In September 2018, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance and direction on the importance of creating a coaching culture. The guidance asserted that coaching is a critical tool as the Federal Government strives to develop a workforce that supports the effective and efficient mission achievement and improved services to the American people. This coaching initiative supports the President’s Management Agenda, especially in the areas of Continuous Learning and Strategic Workforce Management.
Putting Together an Effective Individual Development Plan (IDP)
While many agencies I work with offer employees the opportunity to put together an Individual Development Plan (IDP), most of the IDPs I see and hear about are simply training plans. An IDP is about much more than training! With a renewed interest in employee development (Priority 4 of the Federal Workforce Priorities Report), I thought it would be a good time to discuss IDPs.
At the end of the day, employees must develop themselves; although supervisors can assist employees on their journey, they cannot do the work for them. An IDP identifies an employee’s development goals in the context of their agency’s Strategic Plan. A good IDP contains training, education, and development activities to acquire or enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to maximize job performance. This will help to ensure that you are prepared to carry out your responsibilities and contribute to your agency’s mission by helping you learn new skills, refresh old skills, and make use of emerging technologies.
An IDP gives you an opportunity to:
- establish objectives that support both the unit’s and employee’s needs and goals;
- give you a clear guide for working toward career goals and the supervisor a chance to channel your efforts in ways that help the unit achieve its goals and mission; and
- organize and set priorities for development experiences, that will help you:
- learn new skills to improve current job performance
- increase interest, satisfaction, and challenge in their current position
- obtain knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to reach career goals that are aligned with your agency’s strategic goals
- prepare for increased responsibility.
An IDP is NOT:
- A performance plan or appraisal—the IDP does not replace a performance plan or performance appraisal. Strengths and areas for development are being considered, but you are not being rated for performance appraisal purposes. Discussions about performance and development share some common themes, however, the focus of each discussion is fundamentally different and should not take place at the same time.
- A promise of promotion—the IDP does not guarantee advancement upon completion of the developmental objectives, but does increase your ability to compete for future jobs as you develop skills.
- A binding document—when you and supervisor sign the IDP, it is simply an indication of intention and support for your development. You may not always be able to take advantage of developmental opportunities because of budgetary or workload constraints, among other reasons.
Creating a Draft IDP and Discussing It
Either you or your supervisor can initiative an IDP discussion. Ideally the discussion will begin with your supervisor explaining the IDP process, the supervisor’s role, and your role. Both you and your supervisor should review all information regarding your development status. In this process, you and your supervisor typically:
- Identify knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) or competencies required by the current work assignment
- Review and discuss strengths and areas for development in performing the current work assignment
Together, you and your supervisor should draft a plan by identifying developmental activities needed to reach the IDP goals. The IDP should specify:
- Goals and competencies to be developed during the specified period
- Developmental experiences that address the competencies
- Measures of success
- How your supervisor can support you
- Potential barriers to success
- Possible developmental activities and proposed dates
Your supervisor should monitor your progress and together, you and your supervisor should update and modify your IDP as appropriate.
Looking Over 2018 and Making Career Plans for 2019
2018 has been a busy year for the government; I thought it might be a good time to reflect on some of the career-related matters that have come up; having a larger context for what is going on in the government from a Human Resources (HR) perspective can help you think about the decisions you might want to make for your career next year.
In February, the Administration issued the first-ever Federal Workforce Priorities Report. The report identified six Government-wide priorities and provided what it considered promising practices from agencies.
The priorities were in were grouped around two major initiatives: reshaping the workforce and maximizing employee performance, are as follows:
- Priority 1: Succession Planning and Knowledge Transfer. Conduct succession planning activities to retain and transfer institutional knowledge, as workforce reshaping efforts are undertaken.
- Priority 2: Deploying Communication Tools. Adopt tools that allow employees to easily connect, communicate, and collaborate with one another regardless of geographic location.
- Priority 3: Securing Technological Solutions for Human Capital Analysis. OPM will seek to acquire or develop enterprise technological solutions to assist the Federal human capital community with human capital analysis.
- Priority 4: Expanding Employee Development Opportunities. Provide employees with ample opportunities for continuous professional growth and skill development.
- Priority 5: Bolstering Employee Recognition Programs. Administer robust programs to appropriately recognize and reward employees who demonstrate high levels of performance and significantly contribute to achieving organizational goals.
- Priority 6: Enhancing Productivity through a Focus on Employee Health. Encourage employees to engage in physical fitness activities during time spent commuting and being at work.
During 2018, there were several new initiatives that supported those goals; these include new direct hire appointment authorities, the Open Opportunities initiative, upgrades to USAJOBS, and a new emphasis on coaching. We’ll discuss some of these in more detail in additional articles this month.
Using the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model
If you are SES aspirational—or even if you’re not, the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model should be your friend. Not only is CCAR required for the writing of Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ), it is also useful for interviewing.
Using CCAR allows you to tell your story in an interesting and compelling way. How does CCAR work? When writing your ECQ stories (or responding to interview questions), consider the following:
Challenge.
Describe a specific problem or goal. The more significant the challenges faced and overcome, the more significant the results will appear.
