Empowering Leaders Empowerment Forum
On October 23, 2018, Management Concepts along with Young Government Leaders (YGL) and Blacks in Government (BIG) NOW Generation held the “Emerging Leader Empowerment Forum” for aspiring leaders in government to hear from a panel of speakers as they discussed their career journeys, challenges, and successes.
Jozetta Robinson currently serves as the Director, Office of the Executive Secretariat at the Office of Personnel Management where she facilitates the management of correspondence, regulations, plain language implementation, policy and other critical issues for the Director and agency leadership. She has dedicated over 25 years of service to the Federal Government.
The panelists for the event included:
Ron Holloway, M.B.A. who serves as a Program and Management Analyst, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He is also an advocate, creative writer, entrepreneur, and speaker. Ron has spoken to a variety of audiences ranging from small groups and large conferences to speaking on topics on behalf of the Obama Administration.
Tiffany J. Lightbourn, Ph.D. who serves as the Director of Payroll and Personnel Systems at the Internal Revenue Service. She oversees the timely issuance of pay to 84,000 IRS employees, obligating over $8 billion annually. Previously the Director of Employment, Talent and Security, she led the hiring of 12,000 permanent and seasonal employees and the suitability and security screening for all employees of the Service.
Arlene Pena who serves as the Chief Communications Officer at the Young Government Leaders (YGL) National Leadership Team. Since joining YGL in 2017, she has created YGLs first Branding Guidelines, put together a 208 omnichannel marketing strategy and is currently developing YGL’s 2018 video campaign. When beginning her career as a public servant in 2015, she took the digital portfolio of her agency and doubled the following, quadrupled their engagement, and created a robust digital marketing strategy.
Lisa Thomas, Ph.D., FACHE serves as the Executive Director, Human Capital Management at the National Cemetery Administration. In June 2016, Dr. Lisa Thomas was appointed as the Executive Director, Human Capital Management for the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) within the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this capacity, Dr. Thomas is responsible for the entire human capital life cycle of NCA’s workforce, which includes approximately 1,800 dedicated employees who are committed to honoring Veterans and their families with final resting places in national shrines and commemorating their service.
The panel was moderated by Lahaja Furaha, the Organizational Culture Practice Lead and Senior Human Capital Advisor at Management Concepts.
The conversation between the panelists and the audience was lively and informative. Below are a few topics touched upon in the discussion:
Finding a Mentor
Informational interviews are a great way for aspiring leaders to seek receive guidance as the chart out their career path. Connect with those in positions that you admire, be clear about your intentions, and provide updates on the results of any action items provided to you.
As an employee of the Federal Government, you have access to coaching inside your agency, outside your agency, and from coaching providers like Management Concepts. Information on how to receive coaching can be found on OPM’s Coaching wiki.
Gaining a Promotion
It’s important to first understand why you want the promotion. Whether it be more responsibility or higher pay, there might be another route to get you to the same path.
A key factor in advancing to the next level is understanding your value proposition as an employee. What is it that you bring to the table that no one else can? The skills and results that you offer to your organization, should in most cases fall under providing things faster, with more quality, adds value, or all the above.
It was an exciting event and a great opportunity for the next generation of government leaders to network, be inspired, and received tools for developing their future!
Be sure to check out our events page for future events that you won’t want to miss!
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