[PMAGList] OPM's view of the PMF Program

[Tod T. Companion, Ph.D.]

Greetings Alumni!

Thought you might be interested in this little tidbit from Federal Times on
the new SES Federal Candidate Development Program (CDP).  In the article, an
OPM rep describes the CDP in the context of the PMF and Senior PMF programs.
Of particular interest to me is the timeline laid out for gaining entry to
the SES through these various programs.  Are any of you aware of any place
that lays this out officially as a matter of OPM policy or program intent?
It doesn't seem to me to be an accurate reflection of the promotion
potential for most organization's PMFs.

The program would certainly be of interest to the broader PMF community.
Deadline for application is December 8th.

The salient points from the Federal Times article:

"Many agencies have their own executive training programs, but most focus on
developing line executives for mission-specific programs unique to their
agencies, said Ron Sanders, OPM's associate director for strategic human
resources policy. By contrast, OPM's program is designed to develop leaders
with a broad base of management skills who could be hired by any agency.

OPM views Fed CDP as the final rung of a three-step training ladder to the
SES. First comes the Presidential Management Intern Program - revamped by
OPM in the past year and renamed the Presidential Management Fellows
Program - which is for employees with leadership potential who are between
five and 10 years away from entering the senior executive corps. A component
of that program, the Senior Fellows Program, serves as the next rung in the
ladder for midcareer managers about three to four years away from joining
SES. The final step is Fed CDP, tailored for upper-level managers who are
within two years of becoming a senior executive."

The full article can be found at:

http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=503266

OPM's page about the CDP is located at:

http://www.opm.gov/ses/fedcdp/

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

David Radcliffe
Secretary, PMAG
board at pmag.org