My advice to somebody climbing the ladder internally is to be open to being mentored and to mentor others, and to remember it's not all about you. [It's about serving the state].

You need to have a vision. It could be about technology or about your management style. It's something that's uniquely you. You can't just be quoting from an article in about the latest trends. If you're applying for a manager position, what makes you different from the person in a line position? What unique skills do you bring? I think people are a little afraid to do this sometimes. I think they want to talk about the things they know or the so-called right answer, the safe answers. Remember, I read all those management books, too.