WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010


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S THE FEDERAL WORKER Obama calls for more hiring of disabled


ADA’s 20th anniversary brings House vote and executive order


by Lisa Rein


As the country marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act this week, the Obama administration and Congress are taking steps to give the disabled greater access to federal jobs and technology. Under a new executive order


from President Obama, federal agencies will step up efforts to hire 100,000 disabled employees over the next five years. Ten years ago this month, President Bill Clinton laid out the same goal in a similar order, Obama wrote in Monday’s order, but “few steps were taken to implement [the or- der] in subsequent years.” According to a report released this week by the Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission, workers with targeted disabili- ties — including deafness, blind- ness, missing extremities, men- tal retardation and partial or complete paralysis — represent less than 1 percent of the federal workforce. The order directs the Office of


Personnel Management, in con- sultation with the Labor Depart- ment, the EEOC and the Office of Management and Budget, to de- sign strategies within 60 days for recruiting and hiring disabled workers. Personnel managers at government agencies must be trained in employing the dis- abled. Agencies will then be re- quired to develop plans for re- cruiting and keeping the work- ers. The president also announced rules, being written by the Jus- tice Department, to prohibit dis- crimination against the disabled by government agencies and pri- vate businesses. And beginning in 2012, all new construction must meet enhanced design standards for doors, windows, el- evators and bathrooms. The re- quirement will have to be fol- lowed by stores, restaurants, schools, stadiums, hospitals, ho- tels and theaters.


washingtonpost.com Q.


A report by the Center for American Progress says confidence in the federal government is at an all-time low. What can federal workers do to improve the view of government in the eyes of the American public?


 E-mail your answer to federalworker@ washpost.com, and include your full name, home town and the agency for which you work. We may include your response in Friday’s Washington Post.


Online federal benefits calculators


 Federal retirement: www. opm.gov/retire/tools/ calculators/ballpark/menu. asp This calculator projects


retirement benefits under federal retirement systems. It also has links for calculating how much of an annuity will be tax-free and how much tax to have withheld.


 Social Security: www.ssa. gov/planners/calculators.htm This site features a Social Security benefit estimator for those who will be eligible under that system, which includes most current federal


employees. It also has links to other calculators.


 Thrift Savings Plan: www. tsp.gov/calc This site has calculators


allowing participants in the 401(k)-style retirement savings program to project future account balances; to determine loan payments if they borrow against their accounts; and to see how an account balance would translate into income after separation, among other functions.


Note: Eligible employees can enroll or make changes in the TSP or FLTCIP programs anytime, but other programs have restrictions on enrollment and changing coverage.


— Eric Yoder PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY GRANT/U.S. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT


An Energy Department announcer invites federal employees to step up and take a pitch at the dunk booth at the Feds Feed Families Festival. According to its Web site, the group is a government-wide effort led by the Office of Personnel Management in partnership with the Chief Human Capital Officers Council. The group coordinates donations in trying to meet its goal of gathering a million pounds of food for people in need.


America’s uninsured


Census data show wide disparities among the states when it comes to how many residents have no health-care coverage. The Federal Page, A13


On Leadership: The Federal Coach 6Excerpt from washingtonpost.com/fedcoach


The nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and The Washington


Post’s On Leadership site jointly produce the Federal Coach, hosted by Tom Fox, director of the partnership’s Center for Government Leadership.


The goal is to “engage, inspire and learn from you, the federal


worker, whether you are a new hire, a contractor or a manager at the highest level.”


How to manage your Strasburgs


I


’m a sports fan, so I often look for the connection between coaching and team performance. Like nearly everyone in the


nation’s capital this summer, I’ve been following Stephen Strasburg’s transition to the big leagues with the Washington Nationals. And I’ve been wondering: How do the coaches effectively offer feedback to someone who throws the ball harder and more accurately than anyone else on the team? As I read more about


Strasburg’s interactions with the coaching staff, I realized that the challenge is not that different from the one that federal leaders face in delivering constructive feedback to high-performing public servants. Strasburg may be a pitching phenom, but he’s not an all-star yet. Last week, I wrote about the


ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) speaks at an event to mark the American With Disabilities Act’s 20th anniversary. The House also voted this week to make the Internet and television more accessible.


The House, meanwhile, ap- proved legislation that would make the Internet and television more accessible to the disabled. The bill, which passed 348 to 23 and moves to the Senate, would set federal standards for the telecommunications indus- try requiring that online televi-


sion programs be captioned for the deaf and mandating that telecom equipment used to make calls over the Internet be com- patible with hearing aids. The bill also would require


buttons or similar devices on re- mote controls that access closed captioning on television.


Feds festival promotes a good cause The Americans With Disabili-


ties Act became law on July 26, 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush to ban workplace dis- crimination against qualified people with disabilities and re- quire improved access to public places and transportation. reinl@washpost.com


difficulties of delivering negative feedback to poor performers. Once you take the emotion out of the equation, however, it’s pretty easy to diagnose their problems and the solutions. The goal is help them find ways to improve. Your high performers, on the other hand, are already operating at a very high level, but they need more than just a pat on the back to stay motivated and continue performing at their very best. Here are some strategies to help you deliver effective and constructive feedback to the all-stars on your team:  Focus on the big picture. As Strasburg has his sights set on a World Series, your top performers undoubtedly have career goals in mind, too. Find out what they are, and clearly connect any feedback you deliver to those ambitions.  Look for the derailers. Strasburg won his first game within a month after his coaches had tinkered with the position of his shoulders when he released the ball. I’m not sure what that means, but the take-away for a federal leader is this: Provide specific feedback around behaviors that could throw a career off track. Marshall Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” has a list of derailers and suggested solutions.  Reinforce the positive. Even as you address derailers, don’t overlook the good work being done. When you hear Strasburg’s coaches talk about his success, they point out more than just wins and losses. They also list his velocity, pitch selection, strikeouts and walks. Most professionals don’t think about the ingredients to their success,


B3


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


Stephen Strasburg’s move to the big leagues offers lessons for managers of high performers.


so take this opportunity to offer your folks more than a general “you’re doing a heck of a job.”  Think creatively about development. The Nationals took a famously go-slow approach to Strasburg’s development before sending him to the major league. Before beginning the feedback discussion, consider some innovative opportunities to help your employees follow up on your feedback. As one reader suggests, this discussion is an open-ended conversation with both sides moving to “where do we go from here?” Perhaps there’s an immediate opportunity: a new project, team meeting, task force or training in which they could develop and test their skills. Whatever your idea, start the dialogue to show them you care.


Of course, as many of my readers reminded me, feedback, both negative and constructive, should be continuous so there are no surprises at the annual performance review. All-stars like Strasburg won’t get to the World Series without timely and descriptive interaction throughout the year. Do you have other ideas about delivering constructive feedback to your all-stars? Leave a comment or send your ideas to fedcoach@ourpublicservice.org. Check back Wednesday, when


I will interview Patricia C. Adams, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for civilian human resources.


Visit On Leadership at views. washingtonpost.com/leadership/ fedcoach


There are three weekly installments: Mondays: “Getting Ahead” — advice on “leading up.” Wednesdays: “View From the Top Floor” — interviews with federal leaders. Fridays: Answering questions about navigating the federal workforce terrain.


Christmas in July? Earmarks in congressional legislation just get curiouser and curiouser. Al Kamen reports on a nice chunk of change set aside for sewer improvements in a place called North Pole. In the Loop, A13


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