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Quickly, without thinking too much, picture in your mind a company leader. What comes up? A CEO who sees an organization through rough times? A manager who eases interdepartmental strife? Or are you like Kyle Keer, who might imagine an Office Assistant II heading a team on a district-wide special project? Keer is the coordinator of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sacramento District’s (SPK) Leadership Development Program (LDP) Tiers I and II. Although he is a hydrologist by trade, his enthusiasm for the SPK LDP is evident. Traditionally, leadership development is used by agencies to describe a type of department head/managerial training. Because part of USACE’s strategic direction is to be a learning organization, leadership development programs play an important role. The SPK LDP, however, takes a little different approach. Its objective is to develop leaders at all levels, across functional areas and career programs. Keer sees it as a means to keep all employees actively engaged in the agency. “No matter what a person’s level is within the organization,” Keer says, “that person can influence its operations and help achieve its mission.” The SPK LDP is designed in four tiers. The amount of commitment increases at each level. For example, Tier I participants can expect to spend around 28 personal off-duty hours (in addition to the funded on-site hours) to complete the course. Tier III participants can spend more than 200 hours. All participants are expected to be fully prepared and fully engaged, and all LDP graduates must apply the knowledge they learn. They participate in post-utilization assignments that can vary from assisting with future LDP classes to serving as an Operational Management Board Project Manager. USACE Headquarters administers Tier IV. Examples of the types of training covered at this tier include graduate school programs, the Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow Program offered by Harvard University or the Capitol Hill Fellowship Program offered by Georgetown University. This tier is designed for established leaders at the regional or national level and is available only for the GS-12 grade or higher. LDP Tier III, established in 1999, is offered by the South Pacific Division of USACE. Improving one’s understanding of team dynamics and increasing self-awareness and confidence are two of the objectives for this tier. “Over the course of the year-long program, participants can complete from seven to ten personality profiles such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as well as participate in 360-degree feedback surveys,” Keer explains. “These exercises are meant to help employees communicate as members of a team and as individuals.” Employees at the GS-11 level and above can take part in the program. Participation from SPK customers and partners in federal, state and local governments is encouraged. For example, Keer states that, in previous years, staff from the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Port of Los Angeles attended these sessions. While Tiers IV and III support the Corps vision and strategic goals, they do not provide opportunities for development at the lower grade levels. Recognizing that leaders come from all ranks, the Sacramento District expanded LDP. Tiers I and II, open to all grades, reach out to all employees and enable them to develop their leadership skills. Since its inception in 2005, approximately 150 people have completed Tier I training and approximately 45 have completed Tier II. As the application materials for the SPK LDP point out, by definition, to be a leader, you must have people follow you. Keer, however, didn’t want to define a leader. “I prefer to imagine what a leader could be – a driver to fulfill an agency’s vision, an influencer, or even part of a larger team with greater responsibilities,” he speculates. At USACE’s Sacramento District, a leader means everyone. For more information about SPK LDP, please contact Kyle Keer at kyle.j.keer@usace.army.mil or at (916) 557.7105.
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