
Posts by MarnieG:


Surprise! You’ve Inherited Performance Challenges
Have you ever experienced the inheritance surprise? You inherit an employee who has a history of performance challenges, and the previous manager has not addressed and/or documented the behaviors. As a result, you are “starting from scratch” with the...
How to Use Performance Goals to Drive Employee Engagement
Who gets excited about being told what to do? Not many of us. We all want to participate in conversations that impact our work life. One opportunity to engage employees in a conversation about work is to mutually develop performance goals. Performance goals can...
Can Performance Evaluations Really be Painless in the Public Sector?
Managers and employees alike dread that annual ritual of performance evaluations. In some agencies, the event is postponed for as long as possible. In others, it is just avoided – sometimes for years. Performance evaluations offer the opportunity for enhanced...
Calibration Can Increase Consistency in Public Agencies
“A ‘five’ rating in my work group is not the same as a ‘five’ rating in another group.” When you design a performance evaluation system you want it to be fair. Yet, fairness is often an elusive characteristic in public sector employee performance evaluation systems. ...
Three Strategies for Developing Future-Focused Employees
Hierarchical organizations, like traditional public agencies, have developed structures, policies, and rules that minimize risk taking and encourage standardized work processes. Governments have traditionally rewarded those who “play by the rules.” This approach...
Signs Your Performance Evaluation System is Broken
If you are rating employee performance on a five-point scale, it may be time to rethink your process. The traditional approach to employee performance management, which scores employee performance, is being replaced with an increased focus on coaching and development....
Seven Innovative Ideas for Engaging Public Employees
J. Michael Wilkes, City Manager of Olathe, Kansas recently facilitated a fascinating session on organizational culture at the Alliance for Innovation’s Transforming Local Government Conference. The event brought together the best and brightest local government leaders...
Profound Thoughts from Innovative Public Managers
Creative, motivated public leaders say interesting and thought provoking things when you put them in a room together. I have the privilege of eavesdropping in on many conversations between public sector leaders at the conferences and meetings where I speak. At a...