Federal executives need to become more well-rounded and take advantage of leadership development opportunities, Defense Department and Office of Personnel Management representatives said Wednesday.
Executives have tended to rise up the federal ladder by specializing in technical disciplines, said Diane Disney, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for civilian personnel policy, at the Excellence in Government '99 conference. Civilian leaders should instead follow the model used by the military, in which rising stars are exposed to a variety of disciplines, Disney said.
Barbara Garvin-Kester, director of OPM's Federal Executive Institute, agreed with Disney and added that federal executives must develop a wide variety of leadership skills. For example, leaders accustomed to issuing directives must learn how to involve their subordinates in decision-making.
"Today's leaders have to be able to challenge those workers to come up with solutions," Garvin-Kester said.
At DoD, Disney is trying to make the civilian leadership development program more like the military program. Executives-and managers who aspire to become executives-can now take courses that expose them to the various Defense agencies and military services. DoD is encouraging more interaction between civilian and military leaders by putting civilians out in the field with the military. The civilians can then see how their work supports military operations.
"We want our civilians to know the consequences of the decisions they make," Disney said.
Last spring, DoD kicked off the Defense Leadership and Management Program (DLAMP) after a study concluded that civilian leadership development efforts in the department lacked structure. DLAMP gives rising managers experience in a variety of DoD activities and educates them on national security issues.
The leadership development curriculum at the Federal Executive Institute helps executives develop the 27 skills OPM believes federal leaders should have. Managers and executives can take courses at the institute's Charlottesville, Va., campus or at management development centers in Shepherdstown, W. Va., and Denver. In addition, OPM's executive trainers are increasingly doing on-site seminars in agencies, Garvin-Kester said.
Mark Abramson, executive director of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government, argued that leadership development cannot be confined to classroom settings.
"What happens after you finish the program and go back to the job?" Abramson asked. "The way you develop people is challenge them with real experiences."
Abramson said it is difficult in the civil service structure to give people new responsibilities and challenges.
"We have a stupid job classification system," Abramson said, adding that strict steps and grades coupled with overly specific position descriptions leave people stuck in unchallenging jobs.
He said agencies should keep in mind that younger employees are less likely to work for one organization for 20 to 30 years when they put together their leadership development programs.
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