Federal agencies are required by law (Title 5, U.S. Code, Section 3396) to establish programs for the continuing development of senior executives.
SES members are required to prepare, implement, and regularly update an EDP as specified by 5 CFR 412.401. The Executive Development Plan (EDP) is a key tool in assisting executives in their continued development. EDPs should outline a senior executive's short-term and long-term developmental activities which will enhance the executive's performance. These activities should meet organizational needs for leadership, managerial improvement, and results. EDPs should be reviewed annually and revised as appropriate by an Executive Resources Board or similar body designated by the agency to oversee executive development.
OPM has developed a sample EDP template you or your agency can use. Department of Commerce has developed this IDP/EDP template for its executives. Department of Labor also created an EDP Template and A Guide to Writing an Executive Development Plan (EDP) that references, by ECQ competency, possible training and books.
JUST RELEASED: OPM's Executive Development Best Practices Guide OPM conducted interviews with 17 Fortune-500 companies and 21 Federal agencies to compile current trends and best practices in the field of executive development.
Does your Agency have an EDP template that you find useful? Please share it with us!
There may be barriers or perceived barriers to executive development. The 2008 Survey of Senior Executives indicated that many executives felt their training and developmental needs were not being met by their agency. Over one third of the executives surveyed indicated they had never taken advantage of the activities commonly used for developing executives (360 degree assessments, details, mentoring, coaching, residential programs, etc.). How can you overcome these barriers? The article, Three Barriers to Owning your Leadership Development, presents an interesting way of thinking about these barriers and some possible solutions. Do you have ideas or suggestions?
(What tools are available for Executive Development?)
360 Degree Feedback: 360 degree feedback is a widely used method and tool to assist in identifying strengths and developmental needs. OPM offers 360 degree survey services, as do other organizations.
Formal Training: OPM offers formal training at its Management Development Centers and the Federal Executive Institute. There are many other formal training opportunities outside OPM. For more information, visit the Executive Development Community web page.
Mentoring and Coaching: Mentoring and Coaching are very effective tools for personal and leadership development. OPM is currently piloting mentoring program featuring the latest techniques for transfer of knowledge and information such as Speed mentoring, and Reverse mentoring. For more detailed information, please see our Mentoring-and-Coaching wiki page. And please share your comments and practices your agency uses in mentoring.
Mobility Assignments: Current and aspiring executives have the option to participate in mobility assignments (5 U.S.C. 3131). These assignments consist of details, special/short-term assignments, transfers, projects, use of Intergovernmental Personnel Act authority, sabbaticals, formal training, and other creative ways to expose executives to challenges or otherwise expand their capacity to serve.
Sabbaticals: Another means for an SES member to gain a broader knowledge and experience is to participate in a sabbatical. Sabbaticals may be used for teaching; study (independent or structured); research; developmental work experience in the private sector, non-profit organizations, State, local, or foreign governments; and an activity or a project not covered above.
Other tools could include books, book summaries, webinars, and serving on Intra-agency work groups. What tools have you found useful in your professional development as an executive?
(What are other organizations doing in this area? Does your agency have any tips or ideas to share?)
Check out the Harvard Business Review. The site features great articles, discussions, webinars for executives and managers alike. Subscribe to stay up to date on new and cutting edge trends in growing and developing senior leadership.
Federal Executive Boards offer many training and development programs of interest to the executive and aspiring executive. The Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) are a forum for communication and collaboration among Federal agencies outside Washington, DC. The National network of 28 FEBs, located in areas of significant Federal populations, serves as the cornerstone for strategic partnering in Government.
Tell us about your agency’s efforts toward Executive Development so we can highlight them here.
(What training or other opportunities are available for Executives?)
OPM offers a variety of training and development opportunities online and as resident programs. To learn more about these opportunities visit the Leadership and Development site.
(What other tools and resources are available to me?)
