TRAINING AND PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00896R000100300008-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: August 9, 1972
• Content Type: MF

AU 11SIliAIIVt - II4ItIUTAL O t UULI
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.ugust 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Personnel
SUBJECT : Training and Personnel Develop,:nt
REFERENCES : (a) Memo dtd 21 July 72 to ])/Pe)-:.s fr D/TR, same sub jec
(b) M _sitd 29 June-1 to C7's fr D/Pers, same subject
(c) Memo dtd 5 June 72 to DD/ S :fir ExDir-Compt., same
subject
ILLEGIB
1. In Referent Memorandum (a) the Director of Training suggests
the projection by each career service of probable promotees to Grade
GS-14 (from Grades G3-12 and GS-13) for two or :'cue years, and he asks
that the names of those identified be made available to OTR for enroll-
ment in the Midcareer Course. This proposal Ls a way of directly relating
mideareer training and employee potential, in rest-once to the Executive
Director-Comptroller's desired tie between training and personal develop-
ment.
2. Although there is nothing uniquely developmental about the
content of the Midcareer Course, versus some o,i:ers, the MC has the. image
of being a prestigious course for more promieir r idcareerists. As a "",V -
kind of career milestone, it also fits within the core group idea advo-
cated by the Executive Director-Comptroller. Notwithstanding., the Coors de1r, -a
mideareerists. Its fuzzy relationship to promctt_ons and leadership
planning will probably remain unclear until actiau is taken to gear the -TT tei
MC to a systematic process of personal and executive developmental 15'.6 [A.,
planning within the career services. All of us concerned with personal.
019-
development are of like mind in wanting to improyvre the selection of
candidates for the Mid-career Course and to make the training more rele-
vant to. their future utilization and progress. We are equally interested
in tightening the linkage between training and personnel development in
other areas of training. How to best go about this objective remains
the basic question.
3. In the form approved by the Executive Director-Comptroller., PMMP
is a system causing career services to determine the personal develop-
mental needs of individuals with potential for advancement. fAlthoug-h
the executive development part of 11,24P is limited to employees 03-13 and
above, it could be stretched to include planning of MC enrollment 'for
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GS-12 personnel] As you are aware, the .I''2iP process requires the
career services to identify developmental actions needed by individual
careerists,, encompassing a wide range of training and assignment possi-
bilities, and to combine them into an annual training and assignment
developmental plan. Moreover, the Executive Director-Comptroller has
advised us of his wish to include in the now Annual Personnel Plan
information concerning haw individuals are selected by the career ser-
vices for different types of training and what results are obtained.
These two processes, P;?5fP and the Annual T ereonnel Plan, in combina-
tion provide an integrative approach and a resource for linking P
selections to personal developmental needs and checking on what happens
thereafter.
4. As a first .step, I should brief OTR's representative on training
and personal development re the details of fl21P. I should also work
with him on items to include in the Annual Personnel Plans of the career
services relative to the use of 2a and other training courses as develop-
mental tools. Since the Executive Director-Comptroller has already
endorsed the P 4P and APP approaches, I think it would be inappropriate
to develop a new system, interrelating probable promotions and partici-
pations in the Mideareer Course. I also foresee a number of difficulties
in using this approach. Since the lac},. of a causal relationship between
promotions to Grade GS-14 and ,14C participation is generally acknowledged,
the establishment of a policy forcing a direct relationship between the
two is apt to result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not all those iden-
tified as prospective promotees would necessarily achieve this recogni-
tion within the time frame indicated, but promotion guesses of the career
services would certainly be presumptive. Even if no publicity were given
to the lists of prospective GS-14 prornoteea, formulated as an incident
to MC participation, it is likely the grapevine would pass the word.
With rumors afloat, M participation could be popularly construed as an
automatic promotion, with all the adverse effects on morale this might
create. This system also could create practical pressures in the career
services to reserve the limited number of promotional opportunities
available at the Grade GS-14 level for midcareerist trainees, thus inter-
dicting the promotional consideration oi' other qualified personnel.
