Joy Rives

State and local governments are at a turning point. As retirements accelerate and job demands shift due to technology, organizations have a critical opportunity to modernize workforce strategies. Nearly half of government employees plan to retire within the next five years, making it more important than ever to build a workforce that can adapt to changing demands.At the same time, public service work is evolving. Many roles now require digital literacy, data analysis, and problem-solving skills, yet only 28 percent of government employees believe they have access to the professional development needed to keep up.Traditional hiring models—focused on degrees and years of experience—are struggling to meet these demands. That’s why more organizations are shifting toward skills-based workforce strategies, which prioritize skills over rigid job descriptions. Research has shown that skills-based hiring expands the talent pool and improves job matching, helping organizations find qualified candidates—including those from nontraditional career paths.Why Skills-Based Strategies Are Gaining MomentumMore state and local governments are adopting skills-based strategies to strengthen their workforce and keep pace with shifting job demands. And it’s a good time to do it. As private sector hiring slows, government organizations have a window of opportunity to attract skilled workers who may not have previously considered public service roles. Removing degree requirements can significantly expand applicant pools, making it easier to find qualified candidates.It’s also a necessary time to act. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are reshaping how work gets done, with McKinsey estimating that up to 30 percent of tasks across many occupations could be automated or augmented. This shift highlights the growing need for employees with skills in AI oversight, data analysis, and digital tools—capabilities that will be critical for government organizations to fulfill their missions effectively.From Job-Based Hiring to Skills-Based MobilityFilling vacancies isn’t the only workforce challenge—keeping skilled employees engaged and ensuring institutional knowledge isn’t lost to retirements is just as important. Yet many government organizations struggle to offer clear career growth opportunities beyond traditional promotion tracks, leading employees to seek advancement elsewhere.A skills-based approach to career mobility helps organizations tap into existing talent instead of relying on external hiring for every vacancy. By mapping employees’ skills to future roles and offering structured development pathways, organizations can improve retention, reduce hiring costs, and fill critical roles faster.Closing the Skills GapTo make skills-based hiring and internal mobility successful, organizations must also address gaps in workforce training. Many government employees lack access to upskilling opportunities, making it difficult to keep pace with evolving job demands.Cybersecurity remains a major concern. A 2024 Deloitte-NASCIO study found that only 19 percent of government organizations feel confident in their cybersecurity workforce’s readiness, exposing critical vulnerabilities.Data literacy is another growing need. As organizations rely more on data-driven decision making, they must ensure employees have the training to use analytics and AI tools effectively.Some organizations are responding by expanding access to flexible, self-directed learning. The Denver Public Library, for example, introduced self-paced training programs that allow employees to develop skills in technology, community engagement, and leadership—helping them grow their careers while staying responsive to evolving public service needs.Government organizations will also need to expand learning experiences. To truly close the skills gap, they will need to provide hands-on learning experiences, such as interactive labs and real-world skill-building programs, that ensure employees can apply what they’ve learned in practical settings.The Future of Workforce Agility in GovernmentSkills-based workforce strategies are helping state and local governments become more adaptable, ensuring that hiring, training, and career progression are aligned with evolving workforce needs. By focusing on skills rather than traditional job descriptions, organizations are improving retention, strengthening leadership pipelines, and preparing employees for the challenges ahead.This shift isn’t just about filling vacancies—it’s about building a future-ready workforce that can deliver on the mission of public service, today and in the years to come.

