By Bryce Smith

Leadership training companies claim that their methods and instruction are applicable to any leadership situation, and it's probably true that much of what they teach will apply anywhere. But in many respects, government leadership is quite different from corporate leadership, and these companies may not take that difference into account. Government is not a competitive, profit-seeking organization, but a service organization. So management leadership training for government workers will require different emphases.

That's where the Leadership Development and Training program of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) comes into the picture. Their leadership development programs very consciously recognize that government leadership is significantly different from corporate leadership, and it tries to tailor its programs to address those differences. Seminars are taken throughout an individual's entire career, from pre-supervisory right through preparation to become a senior executive.

Apart from the CLC, there are also leadership training programs available in what the OPM calls the Special Skills courses. These address problems a government agency might encounter that are chronic, such as team member disputes or difficulties keeping up with or adjusting to new technologies. If a team leader needs to learn the agility and grace that allows disputes to be resolved or adjustments to be made in how the agency runs, then this sort of management leadership training provides valuable instruction.

Another management leadership training opportunity offered by the OPM is the Presidential Management Fellows program. It allows outstanding students in a variety of academic disciplines to take a two-year leadership program that includes interning in government offices, as well as other specialized training. The goal of this and all of the leadership training efforts of the OPM is to attract the best possible minds into government roles. These programs not only try to draw in quality people, but they then try to ensure that they go on to be properly trained as leaders, so government functions at its best.

The leaders in major government agencies face very different demands than leaders in corporations existing in the highly competitive business world. So management leadership training for government leaders, while there will be some overlap with corporate approaches, needs to concentrate on the leadership skills needed explicitly in a government situation.

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One Response so far.

  1. Anonymous says:

    really nice post

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