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Good News in Tough Times
by Ken Embley, CPPA
Many satisfied with job
despite tough times,
a headline from USA Today (Friday, March 13, 2009, page 3B). This is good news for people who make a
living in Utah during tough times. The
article speaks to how Americans feel about their work environments. Specifically, a yearlong poll asked
Americans if they 1) were satisfied with their jobs, 2) use their strengths at
work, 3) were treated by a supervisor as a partner, and 4) worked in an “open,
trusting environment.” The percentage
of respondents in each state who said “yes” to all four questions ended in
ranking Utah as the most upbeat state in America (Utah nabbed top honors with
59% of its respondents saying those four elements were prevalent in their work
lives). In addition, 73% of Utah
respondents said their supervisors created a trusting environment—nice!
Good
news in tough times also caught the eye of Governor Huntsman. During his state of the state address, he
mentions with great pride that Utah is the “Best Managed State” according to
the Pew Center and announced in Governing
Magazine. Overall, Utah received an
“A-” grade and was the only state to get an “A” in money management, an “A” in
infrastructure and information, and a “B+” in managing people—not bad!
In
addition, there are testimonies, surveys, articles and other indicators that
tell Utahns we have some good news in tough times to celebrate. In all sectors of our economy, we can find
good leaders and managers in this state.
I
believe the reason behind good news in tough times is that we are a people who
invest in developing our human capital.
In state government hundreds and, over the years, even thousands of
state employees complete Certified Public Manager leadership development
courses. The University of Utah
graduates nearly a hundred Masters of Public Administration (MPA) students each
year, and most of these students attend class at night while working in quality
government positions during the day.
Then, there is Salt Lake County’s new “University,” again a commitment
to the development of human capital. In
this state, we develop our human capital and it seems to be paying off in a big
way—good news in tough times.
The
message is clear—if we want good news in tough times, we must continue to invest
in the development of human capital.
This means bright and capable people need to continue the tradition and
invest in their own development. This
means those who develop human capital must ensure the highest quality of
programming. This means governments
must work to strengthen programs, policies and practices that support the
development of human capital. This
means facing these types of difficult challenges during tough times—challenges we
must overcome to ensure good news in the tough times we are sure to encounter
in the future.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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