American University

  • Major reforms are coming to the Senior Executive Service. A Leadership Development Program, an advisory group and new customer service award are some of the major changes President Barack Obama has proposed. Bob Tobias, professor with Key Executive Leadership programs at American University, says the reforms are a start. In his Top 3 for 2015, he tells In Depth with Francis Rose he's looking for stronger leadership over of the Executive Branch in 2015.

    December 29, 2014
  • Federal agencies are losing the leadership skills that truly inspire employees to do a good job. Bob Tobias, professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, draws that conclusion after looking at the results from different categories in the latest Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what leaders are lacking.

    December 08, 2014
  • The largest reorganization in Veterans Affairs Department history won't look like most re-orgs you've seen before. That's according to Bob Tobias -- he's professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the organizational chart at the VA won't see the changes most other agencies do.

    November 12, 2014
  • Six airstrikes near Kobani in Syria are part of today's Operation Inherent Resolve action. The Defense Department says the military executed two more airstrikes near Fallujah in Iraq. Gordon Adams is Professor of International Relations at American University, and distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center. He writes in Foreign Policy magazine under the title "The Varnish of Vietnam." On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained why the fight against the Islamic State isn't winnable.

    October 20, 2014
  • The Veterans Affairs Department tops the list of most time spent on union business in fiscal 2012. The VA uses a little more than 1 million hours in total. But when you look at the numbers by hours per union employee, you get a completely different list. Bob Tobias is professor in the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University and teaches about labor-management relations. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he offered insight into the figures on official time.

    October 15, 2014
  • Only two agencies show any progress in following the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. Those two are the Office of Personnel Management and the Labor Department. The Government Accountility Office says GPRA compliance is actually getting worse at other agencies. Bob Tobias is Business Development director of the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what the failing grades mean for performance-based management in the federal government.

    October 01, 2014
  • The House passes a series of bills to change the work life of some federal employees. The Senior Executive Service Accountability Act changes the due process for career SESers accused of misconduct. Three bills aimed at the IRS would target how employees work and communicate with each other. Bob Tobias is a professor for Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He explained the ramifications of the bills on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    September 17, 2014
  • The Internal Revenue Service has a In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared what he thinks the key is to put a dollar value on the work employees do.

    September 04, 2014
  • Your agency needs to clarify what it expects from employees who telework. That's according to the Patent Office Professional Association. Their president says the recent telework controversy at the Patent and Trademark Office exposes problems with how agencies manage employees working outside the office. Bob Tobias is director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He explained what he sees behind the controversy on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    August 20, 2014
  • It's been almost five years since Congress eliminated the National Security Personnel System, and almost three years since it told the Pentagon to come up with a new performance management system for civilian personnel. Now, DoD has released some early details on what that new system will eventually look like. In a semiannual report to Congress last week, officials said they had notified DoD labor unions that the new system will evaluate employee performance in three tiers and promised that those performance reviews will be linked to organizational goals. Bob Tobias is Director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He explained the system changes on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.

    August 06, 2014
  • 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