Building Workforce Agility in State and Local Government

The talent development profession is nothing if not generous. At TechKnowledge 2019, attendees partnered with Make-A-Wish Southern Florida to grant an eight-year-old boy’s wish to attend and take part in the Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup in Lake Placid, New York. More recently, ATD introduced the ATD Talent Development for Good Award (to be given out this evening), which recognizes an organization that has leveraged talent development to improve the lives of others or to better its communities or society more broadly.It is in this spirit that ATD21 provides a new community service project offering: TD for Good. There are three ways you can take part. The activities are in Hall A of the convention center.Paintfest. This fun and rewarding activity is for the Foundation for Hospital Art, a nonprofit established in 1984 that seeks to make the hospital a more soothing place for patients, their families, other visitors, and staff. Artistic talent is not required—ATD21 attendees can simply follow the colored dots to paint in pre-drawn designs. Paintfest is an opportunity to network and offers a relaxing break in the day. The completed paintings are donated to hospitals around the world.Letter writing. A second activity is the Letters Against Isolation campaign. Initiated by Shreya and Saffron, two Illinois teens, the premise is to help spread joy to seniors in homes while improving their mental and physical health. The organization now works with facilities in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Israel. ATD21 attendees can write as many letters as they would like and can focus on any message. That said, because these are meant to brighten the senior recipients’ days, attendees are encouraged to be cheerful and creative.Food kit assembly. A third activity helps provide food through the Granite Education Foundation for those who go without. ATD21 attendees are invited to support the Salt Lake County district and assist assembling food kits that will be distributed to school food pantries and be handed out to students b teachers and social workers.

Put Pen or Paint to Paper for a Good Cause

It’s ironic that successful self-leadership has more to do with others and less to do with self. I learned this later in life. The sooner you see it, the better for your career. Following are three lessons I learned from personal and professional experiences.Surprise #1: Serve a Cause Greater than SelfThe first surprise about self-leadership is that working for money, power, and fame is an unfulfilling pursuit. Frances Hesselbein says it succinctly: to serve is to live.Choose a career that helps others by bringing truth, goodness, or beauty into the world and you will find greater career satisfaction and contentment. From time to time, you will experience the joy that comes from seeing the efforts of your work directly improve the lives of others. Here are a few examples:The teacher who helps a student learn to read brings greater truth and goodness to the world.The landscape architect who designs aesthetically pleasing outdoor environments brings greater beauty to the world.The journalist who helps the public see both sides of a story brings greater truth to the world.The salesman who helps a customer find the right product or service to meet a real need brings greater goodness into the world.You should seek to serve others in these ways, too.Surprise #2: Get a Coach or Mentor(s)No world-class athlete gets to the top without the help of a coach or multiple coaches. We need other people to help us achieve our potential.For instance, each of us has blind spots. Your blind spot may be that you are argumentative or perhaps you don’t speak up when you should. Some people have a blind spot when it comes to not knowing when to end a conversation or meeting. Some managers have blind spots of being over-controlling, and others don’t interact enough with the people they are responsible for leading.The need for coaching and mentoring goes beyond needing to address our blind spots, though. We need experts to help us develop skills. When I left Wall Street to write a book and begin public speaking and teaching, I needed the help of Twyla Thompson, a top acting coach at the Actors Institute. Twyla taught me how to emotionally connect with an audience.On Wall Street, I had learned to turn off my emotions when communicating and I needed Twyla’s help to turn my emotions back on. She had me do exercises that included speaking to a group of acting students. I had to make eye contact with one student at a time and maintain eye contact until the student raised his or her hand to signal that he or she felt connected to me.Twyla’s colleague Gifford Booth would stand at the back of the room and yell, “Louder, louder,” as I spoke. He helped me see a blind spot I had: I was too soft spoken. I could never have learned these things on my own and I’m grateful that Twyla and Gifford helped me become a more effective speaker.#3: Be Intentional About Connecting With PeopleI learned the hard way that all people are hardwired to connect. Connect with God.  Connect with one another. When we don’t connect, we become dysfunctional. We feel lonely, which makes us more vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and depression.  Connection makes us healthier, happier, and more productive. It helps us grow in competence and character. It gets us through the inevitable difficult seasons we all experience in life, a lesson I learned as our family and friends helped us get through the three bouts of cancer my wife Katie experienced. Today, she is cancer free and thriving.Bottom line: You can be more successful in your career and life if you serve a cause greater than yourself, get coaches and/or mentors to help you learn and grow in competence and character, and be intentional about connecting with God, family, and friends. As you experience greater peace, hope, and joy that comes from having an abundance of connection in your life, you will discover wealth of even greater value.Is your workplace culture supporting your success with self-leadership? Join Michael Lee Stallard for the June 23 webcast, “Your Workplace Culture: Life-Giving or Draining the Life Out of You?” to learn about three predominant relational cultures in the workplace—and how each affects your productivity, health, and happiness.Editor’s Note: This post is adapted from Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work. Read more on the Connection Culture website.