FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
KLMNO
S THE FEDERAL WORKER
On Leadership: The Federal Coach 6Excerpt from
views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/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.”
Please continue sharing your ideas and questions by e-mailing me at
fedcoach@ourpublicservice.org.
Helping a younger boss become better Every leader reports to another leader. Although I’m a GS-14, I report to someone who is younger than me. What should I do when I see them making mistakes? —Federal Manager (GS-14), Transportation Security Administration Before doing anything, I recommend that you do some soul-searching to consider whether you and your supervisor simply have stylistic differences. Is your supervisor really making a mistake or perhaps just doing things differently than you? If the differences are stylistic, you’ll need to accept that fact and move on.
If your supervisor is making real mistakes, you’ll need to assess the impact of those mistakes. If the missteps are minor, let them go. If the mistakes are affecting the team’s performance, you should provide your supervisor with honest feedback. You would expect the same in return, right?
Of course, providing upward coaching is difficult. While you need to be careful that you avoid giving your supervisor the
impression that you are the team’s resident know-it-all, you have an obligation to help your team perform at its very best. Perhaps the two of you could
grab lunch or coffee and have a general conversation about the team’s operations and performance. Within that context, you could surface some of the issues you’ve identified and offer some suggestions about action steps. Avoid being critical and instead focus on providing your leader with help to strengthen the team. A good leader will appreciate your candor and offer of assistance. You’ll become a better leader and colleague in the process as well.
Visit On Leadership at views.
washingtonpost.com/leadership/ fedcoach. 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.
The Fed Page
The senator who’s gaga for Gaga Frank Lautenberg isn’t exactly your typical fan of Lady Gaga — and isn’t facing a reelection race in November. But the glam-pop star is coming to Verizon Center in September, and so the New Jersey Democrat, who celebrated his 86th birthday at a Gaga show in New York, is inviting supporters to pony up and party down. In the Loop, A16
A cigarette break for the troops overseas
COURTESY OF LT. COL. VICTOR J. FEHRENBACH
Lt. Col. Victor J. Fehrenbach has served in the Air Force for 19 years, flying combat missions over Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ to face test in court
Air Force officer fights discharge under policy on gay service members
by Ed O’Keefe One of the highest-ranking
military officers investigated un- der the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is trying to block the Air Force from dis- charging him by testing a legal argument that requires the feder- al government to prove a service member’s homosexual conduct has been damaging to others. Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Feh- renbach filed a request for a tem- porary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Idaho late Wednesday. He argued that a dis- charge will cause him irreparable harm and that the government cannot prove that his continued service hinders “morale, good or- der and discipline, and unit cohe- sion.” The legal basis for his argu- ment was established by a 2008 ruling by the U.S. Court of Ap- peals for the 9th Circuit, which said the government had to prove the homosexual conduct was af- fecting morale, discipline and unit cohesion before the service member could be discharged. Fehrenbach, 40, has served in the Air Force for 19 years and is eligible for retirement in Septem- ber 2011. Under military reg- ulations, however, he will lose his retirement benefits if he is hon- orably discharged before reach- ing 20 years of service. Fehrenbach flew almost 90
combat missions in Iraq, Afghan- istan and Kosovo. He has been assigned to an office job at Moun- tain Home Air Force Base in Ida- ho since 2008, when the Air Force launched an investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted a man and in the proc- ess violated “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The assault charges were dropped, but the Air Force in- vestigation continued.
The Air Force Personnel Board is still reviewing Fehrenbach’s case and government lawyers are reviewing his request for an in- junction, the Air Force said Thursday. Fehrenbach, his lawyers and the Servicemembers Legal De- fense Fund (SLDN) are calling on Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley to retain Fehrenbach re- gardless of the board’s decision. “Everybody on my base knows
my story, and I think everybody in the Air Force knows it,” Feh- renbach said Thursday in an in- terview. “And I’ve gotten abso- lutely zero negative reaction and nothing but positive support, comments, remarks and letters from thousands of people all over the world.” Fehrenbach’s discharge should remind gay and lesbian service members that “don’t ask, tell” re- mains law until Congress repeals the policy, SLDN Executive Di- rector Aubrey Sarvis said. The House included a repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in its version of the annual defense spending bill this year. The Senate may take up its version shortly after the body’s August recess, according to aides. A Pentagon study on the po- tential impact of repealing the policy is due to President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen by Dec. 1. According to the Penta- gon, 102,758 of the 400,000 sur- veys sent to service members have been completed and offi- cials are urging troops to com- plete it by Sunday’s deadline. About 150,000 military spouses will receive a similar survey by the end of the month, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Smith. Fehrenbach’s case comes as the
Log Cabin Republicans await a ruling, expected by October, in their constitutional challenge to “don’t ask, don’t tell” in federal court in California. A ruling in the group’s favor would suspend the military’s ability to discharge troops under the policy.
ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com
Postal Service finds solution to ban on tobacco shipments
by Ed O’Keefe
Military service members serv- ing overseas once again will be able to receive care packages with cigarettes and other tobacco products starting late this month. A law meant to ban tobacco
smuggling and to prevent chil- dren from ordering tobacco through the mail went into effect June 29. The Prevent All Ciga- rette Trafficking Act of 2009, in- troduced by Sen. Herb Kohl (D- Wis.), permits people to send to- bacco products for noncommer- cial purposes if both the shipper and the receiver are legal adults and the package includes deliv- ery confirmation. The new law prohibited the friends and families of troops de- ployed overseas from sending care packages with tobacco through first-class mail. The U.S. Postal Service initial- ly said customers could use only Ex- press Mail to ship to- bacco products to comply with the law. But military families protested because Express Mail packag- es cannot be sent overseas. Starting Aug. 27,
military care packag- es with tobacco can be sent using Priority Mail, which ships to overseas military ad- dresses, according to USPS spokesman Greg Frey. “We hope that with this modification we’re able to serve the needs of Amer- icans serving over- seas,” Frey said. Kohl and other
lawmakers had promised a quick so- lution to their over- sight. In a statement Thursday, Kohl said, “I’m pleased that the Postal Service re- sponded so quickly to
the concerns of our military fami- lies and found a way to honor the original intent of the bill: to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children and prevent tobacco smugglers from profiting on the black market.”
ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com
J
JOE DAVIDSON Federal Diary
ohn Pistole. Good name for a lawman. Conjures up images
of Wyatt Earp and Matt Dillon. But this Pistole is no gunslinger, though the
26-year FBI veteran probably knows how to handle one well. In his new role as administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, Pistole runs an agency best known to the public for its airport baggage screeners. Agency workers don’t tote guns, but Pistole has been thinking about a plan that would create a new contingent of TSA law enforcement officers. Pistole spoke with the Federal Diary about his
new gig after his first, as he put it, “40 days and 40 nights” on the job. That brings to mind the troubles of another transportation administrator, but Noah had divine help with his problems. TSA is known as a pit of low morale and is the
Pistole hit the ground rolling as new TSA chief
Regarding particulars such as whether TSA law enforcement officers would come from the current ranks of TSOs or would be recruited from police agencies, Pistole said: “Those details are currently being worked out, but I like the idea of having those who have experience in this business. But I’m looking at all the options.” Pistole has spent his first weeks in office
gathering information from employees in town hall-style meetings and talking to a variety of people who have a stake in what the TSA does. He will meet with the presidents of the largest federal employee unions, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), next week. “Collective bargaining is at the top of the agenda,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “I am very optimistic and hopeful that after he does his assessment he will find there is no reason to deny these workers the rights they should have had long ago.”
During his confirmation hearings, Pistole was noncommittal on collective-bargaining rights, saying he would conduct an independent assessment after taking office. That review is underway and TSA has hired the Restructuring Associates consulting firm to assist with it. Given President Obama’s support for collective
“Administrator Pistole is looking at numerous ideas and considerations to . . . ensure the safety of the traveling
public.” — Kristin Lee, a TSA spokeswoman
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
target of union efforts to win collective-bargaining rights for about 50,000 transportation security officers. It ranked 213 out of 216 federal agencies in the 2009 Best Places to Work listing compiled by the Partnership for Public Service.
Pistole outlined three priorities: improving TSA’s
counterterrorism mission “through intelligence and cutting-edge technology,” supporting the agency’s workforce and engaging its customers, “especially the traveling public.” A big part of his job is keeping airplanes safe from those who would use them as weapons of mass destruction. He said some airports now use “bottle liquid scanners” that let passengers onboard with medically necessary liquids in amounts greater than the three-ounce restriction on other fluids. Agency officials have discussed enhancing air
travel protection by creating a small corps of TSOs who would be considered law enforcement officers. Currently, screeners do not have that status, so they don’t carry weapons and have no arrest authority. “It would be a force multiplier, not designed to replace airport law enforcement authority, but to supplement those as appropriate,” Pistole said. This plan is not completely baked and not all of its ingredients are fully known, even to Pistole. “Administrator Pistole is looking at numerous ideas and considerations to . . . ensure the safety of the traveling public as his work at TSA gets underway,” said Kristin Lee, a TSA spokeswoman. A proposal to create a TSA law enforcement corps probably would not come before the fiscal 2012 budget request.
bargaining, it could be difficult for Pistole to come down against it. In a letter to AFGE President John Gage, during the presidential campaign, Obama said advocating for screeners “to receive collective-bargaining rights and workplace protections will be a priority for my administration.” Pistole promised “an honest, independent assessment.”
Republicans have pressed Pistole to reject
collective bargaining. Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) told him it would “significantly undermine TSA’s ability to respond to threats and protect the nation.” Pistole didn’t agree, but to the dismay of union leaders he told DeMint that collective bargaining at the FBI would not improve national security. Asked whether he now could see any scenario where collective bargaining for TSOs would hurt national security, he demurred: “I don’t feel like I have enough information to make that judgment.” At next week’s meeting with Pistole, Gage said, “I would gently want to correct him” by reminding Pistole of the many police agencies, including those at the federal level, that have collective-bargaining rights. One thing that really steams Gage and Kelley is any suggestion that securing full collective-bargaining rights for TSOs would in any way impede national security. Despite the administrator’s comment to DeMint, the union leaders have been encouraged by Pistole’s performance. Because the agency had only an acting administrator for 18 months, “I know that everyone is pleased that he is here,” Kelley said.
federaldiary@washpost.com
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