If you see an error or have any suggestions for improvement, please email us at HRDLeadership@opm.gov
]]>OPM’s succession management plan is a fundamental component of our overall human capital planning priority. It supports our workforce planning by providing direction for managing critical leadership development resources and helps ensure the best use of those resources to achieve organizational goals and objectives. It also provides a mechanism for assuring continuity of leadership by creating a methodical process to identify leadership needs and to develop plans to meet those needs. The plan also supports the identification of highly talented individuals who have exceptional talent and performance and should be identified and advanced based on merit. Our succession management plan supports overall employee development. Employees are often hired knowing that they will require continued training to meet the needs of their jobs, and succession management helps justify the cost of training devoted to leadership development.
Problem: Baby Boomers are and will be retiring at record rates which equates to a loss of a large percentage of our Federal Leadership workforce. So, the question is - How do we keep the talent pool filled with innovative, creative, forward-thinking and dynamic individuals given under these
Solution: A succession plan begins with a thorough understanding of the structure of functions the organization needs to reach strategic goals which includes agency mission. Positions that fill the organizational design can then be determined. Once the positions are clarified, then the determination about critical positions can be assessed. Important to this concept is that strategic succession planning is not about talents the organization needs now; rather, it is projecting the talent, knowledge, skills and competencies needed for the future of an agency/organization.
With this fundamental premise, it becomes clearer that the purpose of a leadership development program is not just to ensure that that students graduate, but also to fill leadership positions. Measures of success for a leadership program should not be limited to the number of graduates, enthusiasm of participants, or even the learning level of participants. The reason for sustaining leadership development is to put highly qualified people into critical positions. The measure of effectiveness is how many leadership positions are filled due to the organization's leadership development strategy. The target does not, necessarily, need to be 100 percent of positions filled by program graduates.
(What are other organizations doing in this area?)
A leadership development program should be included in the broader strategy to fill critical positions. Leadership development projected output needs to work in concert with recruitment planning for filling different levels of leadership positions. Looking at trends which describe new sources executive management, and first-level supervisory incumbents could be useful. Determining how these trends should and can be adjusted helps guide a strategy for succession management planning.
OPM's last completed Succession Planning Study (2010) reviewed all leadership positions to determine their succession planning risk level. This was done by senior leadership and the HR department taking a fresh look at who internally could fill leadership positions with a liklihood of turnover; and if candidates did not exist, external pools had to be identified to full the positions. As a result of the analysis and research, all OPM's leadership positions received either a moderate or low succession risk level -- no positions are currently at a succession planning high risk level.
The way in which positions are filled can also play a vital role in change management and culture transition. If an organization's culture is described as stagnant, safe, and lacking creativity, a strategic decision to consider may be to fill more leadership roles from outside the organization rather than from inside progression. If an organization's leadership is perceived to be highly effective, motivational, thriving and customer focused, then the strategic decision may be to promote from within. Both recruiting and development strategies would be developed to compliment the desired organizational culture.
The Corporate Leadership Council developed a Workforce Planning Support Toolkit that agencies may find helpful in managing furture talent needs as well as addressing succession management plans
For additional information, see the Corporate Leadership Council's Succession Planning Homepage.
If it is projected that there is insufficient availability of talent to fill all the positions needed to meet the mission, and the mission will not change, then reorganizing positions may be needed. The span of control and number of reporting levels may need to be adjusted to meet the mission with available leadership talent. These concepts are are detailed in OPM'S informative manual written by OPM's Human Capital Assessment Team: A Guide to the Strategic Leadership Succession Management Model.
Other resources on OPM's website include an outline of the Succession Planning Process and Effective Succession Strategies.
There are some very good resources available on the web that might be useful. Check out the free Management Library for a plethora of information and tips on this topic including a succession planning toolkit: Succession Planning
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is also a great resource for succession planning and other HR-related information.
Please refer to the official U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (5 U.S.C. 412.101) for information about the regulations that address succession management.
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