Management Matters with James-Christian Blockwood – Details, episodes & analysis

Host James-Christian Blockwood interviews Soraya Correa, President and CEO of  the National Industries for the Blind and former Chief Procurement Officer at the US Department of Homeland Security,  and Greg Giddens, of Potomac Ridge Consulting, and former Chief Acquisition Officer at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, on how federal acquisition enables mission outcomes beyond compliance.

 Giddens describes procurement as a strategic bridge between government missions and private industry, with compliance baked into the process, and argues acquisition should be involved early and represented at the C-suite. Correa says the FAR rarely blocks results; problems often come from how regulations are interpreted, and effective reform depends on curiosity, planning for change, and calibrating risk to mission urgency. 

Both stress change management through clear, transparent communication of the “why,” early wins, shared credit, and teamwork, learning from imperfect procurements and solving issues collaboratively. Correa advises emerging leaders to build relationships early, stay close to customers and staff, challenge constraints with solutions, and lead with courage rather than fear. Giddens advises industry to understand the process, persist through obstacles, engage early within boundaries, and tailor solutions to agency needs.

00:00 Build Relationships Early
01:31 Acquisition as Strategy
03:30 Smart Reform Mindset
05:35 Change Management Playbook
07:13 Leadership Skills Today
09:17 Customer and Team Trust
10:00 Learning From Failure
12:10 Seat at the Table
13:09 Courage Over Fear
15:45 Advice for Industry

Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton. 

Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190
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James-Christian Blockwood discusses U.S. Office of Personnel Management's modernization of federal HR and retirement IT systems with OPM’s Rebecca Ayers and Academy Fellow Brodi Fontenot. 

Building on a 2021 academy report urging congressional funding to modernize OPM systems, they describe the administration’s goal to build a merit-based workforce and modernize people management through the Federal HR 2.0 initiative. 

Key elements include moving agencies onto a mandatory single core HCM platform to replace over 100 systems, improve data, speed retirement processing, enable employee self-service, and generate an estimated nearly $1 billion in savings, alongside a voluntary OPM Shared Service Center offering standardized operational services and strategic consulting. They highlight historical swings between decentralization and centralization, the change-management challenges of standardization, feedback loops, and long-term commitment, and note upcoming milestones such as announcing the new core HCM system and additional agencies opting into shared services.

00:50 Modernization Stakes

02:34 Federal HR 2.0 Vision

04:58 Shared Services Context

07:41 Centralize Versus Decentralize

10:34 Change Management Hurdles

12:51 Mandatory Versus Voluntary

16:19 Why Now

17:17 Public Impact

21:09 Leader Playbook

22:37 Next Milestones

Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton. 

Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190
Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Follow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT

Academy Fellow David Powner, acting managing director for congressional relations at the US Government Accountability Office, joins host James-Christian Blockwood in this week's episode. They get into the details about the importance of GAO's role and the importance of Congress, what oversight can and should be in government, and what's next in the ongoing search for the comptroller general.

Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton. 

Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190
Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Follow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT

In this episode, we welcome Cathy Bailey,  Executive Director of Greater Cincinnati Waterworks and Academy Fellow, to discuss the need for awareness of water system services in communities, the effect of capital investment and affordability on the systems, and the different challenges between small, medium, and large water utility systems.

Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow JoAnne Speers to discuss her passion for local government and her career through the private and public sector. This conversation includes her views on addressing different issues through the League of California Cities and the importance of ethical decision making in the public sector.

Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow Dr. Karen Hardy, an internationally-recognized Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) expert and the creator of the 'Flip this Risk' book series and podcast, to discuss her career in ERM and the importance of understanding and addressing risk in public administration.

Read the 'Flip this Risk' Book Series: https://www.amazon.com/Flip-This-Risk%25C2%25AE-Book-Series-4-book-series/dp/B098ZXQ7T6 

Listen to the 'Flip this Risk' Podcast: https://www.flipthisriskpodcast.com/  

Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow Joel Spangenberg, Acting Director of the Selective Service System (SSS), to discuss SSS' mission to contribute to the nation's military forces, its potential to support other types of public service, and its transformation into a more agile agency. 

The participation of Mr. Spangenberg, Acting Director of the Selective Service, in this National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) podcast does not suggest an endorsement of the Academy or Academy services and products.

Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow Barbara Bovbjerg, Former Managing Director of Education, Workforce and Income Security at the Government Accountability Office, to discuss her task force's findings on labor policies and retirement security. This episode covers her task force's findings as well as the overall challenges of older workers and workers with physically challenging jobs. 

Links:
View the Report: Older Workers Retirement Security


Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow Dr. Lisa Coleman, Senior Vice President for Global Inclusion and Strategic Innovation at New York University, to discuss what lies ahead for people evaluating their early careers and how the lessons of the recent past can inform the future of work. 


Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellow Joe Barela, Colorado's Executive Director of Labor and Employment, to discuss Colorado's workforce practices, including its workforce center, its skills-based hiring initiative, and the changes in the full ecosystem of employment. 

Links:
CDLE Employment Resources: access to job search engine, job fairs and events, Colorado Workforce Center locator, and the Colorado Career Trail Guide. 


Support the Podcast Today at:
donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190


Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_