98 Opportunities to Be a 100 Percent Better Government Manager

Government managers face myriad challenges every day. Whether dealing with an ever-shrinking pool of resources or the threat of sequestration and shutdowns, the government manager must work to maximize staff performance to meet mission objectives. 

Now, supervisors, managers, and leaders have some help. In this new book, veteran government leader, trainer, and author Stewart Liff offers practical and proven guidance aimed at helping people at every level of the organization. First-line managers as well as top agency leaders will find Liff's actionable suggestions invaluable in dealing with a broad spectrum of issues, including:

+ People management
+ Performance management
+ Resource management
+ Systems design
+ Organizational politics

Each of the 98 opportunities—and the included strategies, tools, techniques, and tips to help you take advantage of them—is valuable in and of itself. Together they provide a complete guide to managing effectively in the federal workplace.

Do your part to change government—one opportunity at a time!

In a time of increasing disconnection and uncertainty, Leading with Joy shows how leaders can reclaim their purpose and embrace joy in service of social transformation.

Leadership that connects people and centers compassion and trust instead of competition and disconnection is needed more than ever before. There are plenty of manuals that show people how to manage organizations, but what is really needed in this moment is a book that shows us how to include kindness and inspiration within leadership. Leading with Joy promotes a courageous and compassionate approach to leadership that can sustain purposeful action and social change.

This book takes the form of a series of vignettes about the authors' insights and stories, with reflection questions at the end of each one. Through these stories-which address topics such as workplace triumphs and lessons, family relationships, and even near-death experiences- Akaya Windwood and Rajasvini Bhansali illuminate different aspects of leadership, such as humility, forgiveness, and kindness, and invite leaders to respond to the current moment.

The book draws on the authors' lived experiences as leaders, including their encounters with oppression, and their wisdom in principled leadership. They demonstrate how leaders can create conditions of abundance and well-being, which are necessary for long-term social transformation.

This new edition of the first practical, nonjudgmental handbook on dealing with microaggressions has been thoroughly updated for the post George Floyd, post COVID world.

Overt discrimination is relatively easy to spot. But the less obvious but more common actions that make people feel left out or stigmatized in our workplaces, commonly called microaggressions, can be hard to identify and even harder to deal with.

The author use a clearer, more accurate term: subtle acts of exclusion (SAE). After all, people generally aren't trying to be aggressive-usually they're trying to say something nice, learn more about a person, or be funny. Bring accused of aggression shuts the conversation down, when you want to open it up.

This book features examples, tools, sample scripts, and action plans to help readers prevent subtle acts of aggression from happening, or deal with them when they do. Updated throughout, this second edition features:

A greatly expanded chapter on intentional acts of inclusion-actions for creating a sense of belonging.
A discussion and activity guide ideal for book clubs and training sessions
A new concluding chapter, Hope for Humanity

Whether in the form of stereotypes, assumptions, backhanded compliments, or objectification, SAEs are damaging to our coworkers, friends, and acquaintances. This book is your friendly, accessible, non-judgemental guide to creating a welcoming workplace.

Stop complicating everything! Create simple messages that are more powerful, more memorable, and win people over.

Simply Put is a modern exploration of the simplicity principle for anybody who needs to sell stuff or persuade others. This book is a splash of cold water, designed to wake up entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, and marketing pros who have something they need to tell the world but just can't quite connect the dots. With this book, we're all better marketers.

So why does simple win? And how do we get simple? The award-winning marketing entrepreneur behind New York Times best-selling authors and notable campaigns such as I Love NY provides answers and tools to simplify messages in this practical guide.

From Yes We Can to Just Do It, regardless of if they're trying to get your dollars, your votes, or just your thoughts, effective messages share one thing they're simple. Being able to tell your story clearly and effectively is the winning skill for the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders.

Regain the balance in your life! Discover the three powerful habits needed to minimize distractions, maximize accomplishments, and find time to do what matters most.

This second edition of a time management bestseller is now updated with 30% new material, including a chapter on sustaining momentum as you develop healthy habits.

Real personal transformation requires both the right mindset and skillset. This book reveals how to adopt both while providing the actionable toolkit necessary for lasting change in your time-prioritizing development.

Drawing on the authors' forty years of leadership research, they offer three powerful habits that that will help people and teams do what matters most. These three high-performance habits are:

• developing a written personal vision
• identifying and setting annual roles and goals
• and consistently doing pre-week planning

People who live these three habits can increase productivity by at least 30 to 50 percent, while reducing stress. For organizations, this means higher profits, happier employees, and increased innovation. For individuals, it means better physical and mental health, stronger relationships, and a greater sense of peace and balance.

By implementing this book's simple and easy-to-understand habits, supported by time management tools like a Personal Productivity Assessment, you will learn how to lead a life by design, not by default-you will feel the power that comes with a sense of control, direction, and purpose.

“Everyday Project Management is a practical guide for anyone new or needing to learn more about project management. Unlike many other books, it does not rely on arcane concepts and terms, and simply tells it like it is.”
—Todd C. Williams, President of eCameron, Inc., and author of Filling Execution Gaps and Rescue the Problem Project

Everyday Project Management provides the direction you need to apply project management's time-tested tools for keeping things on time and under budget. It introduces the wide variety of tasks you will have to tackle, including assembling a team, mapping out a plan, monitoring progress, keeping your team motivated, and using appropriate planning tools, such as project management software or wall charts. In addition, you'll gain a clearer picture of the project manager's role in the conception, planning, execution, control, and completion of a project.

Each chapter offers essential bite-sized nuggets of wisdom that will help you succeed, outlining the kinds of challenges you'll encounter, the interpersonal issues that will arise, and ways to stay on time and on budget in pursuit of the desired quality outcome. You'll learn how Gantt charts can keep your project on schedule, how the critical path method can be used to conserve resources, and how to juggle multiple projects, bosses, and reporting structures.

Whether you are managing one project or many, this quick and easy guide to the tasks, tools, and skills of project management will carry you from project launch to project completion. Most importantly, you will learn why having a work-life balance is vital to project managers who seek long and prosperous careers.