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SUPPORT OFFICER S CONFERENCE (Sanitized) 19 SEPTEMBER - 21 SEPTEMBER 1971

Document Type: 
CREST [1]
Collection: 
General CIA Records [2]
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
76
Document Creation Date: 
December 14, 2016
Document Release Date: 
November 12, 2002
Sequence Number: 
9
Case Number: 
Content Type: 
AG
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Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 04000030009 Approved For Release 2002/11/ 0 : CI DP84- 07T w - ff~a., 0110 4~11u. " v , pproved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009- Approved For Release 200SL111/2Z CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Support Officer's 19 September - 21 September 1971 Report of Panel 1A Panel Topic - Planning for the Future of the Support Directorate 1. What should be the role of the Support Directorate? Alternative goals and objectives? 2. What policy adjustments and practices are required to raise the level of innovation and change in the Support Directorate? 3. What is the scope of legitimate dissent and how can dissent be made functional to the Support Directorate? 4. What will the impact of technology on the Support Directorate's management and administrative systems? 5. Current management literature is replete with references to organization development (OD). What is OD and does the Support Directorate need an OD program? I. General Comments This was the first Support conference for the Headquarters area in seven years. The timing was excellent and most appropriate. Discussion and understanding was needed badly among the many support officers of different grades, ages and experiences. We have many new junior personnel with new ideas and in some cases old ideas being repeated. In any event all were worth dis- cussing and considering. We are faced with heavy cut backs in both personnel and money. Additional efficiency is essential if we are to continue performing our responsibilities effectively. For the first time in the history of the Agency we are losing large numbers of personnel through retirement and we are seeing many new faces coming up from below. This gave us all a chance to compare notes and prepare for the future. The Panel system Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Mir, Approved For Release 2002/11/20.: CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 was an excellent platform to get to know, intimately, a limited number of individuals with varying backgrounds. The social periods throughtout the conference added to this by expanding not only the discussion subjects but the individuals involved. Undoubtedly we all feel a much better understanding not only of the career service but of those new individuals who will carry the burden in the coming years. II. Panel Report A. Our Panel discussions, although at times heated, were extremely beneficial and in the end all agreed on not only the items to be covered but wording of those items. There were no minority positions to be presented. In the following sub- paragraphs the various breakdowns will be listed with comments about each. B. Role - To provide a highly professional management capability and to develop and execute effective administrative systems in support of CIA. Our panel felt that some statement of the role of the DDS was essential. We felt this, as developed, expressed our very reason for being and deserved a separate posi- tion opening our discussion. C. Goal I - Improve the professional image of the Support Service. There was a general consensus that the image of Support Directorate personnel and their abilities was not good. Often the personnel are considered second-class citizens in the operation of the Agency even though many of our support personnel are equally or better qualified than those being supported. Objective 1 - Participate in substantive decision at all levels. We do not expect support personnel to be making substantive decisions vis-a-vis agent acquisition, targets, intelligence reports, etc. We did feel that the support officers should be involved in such decisions from theirinception. It may be that support capabilities could alter some of these decisions but most assuredly support will be more thorough and more complete if involved from the very beginning. Objective 2 - Upgrade professional skills. It will be necessary to determine what we have now in the way of support skills and then decide what is necessary for the future. We'may have to train our own people or we may have to recruit certain specialties. There should be a mix in the various skills. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release O?(.lI 0 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Objective 3 - Continue to argue for a program of cross- fertilization. Cross-fertilization in a limited fashion now takes place but for the most part among very senior officers. It would be to our advantage if mid-career and possibly junior officers could be involved in such a program. Objective 4 - Control support positions in other directorates. Possibly this particular point would not have received as much emphasis were we not concerned with a 5% cut and a grade roll back. Problems are created as, for example, DDP partially reduces its T/O by cutting support positions. The DDS is faced with an even higher than 5% cut since these persons from DDP are transferred back to the Support Directorate which is already faced with its own cut. If the DDS cut concerned all support positions reductions could still be carried out through coordination between directorates but DDS would not be required to take additional cuts. D. Goal II Create an organizational environment that encourages innovation and change. We felt that one of the tremendous weaknessess of the present system was very poor vertical communication. Some way must be devised to let various management levels know what other levels are thinking. Objective 1 - Formal recognition of creative efforts in the evaluation process. Many individuals make efforts to suggest changes or question procedures. Whether these suggestions or questions are good or bad the individual should know that they are appreciated. Good ideas should receive recognition on the Fitness Report, in a letter of commendation, as a QSI, or in some other form. The fact that ideas are being presented and good ones are being accepted should be made public so that other persons are aware of such action. Objective 2 - Encourage candor between colleagues. Colleagues in this case include not only an individual's peer group but all of his associates. We had the feeling that while many