Engaging Others Public Service Leadership Model Engaging Others To engage others, strive to foster an inclusive culture that encourages team members to offer constructive feedback, recognize good work and pursue professional development. This environment is the foundation for collaboration within and across federal agencies. Individuals, teams and agencies working together will have a greater impact on government effectiveness. The five subcompetencies to engaging others include: Relationship building Empowering others Collaboration Conflict management Fostering Engagement Relationship Building Communicate to build trust and cohesion. “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell, Former General and Secretary of State PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Thumbnail for Building Connections: How to Be a Relationship Ninja Building Connections: How to Be a Relationship Ninja Rosan Auyeung-Chen, a Registered Clinical Counsellor, presents the steps required to build and maintain good relationships. She proposes that the breaking points in our weaker relationships are not found in the other person, or even in the interactions amongst us, but rather in ourselves. Thumbnail for How Can I Help? How Can I Help? In this clip, Doug Conant, former CEO and president of Campbell Soup Company talks about the value of a simple question: How can I help? Thumbnail for Bringing Young Leaders Together Bringing Young Leaders Together Discover how Andrew Rabens brought young leaders from across the Middle East together to both empower them and familiarize them with American democratic institutions and society. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS What is my preferred way of communicating with others? Why is that the case? Do I implicitly trust people or does it need to be earned? How does that affect my work? What can I do to build trust and rapport with my team? Think of both formal and informal opportunities to connect. Related competencies Empowering others Influence Emotional intelligence Additional resources READ: Stephen M. R. Covey’s Guide to Building Trust – Tom Fox, Former VP, Leadership Development at the Partnership for Public Service and contributor to Washington Post WATCH: Are you a Giver or Taker – Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author WATCH: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation – Celeste Headlee, NPR Host and writer Empowering Others Provide autonomy and professional development for team members. “Leadership is about empowering other to achieve things they did not think possible.” – Simon Sinek, Author and motivational speaker PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Thumbnail for Liz Wiseman on Empowering Others Liz Wiseman on Empowering Others Listen to Liz Wiseman speak on what it means to Empower Others. Thumbnail for Providing vital training and resources Providing vital training and resources Learn how Ryan Shelby, in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, worked with communities in Haiti to build disaster-resistant structures with materials from local sources and trained more than 2,000 community members on incorporating new building materials. Thumbnail for When Empowering Employees Works, and When It Doesn’t When Empowering Employees Works, and When It Doesn’t A recent meta-analysis of 105 studies on this “empowering” leadership style found that it works best in motivating certain types of performance and certain types of employees. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS What learning and development opportunities are available for my team? How might I encourage those? How might I delegate more (or more effectively) to my team? How will I give them autonomy while still monitoring progress? How will developing my team members benefit them, the organization, and the mission? Related competencies Relationship building Accountability Collaboration Additional resources READ: Employee Engagement: What Successful Government Leaders Do – Andrew Rahaman, Contributing writer for GovLoop and American University professor READ: Bill Gates Says This 1 Simple Habit Separates Successful Leaders From Everyone Else – Marcel Schwantes, Founder and Chief Human Officer, Leadership From the Core WATCH: Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us – Dan Pink, Author and business columnist Conflict Management Resolve counterproductive behavior; create space for differences of opinion. “Listen first. Give your opponents a chance to talk. Let them finish. Do not resist, defend or debate. This only raises barriers. Try to build bridges of understanding.” – Dale Carnegie PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Thumbnail for Addressing Conflict Addressing Conflict Read how Arleas Upton Kea addressed conflict at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – juggling both the national financial crisis and an unsatisfied workforce within the agency. Thumbnail for Does it really pay to be civil? Does it really pay to be civil? Christine Porath, one of the Partnership’s Government Leadership Advisory Council members, has advice for federal leaders: Practice civility and show respect. Read her blog post on the subject and watch her TED talk. Thumbnail for We have Frances Perkins to thank for that We have Frances Perkins to thank for that Frances Perkins, the secretary of labor from 1933-1945, was the first female Cabinet member. During this year’s Women’s History Month, we remember her achievements and explore how her legacy continue to inspire federal employees today. