Friday, June 4, 2021
Highlighting articles and insights that we have found interesting for the week ending June 4, 2021

Restoring Trust in Government One Customer at a Time: Improving trust will require more than just improving services to citizens, but it’s a critical start.  Improving customer experience with federal services is foundational to increasing trust. But it is not enough… A concerted effort to improve citizens’ trust needs to be multi-faceted and reach beyond just improving customer experience, according to a number of studies. This implies that a range of different strategies will be needed to go beyond what is in the pending legislation. However, the first step will be improving customer experience, one person at a time. Rep. Loudermilk may have said it best in his statement on introducing the bill: “…The fact that the Trust in Public Service Act is a bipartisan, bicameral bill shows it is a very important issue for many Americans.”

Post-Covid: What Does The Future Look Like? This question is on everyone's mind as the Covid vaccine becomes more widely available. As the government looks to the future, artificial intelligence, hybrid multi-cloud, and emerging technologies can continue to power acceleration forward. In collaboration with ACT-IAC, IBM will be hosting an hour-long webinar with government leaders to discuss this topic. Post-Covid: What Does The Future Look Like? Insights from @NIH CIO Andrea Norris, @TSA CIO Russell Roberts, and @DeptVetAffairs Director of #AI @GilAlterov on applying AI, cloud, emerging tech to help accelerate #government modernization.

A Conversation with Dan Chenok on the budget processes across government. The Government Finance Research Center works with researchers from a variety of backgrounds to analyze the role that public finance plays in our lives. In the interviews below, we talk with experts to dig deeper into pertinent topics and get their perspective on the past, present, and future of government finance.

Successful tech modernization strategies encompass the short term and long term. Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana and the federal Chief Information Officers Council are working on a new IT modernization strategy for the entire government. As more security breaches emerge, the White House continues to roll out cybersecurity directives.

Biden's first budget ups cyber and tech spending; gives feds a 2.7% pay raise. The Biden administration released its $6 trillion fiscal year 2022 budget proposal on Friday, including $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending across federal agencies.

Air Force wants $800 million for enterprise IT as a service. The Air Force is looking to boost its enterprise IT services with an $811 million program ask in its budget request for fiscal 2022. According to budget documents, the Air Force is focusing on expanding its foray into "as-a-service" models and software development with a $811 million budget request to modernize IT infrastructure with capabilities that can support Joint All Domain Command and Control efforts.

White House warns industry on ransomware threat. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger on Thursday warned industry leaders to view ransomware as a threat to their core business operations, not just a risk of data theft.

Army rolls back short-lived IoT telework policy. The Army has rescinded its policy restricting internet of things devices, such as smart TVs and smart watches, from telework spaces to prevent data leaks. The Army announced the policy, which targeted internet-connected devices, was intended to "mitigate data leakage of official government information" and outline conditions so that Army personnel can "protect and safeguard DOD information" and systems, in a now deleted Twitter post linking to a memo dated May 25.

5 leadership tips from a retired admiral. Teams and employees feel valued when leaders create a culture that's based on what they do, what motivates them and what they're thinking, writes retired Coast Guard Adm. Sandy Stosz. "Ask people questions, and then really listen to what they have to say," she writes. SmartBrief/Leadership

Be more patient when progress is possible. Patient leaders allow employees to make mistakes without becoming irritated, complaining or seeing it as a weakness, writes Dan Rockwell. Don't be patient with incompetence or an unwillingness to improve, however. Leadership Freak

Why good leaders communicate how much they care. Successful leaders "listen twice as much as they talk" and talk more in terms of "we" and "us" than about themselves, writes Steve Keating. "Authentic Leaders want the people who work with them to believe they can accomplish anything, even one day surpassing the leader," he writes. LeadToday

3 ways introverts can be powerful communicators. Introverted executives can improve their communication skills with preparation, regular feedback and the bravery to speak and correct mistakes as they happen, writes Frank Calderoni, chairman and CEO of Anaplan. "When it comes to communications, it's not our job to be perfect; it's our job to make sure our employees know they can trust us," he writes. Chief Executive

10 questions to ask about your emotional leadership. Emotional intelligence requires self-examination, such as being aware of how your behavior affects people, showing appreciation, rooting out biases and asking for guidance, writes John R. Stoker, who provides 10 questions for self-assessment. "Noticing patterns of behavior and results is one key to making important changes," he writes. SmartBrief/Leadership

Next Week on The Business of Government Hour: The Business of Government Hour Special: Leading Through Uncertain Times. What are the key qualities of an effective leader? Has the pandemic changed the concept of leadership? What does it mean to lead in uncertain times? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more next week on a Special Edition of The Business of Government Hour...Leading in Uncertain Times.

Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Friday at 1 p.m. on Federal News Network 1500AM WFED