dis- cussions take place often the junior person does not feel com- pletely free to make his deepest thoughts known. Complete candor is essential and is possible only by building trust among individuals and groups throughout the organization. Objective 3 - Legitimize dissent as a functional proposition. The question of whether or not dissent is legitimate seems to bother certain individuals. We feel,with certain exceptions, it is and should continue to be legitimate. It must be accepted Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20.: CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 and must be available to the decision making level. This will increase the number of choices therefore decisions will improve. Objective 4 - Provide alternate channels wherein new ideas can be surfaced to the decision making level. In this case we con- sidered formally organized groups representing a cross-section of the service who would discuss ideas upon request or of their own concern. There would be a direct line to the top. Some of these considerations would be in the form of dissent and some ideas and suggestions. Such organizations (i.e. Management Advisory Group) should be made up olf middle career and junior officers but not necessarily in the same group. Objective 5 - Evaluate organizational development (O.D.) as a management tool. I do not think it necessary to go into detail on this point. OD is a management tool or-process which is, most assuredly, an improvement on older management methods, however, whether we use this or some other equally acceptable tool is immaterial. The basic need is for better management at all levels. OD should be considered as a method in working toward that goal. E. Goal III - Increase directorate effectiveness in support of CIA. We discussed this goal and all of us realized it could easily be our number one goal or, for that matter, could have been considered our one single goal with all other points in support. The Panel decided that this should be Goal III to give proper emphasis to Goals I and II. Objective..1 - Continually evaluate administrative systems and redesign as necessary. On this point we wanted to emphasize the need to not only look at and consider various administrative procedures but to find some way to re-evaluate such procedures periodically. Such actions are essential atthis stage of the Agency's life with the increased need for efficient operation. Objective 2 - Insure optimum use of financial, human and technical resources. Tied in with Objective 1 this emphasizes the need for efficient and effective use of our human and monetary re- sources and the need to channel as much work into the technical field as can be handled efficiently. III. Conclusion One interesting point which first surfaced during the presentation of Panels lA and 1B and seemed to continue through the conference was the similarity of approaches and ideas determined independently Approved For Release 2OQ2/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11120 CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 W rk -. l~ A 6 Sy } by separate panels. Though there was limited disagreement with some of our positions not only during the initial presentation but later in the conference we had the feeling that with rare exception most groups of support officers with views and ages similar to ours would have come up with about the same results. This seems to indicate that we have hit upon at least some of the problems facing the Support Directorate. Speaking for myself and being sure that the Panel would agree with me I think the conference was an extremely valuable exercise. I had misgivings about the panel approach with predetermined subjects but I am delighted with the results. Possibly if there is another conference within the next 12 months the approach should be somewhat different to offer a change. For this conference the results of our 2 1/2 days were excellent. There should be no question in anyone's mind that some type of periodic conference in the Headquarters area is a most valuable tool in our future management and planning. 25X1 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 29 September 1971 25X1 MEMORANDUM FOR: I Chairman Agenda Committee SUBJECT : Report from Panel 1B The following summary is based upon the panel dis- cussion and ideas which were generated around the topic of "Planning for the Future of the Support Directorate". Participants in our group included: 25X1 Chairman, Panel 1B .25X1 25X1 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 GOAL: The overall goal of the Support Directorate and Support careerists should be to develop a more active role in the policy making of the Agency. This would entail a movement away from the traditional reactive role of the Support Directorate toward an initiative, participatory role. Visualized on a continuum, our current role is between reactive and informal consultative. Our future role should be participation in formal policy making: INFORMAL FORMAL CONSULTATIVE POLICY PARTICIPATION OBJECTIVES: In light of this goal, five major objectives were identified. They were: 1. View the Agency as an interdependent system. 2. Integrate managerial policies and programs into a overall strategy. 3. Formulate a plan to evaluate and expedite change. 4. Involve DDS upper management in Agency policy making. Involve Support careerists in Directorate policy making. 5. Reevaluate the current DDS personnel management "systems". Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 TECHNIQUES: The following proposals were suggested in order to achieve Panel 1B's Goal and Objectives: 1. Develop overall program planning - if rational decisions are to be made, we must undertake ob- jective analysis of probable costs and effective- ness of alternate courses of action. The current trend of task-oriented programs must be converted to a comprehensive approach to meet the current obligations of our Directorate and Agency in light of future requirements. This must be conducted both an intra- and inter-Directorate basis. 2. Centralize all support people/slots/funds in the DDS - if our Directorate is to be responsible for the support of the Agency, we must be given the overall authority to effect this support. The other Directorates have clearly delineated functions which are their specialties. If we are to be the Agency's managers, our Directorate must have this same responsibility/authority relationship. 