Weekly Roundup: May 5-9, 2025

Leadership

The Small Actions That Become Your Legacy. How do you want to be remembered? Self-reflection goes a long way in bringing clarity, self-awareness, and intention to the everyday choices that help shape legacy. Next, ask yourself: How do others see me? Invite feedback from a few trusted colleagues who see you in different contexts and keep an open mind when you receive feedback. Finally, begin translating insight into intentional action. It’s about bridging any gaps between the leader you want to be known as and how others experience you now.

How to Fix Dysfunctional Team Dynamics. Is your teamwork not working? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. They talk through what to do when your team isn’t communicating, doesn’t respect its leader, or has one employee who’s causing problems.

How Do I Get Out of Constant Crisis Mode? She’s been in leadership roles for over a decade but is feeling challenged at her latest company. She wants to focus on developing a long-term strategy but finds herself bogged down by the constant crises and day-to-day issues. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through what’s keeping her from being more strategic.

Technology

Federal CIO Barbaccia details what he expects from agency IT leaders. The departments of Interior, Treasury and Environmental Protection Agency have recently named new chief information officers, while the Energy Department is now on its third CIO since January.

None of the new CIOs have significant federal agency experience, and it’s unclear if any have even been CIOs before. The turnover among agency CIOs, which currently includes seven positions that are either vacant or have acting CIOs, has been highly unusual, even at the start of a new administration. A couple of agencies like the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs are waiting for presidential nominations. This may be the reason why Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia sent out his 16 principles of what it takes to be an agency CIO earlier this week.

Workforce

Federal Workforce Vetting Upgrade Meets IT Roadblocks. The federal government’s latest stab at modernizing federal worker and contractor vetting has improved screening processes but left many agencies unable to fully comply with updated policies due to incompatible IT systems according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which surveyed agencies about their experiences. The government launched its Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0) effort in 2018 to reduce onboarding time, enable workforce mobility, and improve insights into workforce behaviors during government-wide personnel vetting – including by introducing automated continuous vetting across agencies.  But the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system – the federal government’s IT system for end-to-end personnel vetting – has run into challenges that have slowed down adoption of TW 2.0 and presented problems for many agencies in adapting their personnel vetting IT systems.

State Dept. cuts poised to be more severe than previously outlined with 3,400 employees on the chopping block. The State Department’s upcoming staff cuts are more severe than they initially appeared and are expected to impact around 3,400 employees beginning in early June, according to the agency’s briefings with lawmakers and employees with knowledge of the matter. The previously announced 132 office closures as part of Secretary Marco Rubio’s reorganization of State will lead to 700 jobs being eliminated. Only then will Rubio’s goal of 15% cuts go into effect, meaning an additional 2,700 employees will be subject to reductions in force or otherwise leave the government.

Healthcare

GAO: HHS Must Bolster Protection of Americans’ DNA Data. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) needs to do more to protect Americans’ DNA data to keep it out of the hands of foreign adversaries, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in a report issued. However, HHS hasn’t taken all of the necessary steps to secure that data, GAO said – despite warnings from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and other experts on the risks of Americans’ genomic information being collected by foreign governments, such as China.  

Defense

DoD directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions. Defense Secretary directed the active-duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts that it says will promote efficiency, but that critics worry could result in a more politicized force. Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions and directed the military to cut an additional 10% of its general and flag officers across the force, which could include any one-star or above or officer of equivalent Navy rank.

Air Force CIO: Budget Pressures Require ‘Teaming’ Approach by Industry. As the Federal government drives to cut costs across many agencies – including by paring back on some IT-related contracts – the Department of the Air Force’s top IT official is urging a fundamental shift in how industry partners approach defense contracts including adopting a multiple-services “teaming” approach.

Arrington: ‘Lower Three’ GHz Spectrum Critical for Golden Dome. Katie Arrington, the Pentagon’s acting chief information officer (CIO), told lawmakers on May 8 that executing on President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative will require the Department of Defense (DoD) to maintain control over vital portions of the 3 gigahertz (GHz) band of radio frequency spectrum.

Navy Accelerates Flank Speed Past Initial Target, Closer to Advanced Zero Trust. The Department of the Navy’s cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 platform – dubbed Flank Speed – became the first zero trust solution to reach the Pentagon’s “target level” status last year and is now on track to achieve “advanced” zero trust compliance, with 151 of 152 required activities completed, a senior Navy tech official said today.

DIU, NORTHCOM, JCO Seek Counter-Drone Tech in Support of Replicator 2. In a move to support the Pentagon’s Replicator Two effort, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) have launched a new call for industry solutions to rapidly field scalable, low-collateral drone defeat (LCD) technologies across the joint force.

Lawmaker Demands Better Warfighter Data Transfer Between DoD, VA. Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, is calling out the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for ongoing failures to seamlessly transfer medical data for warfighters transitioning from active duty to veteran status. “When the warfighter transitions from the DoD to the VA, all of those amazing records – search calls, medical records – are more or less lost in translation,” Luttrell.

Veterans

VA Turning to Automation to Speed Benefit Claims Process. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking to utilize automation technologies to improve its Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) claims process for eligible survivors and dependents of deceased veterans and servicemembers. The agency announced the change as part of a three-pronged approach to eliminate barriers and streamline the process for how survivors apply for and receive VA benefits and services. Specifically, the VA said it will begin work “immediately” to find areas where automation can be used to make the DIC claims process easier to navigate. The DIC is a tax-free monetary benefit available to survivors of servicemembers who died in the line of duty, or survivors of a veteran who died from a service-related injury or illness.

VA Secretary: Workforce Cuts Won’t Impact EHRM Program. As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) moves forward with its Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, VA Secretary Doug Collins told lawmakers today that the program will not be impacted by the agency’s proposed workforce cuts. In fact, Secretary Collins told members of the Senate VA Committee that the agency is “bringing in others right now” to help support the EHRM program. These new employees would help support newly confirmed VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence, who is tasked with overseeing the EHRM program.

Reorganization

FEMA leader let go, one day after publicly supporting the agency. Cam Hamilton, senior official performing the duties of the administrator at FEMA, was let go just one day after he testified before Congress about the size and scope of the federal agency. President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have both indicated they could support getting rid of FEMA and Trump has established a FEMA reform council to assess the agency’s role. But during his testimony Wednesday before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, Hamilton said he personally did “not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

• Resilient Leadership: Strategic Questions to Lead Through Uncertainty by Michael J. Keegan. Recently, I read Cheryl Strauss Einhorn’s Harvard Business Review article, In Uncertain Times, Ask These Questions Before You Make a Decision, which offers a powerful framework of four strategic questions to navigate this “perma-crisis” landscape.  This essay explores how Einhorn’s questions can be used to navigate uncertainty, offering actionable insights for government leaders striving to thrive in uncertain times.

ICYMI – Exploring Design Thinking in a Military Context: A Special Edition of The Business of Government Hour. This week Michael Keegan explores the use and application of design thinking withing a military context, how can we redesign military decision-making for the 21st Century, and what are the most effective ways to adhere to military protocols while pushing transformative innovation.