Career service panels and boards also would be beset by problems in
trying to competitively decide upon the relative merits of employees for
promotion if one group of qualified individuals already "had a leg on" as
prospective promote as, providing 'they did not fault along the way. The
promotability and executive potential of mid-officers are separate judg-
ments that should be periodically made and continually re-examined by
the career services. We should take no action that might jeopardize the
promotional process or create uncertainties about the equities of the
system.
5. The second principal issue raised in Reference (a) is the
decision of the Director of Training not to increase or decrease the
enrollment of core courses, pending a response to Reference (a). I can
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appreciate the Director of Training's reluctance to do this, in the
absence of a clear indication concerning the numbers of people that would
be involved in future runnings of core programs.. Yet I find it difficult
to support advance quotas. As the Executive Director-Comptroller notes
in Reference (a)., we need to establish detailed procedures by which
attendance at courses can be considered and scheduled in the context of
tour ch?auges, home leaves, etc., requiring the closest liaison between
. Trainin , Personnel, and connand channels. These factors and others
will be considered in developing the format of the Annual Personnel Plan.
At the same time we should focus on other issues of concern to the
Executive Director-Comptroller, amsong them the following; identification
within each career service of training objectives and goals; estimated
numbers needing training and reasons therefor; actual results obtained;
and the extent to which training and developmental needs are met.
6. reference (a) lists the existing OTR courses that would go
together as a core of courses (ISA, Grid, Supervision and Management,
Mideareer, IAS and Senior Seminar). Noting that two of them are in the
field of management training, the Reference indicates OTR is expanding
management coverage in most others. This is a desirable development, but
it will not meet the proposal in the Executive Development paper that a
management applications course be developed and given to employees in
Grades GS-13 and GS-14 with judged potential for executive positions.
This idea was presented at the Director's Annual Conference as a part of
the Agency's new Executive Development program. Its submission was
largely based on the view that training incurred by individuals over a
period of several years does not meet their priority needs for management
traiali; experienced immediately prior to assumption of senior or executive
responsibilities. Such training also would serve as a resource for eval-
uating the relative capabilities of competing candidates for executive
positions. The developmental value of a management applications course
would be enhanced if the course content were fairly comprehensive:
starting with managerial effectiveness and goal-setting; ranging through
information sciences, interpersonal relationships and team work; and con
cludir with coverage of the more traditional functions of management
such as aupnrvision, planning, directing and budgeting. Not only should
the particular timing of this kind of management training facilitate high
payoff when applied to executive candidates, but practical discussions and
applications of the course content within an Agency context should add to
its probable utility.
7. The following are observations concerning issues raised by the
Executive Director-Comptroller in Reference (c).
a. The decl.sl.on whether to expana core courses ana decrease
others should be made after completing theI*1!P process. Most
1 . 1 pr care_ ices could.'ba._ t _ _ rith re, ibillty for completing
their list of GTR requirements by December 1972.
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b. The Executive Director-Comptroller expressed an interest
in the establishment by OP of personnel records that show how the
participation of employees in courses strengthens them and improves
their qualifications for additional assignments and responsibili-
ties. We have previously tried to statistically identify significant
relationships between training and employee performance, with limited
success. Some of our most able senior officers have had limited
training, and some of the best training profiles are held by those
who have not fared so well. I believe the proposed system requiring
Career Service Heads to periodically account to their Deputy Dir-
ectors on their programs of training and personal development is
the more promising approach.
SIG HM
STATINTL
Distribution:
0&1-Arise
2 - PS
STA
OP/P&C/PS jnan (8 Aug 72 )
TINTL
Chief, Plans Staff
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t MORAItIDT.' M FORz Executive Director-Comp troller
5 MAY 1972
SUBJECT i Briefing Information on i:xecutive Development
for the Director's Annual Conference
1. In accordance with your reguestp I have prepared a
eu uary of the salient points covered in the earlier submission
of an executive development proposal. I .-?Iso included in the
Briefing Sheet some comments relative to the importance of
quality leadership in appreciation of tra fact that leadership
is listed as a topic of discussion in 4-hc Conference Agenda.