Context.
Talk about the individuals and groups you worked with and/or the environment in which you worked to tackle a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). This is the background information needed to understand why your accomplishment was significant.
Action.
Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge. Focus on actions that showcase your ability to solve problems in the organization to which you are applying. Be sure to include multiple actions. Some people find it easier to actually list their actions (1, 2, 3, etc.; you can smooth it out when you edit).
Result.
Give specific examples of the results of your actions. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Results can be quantitative (with metrics) and/or qualitative. And of course, they need to demonstrate that you solved the problem.
Here’s what a potential CCAR outline might look like:
Achievement: Ensure 24/7 security requirements were met while complying with mandated furloughs during 2013 Sequestration.
Challenge:
- Midway through the fiscal year, it became evident that Congress would not provide relief from the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the agency would be forced to comply with guidance requiring furloughs.
- Available staffing did not permit the simultaneous full furlough and minimum security requirements to provide proper building security.
- I was required to reduce labor hours by 22% over 7 weeks.
Context:
- The Budget Control Act of 2011 required significant budget cuts to the agency for fiscal year 2013.
- Department guidance leading into 2013 directed the agency to plan as if the cuts would not be implemented.
- I was required to ensure 24/7/365 security for vital assets throughout the Department while still taking my “share” of cuts.
Actions:
- I created a 5-person team to develop a solution to meet the security requirements and reduce expenditures toward reduction targets. I aimed to find other reductions to try to avoid furloughs.
- I created a quantitative framework of prioritized staffing to meet security requirements and associated costs. I had my team develop alternatives with risk assessments versus cost. These scenarios demonstrated that the required 7 furlough days presented an unacceptable risk to the agency and its tenants.
- My business case and risk assessment showed that a 3-day furlough could be sustained within acceptable risk parameters.
- Simultaneously, I sped the deployment of an automated scheduling tool 4 months ahead of schedule to replace the decades-old, paper-based process so that staffing could be assessed in near real-time. I developed technological solutions that complied with departmental guidance for deploying new software, trained administrative officers, and provided technical support for all shifts of FTEs and contractors.
Results:
- My 3-day furlough proposal persuaded agency leadership, who adopted it in place of the previous mandates. Politically, this caused less strife than justifying a complete furlough exemption.
- The prioritized framework I created based on risk assessment has served as the baseline minimum security standard since it was deployed. All staffing changes since then have been assessed within this framework.
- The lessons learned from the limited deployment of the automated scheduler significantly improved its full deployment later that year with operational lessons learned. The system is still in use by the agency and is being deployed to a wider set of users. Agency leadership views it as the most significant tool for managing staffing hours (which is the single largest agency expense) in the agency’s history.
Once you have an outline, you can “fill in the blanks” and craft your story.
Deciding Whether You’re Senior Executive Service (SES) Ready
Many people think they are ready for the Senior Executive Service (SES) if they have spent a year as a GS-15. There is actually no time-in-grade requirement for the SES; instead, it’s about your executive leadership experience.
Executive leadership includes the ability to provide strategic leadership and commitment to public policy and administration at the highest levels. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has identified 5 executive core qualifications (ECQ). The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience–not technical expertise.
They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions–not whether they are the most superior candidate for a particular position.
That decision is made by the employing agency, not OPM. Successful performance in the SES requires capability in each ECQ. The ECQs are interdependent; successful executives demonstrate successful competence in each.
As defined by OPM, the five ECQs are:
1. Leading Change – This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. This ECQ requires the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2. Leading People – This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This ECQ requires the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
3. Results Driven – This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. This ECQ requires the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4. Business Acumen – This core qualification requires the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
5. Building Coalitions – This core qualification requires the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
In addition to the five ECQs, there are also 28 competencies embedded within the ECQs. The competencies are the personal and professional attributes that are critical to successful performance as a SES.
Before deciding whether you want to apply for the SES, you should do some careful self-assessment to decide:
- Do you actually want to be a member of SES—do you have the time, energy, and commitment to lead people and programs—and have the “buck” stop with you?
- Do you have the requisite experience (either inside or outside the government) and can you document it? If you have never held a supervisory position or never planned and executed a budget, it may be difficult to meet the Leading People and Business Acumen ECQs.
- If you do not have the experience already, are you willing to do what it takes to get there? Perhaps apply for a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) or take a lateral or accept a detail / rotational assignment to obtain the necessary experience?
Once you decide you’re ready to apply for the SES, you should start to work on your SES package. In most cases, your package will consistent of your SES resume and your ECQs. OPM recommends that candidates be ready to spend 40+ hours preparing their ECQs. My experience tells me that more time is needed, especially if you have never written ECQs before or thought about the specific examples you want to use.
A subsequent article will address preparing your ECQs. If you do not want to wait, more information about the ECQs and preparing your SES package can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf.
Creating a USAJOBS Profile
All applicants applying for competitive service positions must do so through USAJOBS; you must have an account and a profile. Your profile must be accurate. This profile is what federal Human Resources (HR) professionals use to determine your eligibility. If your profile is incorrect, you may not receive the consideration for which you are eligible.