Employee performance management is a fundamental component of leadership and directly supports the judiciary’s mission to uphold the rule of law. After all, employees are the backbone of the court. To that end, in my career as a court administrator I made improving employee performance a high priority. In that time, I learned a lot … Continue reading Performance Previews, NOT Reviews
A High School Lesson on the Importance of Values
I have previously made several posts on the core values I shared with court staff during my career.[i] Values, of course, are not exclusive to courts. I recently read the values of a high school which really resonated with me as these values apply to any setting where people work together, not just in an … Continue reading A High School Lesson on the Importance of Values
Workplace Mediation: Can It Change the Way We Handle Conflict? What Courts Need to Know
January 20th, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management Workplace mediation is rapidly becoming an accepted management tool across the U.S. Organizations facing rising conflict, legal exposure, and employee burnout are increasingly turning to mediation to resolve disputes and restore working relationships. In fiscal year … Continue reading Workplace Mediation: Can It Change the Way We Handle Conflict? What Courts Need to Know
Fulfilling the Public’s Trust: Competency
Competency is the sum of the knowledge and skills required for effective performance.
Monitoring Employee Performance
I recently listened to a “Marketplace Morning Report”: “What did you do at work last week? Monitoring performance doesn’t improve it, expert says.”[i] This piece was obviously presented in the context of the recent controversial mandate by the U.S. “Department of Governmental Efficiency” (DOGE) that required federal executive branch employees to regularly prepare a bullet-point … Continue reading Monitoring Employee Performance
New AI and Inclusive Hiring Framework
A new, practical "Inclusive Hiring Framework" gives excellent guidance on avoiding bias in the use of AI in recruiting and hiring employees.
Highlights of the 2024 NACM Midyear Conference (Virtually!)
Last month I virtually attended the 2024 Midyear Conference of the National Association for Court Management (NACM). The conference theme was “Leadership Opportunities and Challenges for our Nation’s Courts – Engaging a New and Diverse Workforce.” This was the third time I have used the livestream option to attend a NACM conference, and I highly … Continue reading Highlights of the 2024 NACM Midyear Conference (Virtually!)
The Human Side of Performance Metrics
In last month's blog post, Measuring DEI (Measuring DEI – Court Leader), I wrote that truly effective DEI efforts have a robust evaluation component to enable us to know whether our DEI efforts are successful. A key part of evaluation is a measurement framework. I had a recent discussion of the use of performance metrics … Continue reading The Human Side of Performance Metrics
Coaching and Mentoring in Performance Management
Coaching and mentoring are key elements of employee development and performance management. This blog post is a conversation with Hilarie Gaylin, organizational consultant and certified coach, who provides valuable information for managers on how to be better coaches and mentors.
Hybrid & Virtual Work – What’s the Latest?
With hybrid and virtual work commonplace in courts around the globe, what are the latest issues and best practices? This post addresses these questions with advice on how to collaboratively manage virtual workers.
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