2. As noted in the Agency's Executive Development Plan,
primary reliance should be placed on the 2ersonnel Movement
and Management Process (i1,24P) as modified to, simplify its
provisions and to sharpen the focus or or..erging problems in
the career services (attached). Because of the significance
attaching to this material, I think it ito?zld be appropriate to
acquaint the Deputy Directors with the ens,sential changes that
have been made in the MIP Program since their original en-
dorsement.
Isparr3r 13". 7151jar
Harry B. Fisher
Director ?f Personnel
Distribution:
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1-ER
2 - DDS
2 - D/Pers
2 - OP/PS (1 w/h)
STATINTL OP/P&C/PS:-: jmm (3 May 72)
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BIIEFI1G PAPER ON LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT
The Need To Improve the Executive Developmental Process
-- For over two decades, businessmen, psychologists, educators and Federal
administrators have given special attention to ways of improving the
quality of organizational leadership. In some businesses executive
selection and development have become the first priority of management.
Many approaches and innovations have been tried. Today, it is generally
acknowledged that executive development in the Federal Government has
had limited success. This comment also generally applies to industry.
Although no simple set of leadership predictors or single method of
developing leaders has yet emerged from all of the agonizing, theorizing
and experimenting that has occurred over these past years, the search
goes on. Emphases are changing, however. For example, previous concen-
tration on lists of executive traits (some have exceeded 200) has given
ground to the growing realization that successful executives are unalike
and do different things, requiring different attributes and experiences.
Moreover, rapidly changing technology and cultural values pose new dimen-
sions and challenges, importantly affecting the, selection and development
of leaders. The current development of leaders and potential leaders
should include exposures to the human and informational sciences as well
as to traditional management functions, e.g., directing, budgeting and
controlling.
-- The growing importance and urgency attaching to executive development are
attributable to a number of reasons:
-- One is the growing complexity of the leadership role. Effective lead-
ership is primarily the maintenance by the executive of a successful
relationship between himself and his subordinates. It is a relation-
ship in which the head sets the program objectives and priorities and
provides the proper climate for challenging work; and it is a rela-
tionship in which his subordinates understand the objectives, find satis-
faction in achieving them, do the work and make at least some of the
decisions. In this sense, I am sure you will agree that CIA, as most
other organizations,. has a way to go.
Another reason for seeking to improve the quality of leadership is
the dilemma that organizations face in managing the conflict between
the need for leaders to specialize during their careers but be know-
ledgeable of several fields when they become managers. It is apparent
that officers picked for leadership usually owe their selection to
individual prowess in ascending a rather narrowly prescribed vertical,
functional ladder. It is equally apparent, however, that preparatioii
of an individual for executive responsibility can best be achieved by
exposing him to several areas or disciplines that will later fail
within his purview as a leader. The need for career broadening of
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candidates. with leadership potential helps to explain persistent
efforts to,use"mobility and rotation as principal methods of execu-
tive development.
-- A third reason is a growing, awareness that organizations can no longer
rely on the old adage "cream rises to the top" as the basis for
selecting leaders. Almost automatically, a hierarchial system will
.produce enough people to fill executive vacancies, but experience has
shown the process'of choosing a quality or superior leader is a time-
consuming exercise, entailing the observation of several candidates
under stress, in a variety of developmental situations.
-- Mature organizations facing an accelerated large turnover of executives
within a few years are especially affected by problems of leadership
quality and continuity; e.g., China. Even if no vacuum in the top lead-
ership is expected, the continuing departure of other senior officers
throughout the organization can have many disruptive effects unless
systematic plans are made for their replacement.
-- No list of reasons for effective executive development would be complete
without mentioning the dominant tone -- good or bad -- that leaders set
throughout an organization. Their attitudes, effectiveness, style,
openness and work habits largely'determine the general mood and work
approach of others. Optimum leadership effectiveness, is a key to optimum
organizational effectiveness.
Federal Program for Executive Development
-- The President, CSC and 0MB have declared executive development to be a
major goal in improving the quality and responsiveness of the Federal
Service.
