Bob Tobias

  • Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) plans to continue his fight for the federal workforce, after winning re-election. He'll join his fellow Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly and Republican Barbara Comstock for the 115th Congress, in which he says he's looking to raise federal pay and assure fairness on oversight investigations.

    November 10, 2016
  • The political rhetoric is getting somewhat worse as the election draws nearer. Both candidates are promising programs and benefits that few believe they can actually deliver on. All of this comes at the expense of a solid, sober look at public management. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key management Program at American University, offers his take on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    November 07, 2016
  • The new administration is going to have to hit the ground running if it wants to accomplish anything. But new administrations often bog down early. Why? And how can they hope to avoid it? Bob Tobias, a professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University, explains it to Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    October 14, 2016
  • The email threats to the Agriculture Department last month were scary, causing temporary building shutdowns. Bob Tobias, a professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University, wonders on Federal Drive with Tom Temin whether this was an example of misconceptions about the federal government blossoming into something more sinister.

    September 08, 2016
  • The longtime leader and founder of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), Steve Bauer, will retire in October.

    September 06, 2016
  • The House just passed the Government Reform and Improvement Act of 2016, which would institute performance management, secure information systems, and lengthen probationary periods for career employees. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin the bill as a bit of a grab bag.

    July 12, 2016
  • Public policy creation and implementation will be the chief tasks of next year's new administration. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Leadeship program at American University, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss some ways on how to make it happen effectively,

    May 19, 2016
  • Longstanding problems persist in the government because they are difficult. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership program at American University, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin a technique called action learning can change that.

    April 21, 2016
  • Recent research shows a mismatch between what federal managers think and what constituents think when it comes to customer service. Bob Tobias, founder of the Key Leadership Program at American University, shares his insight on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    March 10, 2016
  • If Presidents thought more like chief executive officers, then perhaps so many of the big management snafus wouldn't happen. That's the view of Bob Tobias, founder and development director of the Key Executive Leadership program at American University. He shared the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    February 29, 2016
  • The Office of Personnel Management recently released guidelines for agencies to follow as they stand up new onboarding plans for senior executives.

    February 15, 2016
  • Everybody wants accountability from someone else. Congress wants it from federal agencies. Federal managers wants it from employees and vice versa. The public wants it from everybody. But demanding accountability means you've got to equip people with the skills they need to do the job. Could it be a lack of management training is causing federal employee engagement scores to fall for the last five years? Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University, has some ideas, which he shares with Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    January 29, 2016
  • Leaders within the federal manager community offered a mixed bag of reactions to President Obama's new executive order on Service Executive Service reform. Higher performance bonuses largely went over well, but others had more questions over the timeline and implementation of the initiatives.

    December 17, 2015
  • Bob Tobias, a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at American University, counts down the week's top federal stories with Francis Rose.

    November 06, 2015