Case Study
Natural Resource Conservation Service Strategic Leadership Development Program
CLIENT
U.S. Department of Agriculture
TYPE:
Government
SERVICES:
Training
Challenge
How do you establish an environment that is conducive to inter-agency and multi-sector cooperation and collaboration? What can a leader do to dismantle silos and facilitate better working relationships? We worked with the Chief Learning Officer of the Office of Training and Development, and the Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership at the George Washington University, to design a full-day course on change and transition.
Context
The course was designed for senior leaders who are participating in the Natural Resource Conservation Service Strategic Leadership Development Program, a year-long professional development program that prepares rising GS-14 and 15 leaders for application to the Senior Executive Service. In the course, participants tackled real-life challenges, like the difficulty of working with other federal agencies (as well as with farmers and other citizens) to address the shifting agricultural ecosystem.
Results
Through our work with this client, we demonstrated a number of our core business capabilities. The engagement included: (1) in-depth interviews with senior staff at NRCS to identify the leadership competencies and learning objectives to be addressed with the course; (2) design of a full-day, classroom-based module that focuses on the principles and practices of leading change and managing transition; (3) the design and production of customized content and case studies that would be relevant to NRCS leaders; and (4) delivery, in person, at the Bolger Center training facility in Potomac, MD.