United StateS Office Of PerSOnnel ManageMent
              Effective Learning 
        Interventions for Developing 
                     ECQs
    OPM.GOV                       NOVEMBER2015
                                                                              TABLE OF CONTENTS 
                         INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................3 
                         DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................................................................4 
                         LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT MATRIX ..................................................................................................6 
                         RESEARCH SUMMARIES OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING INTERVENTIONS BY ECQ COMPETENCY .................. 18 
                         ECQ 1:  LEADING CHANGE:  CREATIVITY/INNOVATION .................................................................................. 18 
                                1:  LEADING CHANGE:  EXTERNAL AWARENESS ..................................................................................... 21 
                         ECQ
                                1:  LEADING CHANGE:  FLEXIBILITY .................................................................................................... 23 
                         ECQ
                                1:  LEADING CHANGE:  RESILIENCE ..................................................................................................... 26 
                         ECQ
                                1:  LEADING CHANGE:  STRATEGIC THINKING........................................................................................ 28 
                         ECQ
                         ECQ 1:  LEADING CHANGE:  VISION .......................................................................................................... 31 
                                2:  LEADING PEOPLE:  CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ................................................................................... 33 
                         ECQ
                                2:  LEADING PEOPLE:  LEVERAGING DIVERSITY ...................................................................................... 36 
                         ECQ
                                2:  LEADING PEOPLE:  DEVELOPING OTHERS......................................................................................... 39 
                         ECQ
                                2:  LEADING PEOPLE:  TEAM BUILDING ............................................................................................... 41 
                         ECQ
                                3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  ACCOUNTABILITY .............................................................................................. 44 
                         ECQ
                                3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  CUSTOMER SERVICE ........................................................................................... 46 
                         ECQ
                                3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  DECISIVENESS .................................................................................................. 49 
                         ECQ
                                3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  ENTREPRENEURSHIP .......................................................................................... 52 
                         ECQ
                         ECQ 3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  PROBLEM SOLVING ........................................................................................... 55 
                                3:  RESULTS DRIVEN:  TECHNICAL CREDIBILITY ...................................................................................... 58 
                         ECQ
                                4:  BUSINESS ACUMEN:  FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
                         ECQ
                         ........................................................................................................................................................60     
                                5:  BUILDING COALITIONS:  PARTNERING ............................................................................................ 62 
                         ECQ
                                5:  BUILDING COALITIONS:  POLITICAL SAVVY ....................................................................................... 64 
                         ECQ
                                5:  BUILDING COALITIONS:  INFLUENCING/NEGOTIATING ........................................................................ 67 
                         ECQ
                           UNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ............................................................................... 70 
                         F
                           UNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  WRITTEN COMMUNICATION ........................................................................ 72 
                         F
                           UNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  ORAL COMMUNICATION ............................................................................. 74 
                         F
                         FUNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  INTEGRITY/HONESTY .................................................................................. 76 
                           UNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  CONTINUAL LEARNING ................................................................................ 79 
                         F
                           UNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES:  PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION ...................................................................... 81 
                         F
                         MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM .......................... 83 
                         APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................85            
                                                                                                       1 
                                                                                                                                                                               
                        DEFINITIONS OF LEADER DEVELOPMENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES ........................................................ 85
                        ENDNOTES .......................................................................................................................................89     
                        SOURCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS ............................................................................................ 108 
                                                                                                  2 
                                                         INTRODUCTION 
                 The best leadership development programs are those that enhance management capacity 
                 and organizational performance while maximizing the return on investment for the Federal 
                 government. Leadership is challenging in any environment, but leading in the Federal 
                 Government comes with unique challenges that require leaders to react with speed and 
                 competence in high-pressure situations. The learning and development function within 
                 organizations must respond by moving leadership development beyond the classroom into 
                 actual crisis situations, through training activities such as action learning, simulations, 
                 service learning and multi-source feedback. 
                 The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in partnership with researchers from 
                 George Mason University (GMU), conducted a thorough review of leadership development 
                 efforts to create this report, Effective Learning Interventions for Developing Executive 
                 Core Qualifications (ECQs) This report has four specific objectives: 
                     •   To help agencies make strategic data driven training decisions; 
                     •   To promote increased efficiencies by informing the design, development and 
                         implementation of  new leadership development programs with theoretically-
                         grounded research;  
                     •   To increase training innovation, rigor, and effectiveness within Federal leadership 
                         development programs; and 
                     •   To provide a helpful data-driven approach for evaluating the potential effectiveness 
                         of Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) development solutions offered by external 
                         vendors. 
                 Study Methodology 
                 A GMU team of researchers – Dr. Steven Zaccaro, Rachel Feyre, and Samantha Holland – 
                 reviewed empirical and conceptual studies in the literature, ranging from randomized 
                 experiments to summaries of anecdotes from case studies. They also reviewed studies 
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                 where researchers provided their own summaries of the existing literature.    
                 Recommendations were derived from an integrated consideration of the research. 
                 Key Themes and Conclusions 
                 The following key themes and trends emerged consistently throughout the research and 
                 benchmarking interviews of Federal agencies:  
                     •   Effective leadership development emerges from a combination of multiple 
                         developmental experiences, and 
                     •   Leadership development is unique to the particular leader and should not rest on 
                         the use of a single approach for all. For example, work experiences that present 
                         challenges and learning to some leaders are more effective when paired with                   2
                         feedback, especially for interpersonal and business leadership skill development.  
                         Likewise, action learning projects become more effective for some leaders’ growth 
                         when they include facilitators or coaches, and are paired with opportunities for self-
                                     3
                         reflection.     
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