Build Your Case for the Senior Executive Service (SES)

Build Your Case for the Senior Executive Service (SES) Build Your Case for the Senior Executive Service (SES) Build Your Case for the Senior Executive Service (SES) Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) November 28, 2011 Like in show business, in government there are really no “overnight successes.” Instead there are the sometimes unnoticed years of preparation, as you head toward future work roles. This concept was illustrated in Rudolph Giuliani’s bestseller Leadership, in which the former New York Mayor states that he didn’t simply become a great leader on 9-11. Instead he purposefully took on challenges throughout his entire career. In a similar way, you want to aim for ongoing career development. And it’s important to look at how you’re doing so far â€" especially if you hope to enter the government’s Senior Executive Service (SES) within five years. The practical reason for this self-assessment is that you’re going to have to prove your SES worthiness with specified types of real-life examples. And the method for proving your leadership readiness are narratives called Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). “If you’re not aware of the ECQs, as what you must achieve, you may not be ready for the SES,” cautioned Kathryn Troutman, who authored The New SES Application with Diane Hudson Burns. “You must gain specific experience and qualifications, plus get them down on paper.” Who should consider grooming themselves for the SES? Federal employees eligible to apply for the government’s SES-track Career Development Programs (CPDs) come from the manager level, GS-14. Others with a five-year plan of their own could begin around GS-12/13. Applicants for Career Development Programs, offered periodically at different agencies, submit ECQs when applying for a CDP and at the end of their program. All SES applicants must write and submit the ECQ narratives or incorporate them into the new five-page SES resume-based format when responding to a SES vacancy announcement. Troutman’s advice to all applicants is to start writing the ECQs right away. “This way, you can begin to look at what’s missing according to the Office of Personnel Management’s required 28 leadership competencies,” advised Troutman. “One of the best ways to learn about ECQ development is to take a class  on how to write the ECQs in the correct format.” The New SES Application provides a step-by-step process for writing both the ECQs and the five-page SES resume and is used as the curriculum at Troutman’s Federal Career Training Institute for the hands-on January 17-18 workshop in Maryland, focused on writing the ECQs and the five-page SES resume. Attendees also learn to articulate their leadership qualifications for job interviews and networking. In a recent interview, Troutman offered basic tips for thinking about your leadership qualifications and preparing to write the five ECQs. ECQ #1 â€" Leading Change: This competency is about leading change, not just implementing it, Troutman explained. It looks for creativity and strategic thinking. “Ask yourself, ‘When did I lead change? Why was change needed? What was my role in the change?’” she recommended. “This is not about what your department did, but what you did to lead change.” ECQ #2 â€" Leading People: The second ECQ centers on the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization’s vision. “Your example might address conflict management, leveraging diversity, or implementing career development,” Troutman said. “Ask yourself, ‘Who did I lead? What was going on with them? What were the challenges of their jobs?’” ECQ #3 â€" Results Driven: “This is a Type A competency,” Troutman noted. “The third ECQ relates to action, staying on task, following up, and being driven by the desired results. Top leaders are very results driven, like Giuliani was as New York’s mayor.” ECQ #4 â€" Business Acumen: To tackle this qualification, you need three “heads” â€" oriented to finance, human capital and technology. “This can be the toughest ECQ,” Troutman observed. “Government people tend to think about programs and policies, rather than business. But think of contracts, procurements and budgets for finance, restructuring, recruitment and training for people, and security, IT security and automation for technology.” ECQ #5 â€" Building Coalitions: The fifth ECQ is about partnering, political savvy, influencing and negotiating. Troutman said, “Ask yourself, ‘How well do I partner with other organizations to achieve goals? How well do I communicate with them? How well do I work with others?” Lack of partnering was behind the failure to respond quickly to the Katrina disaster, Troutman noted. Now emergency management has tremendous partnerships between different government levels. Troutman’s book The New SES Application is the latest publication from her award-winning Federal Career Publishers. Both the publishing company and training institute grew from her resume-writing firm, The Resume Place, which specializes in federal careers. The Federal Career Training Institute is offering an early bird discount[RQ1] to those who register for the January SES Writing Course before December 22. The SES ECQ Writing Workshop includes two- days of hand-on, interactive developmental writing delivered by a team of top trainers. Each participant will also receive five additional hours of editorial service to help finalize the five-page SES resume. “Many people struggle with writing or talking about their leadership accomplishments,” remarked Troutman. “The January workshop will inspire participants to remember and write their leadership accomplishments, while sharing and brainstorming with colleagues.” The process of creating ECQs is very past-performance oriented.   Do the groundwork now so you can later prove you’re SES ready. GET THE BOOK 2nd Edition available Dec.  2015 $21.95 (includes postage)