At a minimum, agencies should incorporate into their leadership development approaches a number of components such as developing the objectives, methodology, content, and coverage of each program or significant learning activity in accordance with basic instructional design principles.
Other components that agencies should incorporate include: methods for identifying potential leaders including for self-nomination; leadership development plans tailored to the individual’s level of management; training for new supervisors and managers to ensure they have completed development of basic supervisory skills; periodic agency program evaluations of training plans; and, appropriate use of technology in delivery of learning material, system support, tracking, and measurement.
The guidance said agencies should also take into account best practices such as getting the leader’s boss, coach, mentor, peer group, or management consultant involved in the learning process.
Other best practices and special considerations include learning from feedback such as surveys and business simulations, learning activities that integrate individual learning with team or organizational learning, and attention to procurement integrity and ethical standards or to areas of increasing responsibility, such as managing employees with non-traditional career patterns or managing a multi-sector workforce.