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS How do I experience conflict? What signs do I notice when I’m in conflict? How do I tend to respond when conflict arises for me and/or others? Does this tend to help or hinder the situation? How can I promote dialogue, rather than debate, among my colleagues? Related competencies Integrity Accountability Diversity, equity and inclusion Additional resources READ: 6 Tips for Leading Through Conflict – CCL, Center for Creative Leadership READ: The 5 Steps to Conflict Resolution – AMA Staff, American Management Association WATCH: The Walk from No to Yes – William Ury, Author “Getting to Yes” Collaboration Engage stakeholders on shared goals to build trust. “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind too) those who have learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin, Geologist and biologist PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Thumbnail for A Roadmap to the Future: Toward a More Connected Federal Government A Roadmap to the Future: Toward a More Connected Federal Government The federal landscape is expected to change dramatically in the next decade as the power and capacity of technology advance, more data becomes available and the demands on federal employees grow and shift. With the U.S. population projected to expand by more than 20 million people in the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, government must evolve to keep up. Thumbnail for Working Together to Bring Justice Working Together to Bring Justice Discover how Karen Dodge, Margaret Moeser, and their respective teams coordinated nationwide investigations to bring justice and restore financial losses to hundreds of thousands – in large part due to their collaborative efforts. Thumbnail for The ultimate guide to effective collaboration in the workplace The ultimate guide to effective collaboration in the workplace Whether you are hosting meetings virtually or in-person, these six communication strategies will help you keep meetings helpful and productive. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS Describe how collaboration would ideally work in my current working environment. What would I like to see? What strengths do each of my team members and stakeholders bring to the table? How can I most effectively use these strengths towards the goal? How might I carve out roles and co-ownership among team members? Related competencies Relationship building Influence Systems thinking Additional resources READ: Best Practices and Leading Practices in Collaboration Across Governments, Nonprofits, and the Private Sector – Government Accountability Office (GAO) WATCH: The Kronos Quartet as a Dot Cloud – The New York Times WATCH: Cultivating Collaboration: Don’t be so Defensive – Jim Tamm, Author of Radical Collaboration and former Senior Administrative Law Judge for the State of California Fostering Engagement Build engaged teams and a work environment where all people can thrive. “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” – Patrick Lencioni, Author “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION Thumbnail for Engagement Through Trust Engagement Through Trust Executive coach Jeff O’Malley uses Stephen M.R. Covey’s “The Speed of Trust” framework to share how leaders and build trust within their teams and agencies to lead to higher engagement and better outcomes. Thumbnail for Employee Engagement Toolkit Employee Engagement Toolkit The Partnership, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, annually produces the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings. Building off this work, we collectively hosted a Best Places to Work workshop series in early 2023 where federal leaders strategized about the demands and opportunities for increased employee engagement as our government adapts to changing workplace needs. This brief summarizes the concerns and recommendations shared in these workshops. Thumbnail for Building Teams That Can Have Difficult Conversations Building Teams That Can Have Difficult Conversations In this Public Service Leadership Lab moderated mentorship conversation, Christy Whitaker, public affairs specialist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Feli Sola-Carter, executive coach and Strategic Advisor to Government Executives, discuss the importance of self-awareness in how leaders engage others to create teams where all members can thrive. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS How do I create a working environment where all people feel welcome to share ideas and feedback? How do I build teams in which all team members feel valued and have an opportunity to contribute? Am I modeling for my team and those I lead how to consistently treat others with respect? Related competencies Self-reflection Conflict management Adaptability Additional resources READ: The Speed of Trust – Stephen M.R. Covey, Government Leadership Advisory Council member WATCH: Leading Through Complex Situations and Building Trust – former federal senior executives Angie Bailey, Reginald Wells, Renee Wynn and Solly Thomas discuss © 2025 Partnership for Public Service, Inc. All rights reserved.
