After speaking with leaders across the federal government in recent weeks, I've come to an unlikely conclusion: Leaders are adjusting to the new budget reality and making progress.
Following several years of lying low and being sidetracked by budget cuts, furloughs and the government shutdown, many federal leaders appear to be getting a handle on the new environment, and I'm sensing that they are making the best of their situations and moving forward despite the obstacles.
For any federal leader interested in standing up and standing out, I suggest looking around at those who have achieved incredible results amid all of the turmoil.
At the General Services Administration, for example, Acing Chief Information Officer Sonny Hashmi has transformed the agency's information technology services, transferring email to the cloud and adding a cloud-based platform of collaboration and document management tools that allow employees to share case files, manage projects, exchange ideas and locate experts instantaneously. In the process, he has helped improve employee effectiveness, reduced agency costs and created a model for other federal agencies to follow.