Bob Tobias

  • Engagement and commitment scores for agency senior executives are at nearly 82 percent. But for employees it's just 60 percent. That's according to an analysis of the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and Best Places to Work data from the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte. Of the respondents, 79 percent of SES members said promotions at their agencies are based on merit. Just 30 percent of other employees agreed. Bob Tobias is a professor for the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that senior managers don't understand what their employees think of them.

    July 20, 2015
  • Shutdown talk is coming back to Congress -- at least from some leaders like Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). The reason though is rather arcane. It\'s really about when another budget deal is made to avoid sequestration. Bob Tobias is a professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what he\'s hearing from federal managers and workers about a rumored shutdown.

    June 22, 2015
  • The amount of federal employees under the age 30 is in decline. In 2014 the amount of millennials in the overall workforce hit an eight-year low at 7 percent. Bob Tobias is professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the reason why young people are leaving the federal government may have something to do with organizational values.

    March 30, 2015
  • Bob Tobias, director of business development in the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, counts down the week's top federal stories with Francis Rose.

    March 06, 2015
  • Congress has three main responsibilities as Board of Directors for the Executive Branch. It has to set lines of business for Congress, create agency programs, and evaluate agency performance. All of those responsibilities imply Congress should try to solve agency problems before they occur. Bob Tobias is professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs, American University, and former member of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he told Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu Congress isn't proactive enough regarding the well being of your agency.

    March 02, 2015
  • Respect for federal agency leaders continues to fall. The last few Federal Employee Viewpoint Surveys say rank-and-file employees don't respect their upper level leaders as much as they used to. Executive Core Qualifications are supposed to help senior executives maintain high leadership standards, but they might be too easy to follow. Bob Tobias, professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University, is also a former member of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about ways to improve the Executive Core Qualifications to build better agency leaders.

    February 02, 2015
  • New members of Congress have a crash course available to teach them about the biggest challenges facing your agency. Bob Tobias is professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the program is missing some important details.

    January 12, 2015
  • A new Congress starts today, and a crash course is available for incoming members to learn about the biggest challenges for federal agencies. Bob Tobias is professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he described at the Bipartisan Program for Newly-Elected Members of Congress, and thinks the incoming class might not know exactly what they're signing up for.

    January 05, 2015
  • 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
  • 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