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DCHR

DCHR

The Executive Leadership Program (ELP)

The ELP aims to enhance the supply of executive-level talent across the District by establishing a robust pipeline of Cabinet-ready leaders from which current and future mayors can draw.

Purpose and Program Objectives

The purpose of the ELP is to support the development of effective executive-level leadership among members of the Mayor’s cabinet and their senior staff.

Executives who complete the program will be able to:

  • Use their leadership assets to create organizational leadership climates which foster employee engagement, performance excellence, innovation, and sustained capacity building;
  • Think, plan, and act strategically with a broadened systemic perspective that enables their departments and agencies to more capably balance short-term requirements with sustained improvement and organization innovation; and
  • More effectively lead change and manage transition within and across agencies and sectors.

Learning Clusters

The curriculum will be developed using these learning clusters as guides:

  • Organizational Leadership—Topics will include assessing and influencing organizational climate, establishing trust, building shared accountability, collective responsibility, and more.
  • Strategic and Systemic Planning and Thinking—Topics will include thinking and acting strategically, understanding systems, working across sectors, and more.
  • Leading and Managing Change—Topics will include developing executive foresight, leading change, managing transition, and more.
  • Executive Communication and Political Savvy—Topics will include personal branding, executive communication, political savvy, and more.

What Does the Program Offer?

Based on feedback from senior executives within the existing District of Columbia workforce, as well as input from the District’s Department of Human Resources, the program will last 9 months (Fall 2023 – Spring 2024) and will include the following components:

  • Small cohort groups to allow opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction and coaching.
  • Private, one-on-one executive coaching sessions
  • Peer learning and coaching sessions in small groups
  • Lectures and discussions with leading faculty and subject matter experts
  • Integrated leadership assessments and a leadership values inventory
  • Cutting-edge content in a dedicated online learning environment that deal with organizational leadership, strategic and systemic thinking, leading change and managing transition, executive communication, critical thinking and data analytics.
  • Resources such as books, electronics materials, and weekly communication to support their monthly sessions.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Applicants who are interested in applying for the program must meet the following criteria:

  • Be currently in an executive-level or senior-level (e.g., deputy director, chief of staff, senior agency staff) position within District government at the grade MS-14 (who manage Management Supervisory Service Employees), MS-15 and MS-16 or equivalent, and above supervisors and managers; [e.g. Excepted service–grade 9 and above; Legal LX Legal Service Deputy General Counsel; MPD Non-union Captain and higher].
  • Be willing to commit to full participation in all facets of the program.
  • Have at a minimum five years of leadership experience working for the district government or private industry.
  • Have completed the initial probationary period of DC government service.
  • Have a bachelor's degree (strongly preferred) and/or have comparable work experience.
  • Have both the endorsement and agreement of their agency head to participate in the program as well as financial support. The actual cost of the program is to be determined.
  • Must also sign a Continuation of Service Agreement.

Application package must include:

  • A letter of recommendation  from Agency Director or Deputy Mayor
  • A 1,200 words essay – questions will be shared with interested applicants.
  • Signed Continuation of Service Agreement
    Note well: Applicants will be evaluated by both the letter from the agency/cluster leader and the essay.

If you have any questions about the ELP Program, please contact Willair St. Vil, ELP Manager at [email protected].