth Cobert must take the Goldilocks approach to developing management priorities for the next three years. President Barack Obama nominated Cobert to be OMB's deputy director for management Wednesday. Performance management observers say she needs to bring energy and new ways of looking at old problems.
September 12, 2013