What's New

Just Released: Setting Course for the 111^th Congress

Now in its 11^th edition, Setting Course is a comprehensive management guide to setting up and managing a congressional office. It guides Members-elect through the strategic decisions they must make in their first 90 days while providing veterans offices ways to improve common congressional office functions.

CMF Welcomes New Members of Congress and Staff

On November 19, CMF hosted a day-long workshop for the Aides of Members-elect: "Navigating the First 90 Days." It focused on the November-January transition to Congress and included expert panels of Freshman and Sophomore Chiefs of Staff.

If you missed it, download the handouts: First_90_Days_Handouts (2.7 MB)

Chief of Staff Training: Stand Up to and For Our Leaders

On December 8, CMF will host a training for Chiefs of Staff and Staff Directors on entitled "Courageous Followers: Stand Up to and For Our Leaders". It will be facilitated by Ira Chaleff, a former Executive Director of CMF who has conducted dozens of consultations with congressional offices.

In this session, Chiefs of Staff will learn:

Techniques for challenging decisions you believe could cause serious problems
What to do if the Member ignores important feedback from you or other staff
How to create an office culture that ensures both you and the Member receive the feedback needed to improve your leadership and the office’s performance.

This CMF program is open to Chiefs of Staff and Committee Staff Directors only. To RSVP, e-mail RSVP(at)cmfweb(dot)org or call (202)546-0100.

Featured Resources

LD Training: Leadership and the Art of Coaching

On November 14 CMF hosted the third in a series of training programs developed specifically and exclusively for Legislative Directors to assist in your professional development. In the session, facilitated by Dr. Gary Schuman, LDs learned how to:

Handle difficult and low-performing staff
Improve the performance of your high performing staff and your boss
Create an office culture that values and benefits from coaching and feedback

Download the handouts:

LD_coachingstaff (234 KB)

CMF Debuts New Roll Call Column on Management

This October, Roll Call debuts its new section focused on the role of chiefs of staff in congressional offices called "The Chief." It includes the column "Chief Counsel," in which CMF's Director of Training and Consulting, Meredith Persily Lamel, answers a management question submitted by a Chief of Staff. Click here to view the latest column (subscription req'd).