-- Five Guidelines have been enunciated for the establishment of an executive
development program throughout the Government. Although not intended to
be prescriptive, objectives of the Guidelines are to be observed, with
approved adaptations, by all agencies. Timetables for implementation
have been prescribed; and the CSC has been given 'responsibility
to approve the developmental programs of individual agencies and to later
evaluate their effectiveness.
-- The previously distributed paper on executive development contains a basic
approach for the Agency to implement a program compatible with the Guide-
lines. The following are comments on the applicability of that paper
to the Guidelines:
-- High level of organizational commitment: The Agency plan calls for
the Executive Director-Comptroller and*the Executive Committee to
establish the policy for executive development, approve systems for
uniform administration throughout the Agency; and receive information
on results of the program for evaluation purposes.
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-- Development, Plans: The Agency plan agrees with.the Guidelines that
executive dpve.lopment must be tailored to individual needs, and it
embraces the concept of developing executive incumbents (supergrades)
and raid-managers with high potential,(GS-13 and above). It also
agrees,that the number of officers to be developed must be related
to the amount of expected turnover in executive positions. The Agency
plan, however, offers a system of individualized planning and a com-
pilation of their identifiable developmental needs into training and
assignment inventories, rather than advocating the formulation of
individual career plans. Previous Agency experience with this approach
suggests that they are often unrealistic or incapable of implementation.
-- Mobility Program: To date, the Agency plan does not deal with this
difficult problem. The Agency is obligated, however, to establish
some kind of mobility program to meet the Guidelines and the desires
of the Director. The significance of this issue has occasioned its
presence on the agenda as a separate item.
Training Resource Utilization: This Guideline emphasizes the impor-
tance of relating training facilities to develo
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"~- ,e individualized plans. The Agency plan calls for the increased manage-
4~ r went training of mid-managers with high potential in a course featurili
g
discussion and application of a wide range of. management theories and
=1" techniques; e.g., human relations, information sciences and traditional
of training and development, including the use of training core progrsms
and validation of training effectiveness.
-- Program Evaluation: An action plan will be prepared later.
-- Throughout the Guidelines runs the central theme that effective executive
development depends upon the establishment of a system and structure for
projecting executive turnover and developing a suitable number of candi-
'dates with high potential. The Agency plan recognizes the essentiality
of process, as well as appropriate policies, by advocating the continued
use, after modification, of the Personnel Movement and Management Program
(PMMP).
-- As endorsed last year by the Executive Committee, PMMP serves purposes
other than executive development. For example, it traces future turnover,
and it provides for career boards to look at each careerist in terms of
his advancement potential in future years. Evaluation of the promotional
readiness of individuals in Grades Gs-13 and above is an important element,
however, in identifying mid-officers with high potential -- clearly -a
prerequisite to individualized developmental planning.
-- The Office of Personnel simplified the PMMP process after its first
running to meet various suggestions of the career services and to better
achieve its intended purposes. The following are the main changes pro-
posed by the Office of Personnel preliminary to using this mechanism in
implementing an executive development program in the Agency.
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'Within each career service, project the amount of turnover in Grades
GS-11,. and 'above and the promotional readiness of each careerist-GS-11
and above to advance one or more grades during the next three years,
instead of during'a ten-year period as was formerly required.
-- Provide better guidances to~-the career services concerning the items
of coverage in their annual Career Service Situation Reports, rela-
tive to the most pressing problems expected within the next three
years.
-- As of 30 September, the Agency is obligated to report to the CSC on
several aspects of executive development. Preparation of this report,
presupposes that the Agency will have accomplished by that date inter
alia, the identification of mid-managers with high potential, the prepara-
tion of in lvidual programs for those so identified,'an3 the establish-
ment of mobility assignments (job rotations, task force assignments,
details, interchanges, etc.). Meeting these objectives within the time
allotted is a formidable task. It requires implementation of the Agency
plan, including PMMP, throughout the Agency at the earliest opportunity
and the establishment of career service inventories of developmental
training and assignment experiences identified for individual careerists.
Review of the plan and the modified PI4P (copies are available) are
necessary first steps in meeting the prescribed timetable.
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