3. Formalize means to evaluate and implement dissent - while there are institutional means to convey and resolve personal complaints, no such mechanisms exist for suggested improvements and disagreements with current policies. Some type of Junior Officers Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Panel or Advisory Group could resolve this need. Part of this function must be a two-way channel between management and the suggesters. Notifica- tion of feasibility and implementation must be fed back to the originator. 4. Utilize Technology - as a means to reaching more informed decisions, management must understand technology's benefits and limitations. While ADP is normally viewed as technology, the concept also includes personnel management techniques, e.g. or- ganizational development. Technology can assist the Support officer to do a better job with reduced resources, but we must anticipate and plan its effect on our traditional role. 5. Interaction and review of career panels - before any long range planning can be undertaken, the limita- tions and inconsistancies of the career panels must be remedied. At the very least, panel criteria must be reviewed and standardized to insure the equal evaluation of all Support professionals. This could be accomplished by having all the panels submit their actual weighted criteria to a group of panel chairmen, the CMO and other interested parties. This group would draft a Support Directorate criteria for the DDS's approval. The output of this process Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 would then become the standard for all DDS panels (subject to approved particular exceptions). COMMENTS: Additional observations which were developed in the panel included: 1. DDS upper management must be freed from the daily minutia so that they can devote their talents to' the broader policy questions. 2. The DDP Ops Support/Non-official cover concept is a challenge to the traditional role of the DDS. 3. The Support Officer is?more respected as a pro- fessional in the non-DDP setting. 4. All too frequently, a reduction of slots equals the elimination of Support slots. 5. In the DDS there is more widespread information on the workings of DDP panels than there is on DDS panels. 6. Given the current managerial changes, this might be an opportune time to propose a more active role for the Directorate. CONCLUSION: In an attempt to unify our Goal, Objectives and Techniques, Panel 1B suggests that some comprehensive approach be uti- lized to assess our current position, develop an overall strategy and assist in its implementation. Based upon Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 our knowledge and understanding of the organizational Development approach, we believe that this could be the means to achieve our vision of the future. Since change is inescapable, what we must do is learn to manage it. Growth and survival can not be taken for granted. The same methods, procedures and principles which were successful in the past are no guarantee to future success. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 SUMMARY COMMENTS SUPPORT OFFICERS CONFERENCE 19-21 SEPTEMBER Panel 2-A The Support Career Service: A Critique of the Current System and Recommendations For its Improvement There were eight subtopics identified for discussion by this panel. During the panel meetings we attempted to handle each subtopic separately, however, because of the overlap in the substance of these subtopics it was impossible to treat them as separate items throughout the panel discussions or in our formal presentation. Likewise, this summary will group related subtopics. Subtopic I Is the "S" Career Service a valid concept for the challenges of the 70's? The more significant and obvious challenges of the 70's. were summarized as follows: 1. With declining numbers of positions throughout the Agency the Support positions will be highly vulnerable and as usual subject to extreme pressure from all direc- torate managers to reduce this built-in overhead. Hence, a major challenge will be to justify. and defend the need for general support officers in all components. We anti- cipate a move on the part of some directorates to preempt support positions and fill them with their own "managers". 2. The basic support functions will remain, however, there will be a decreasing number of field support positions not only in the "S" career service but in the sister support services. Hence, the support officers in field stations will be required to assume and perform the functions of logistics, personnel, security, without specialists from these offices. Result will be a need for filling the field positions with flexible, well- rounded support generalists. 3. The panel agreed that the "S" career service is up to the challenge of the 70's and should remain the mechanism to staff Agency-wide support/admin functions. However, to preserve the integrity of the Support Career Service in the face of manpower cuts in the directorates will require thoughtful and aggressive statement of our case and will not be justified on the grounds of emotion or compassion. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Sub-topI cs II, III, V and VII What does the concept of "a competitive merit system" entail: does our current system meet the requirements? What is the role of the career service panel and how does it function? What are the criteria for advancement in the service and how are they communicated to its members? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the current ranking policy? Without going into great detail on the concept of a "competitive merit system" we did agree that the essence of the system should be fair and unbiased mechanism for making major personnel decisions (i.e., promotion and assignment). We agreed that our current system appears to be working well but that there is room for considerable improvement. A. There are segments of the Support Career Service that are not competitive nor have they been treated as competitors in the system. The records officers and the information processing personnel carrying "S" designees, are really not in competition with the normal support generalists and these personnel have been managed on an ad hoc basis. Some hard decisions are needed on how to fit this category of specialists into the "S" career service structure. After considerable discussion we concluded that the best we could hope for would be a subpanel of the "S" career service although ideally we should seek a new career service mechanism which would broaden the base of these specialists (now in the "S" career service) to include all records and information processing personnel within the Support Directorate and hopefully the Agency. B. The ranking criteria used by the panels is not generally known to the members of the career service. The two handouts on this subject appear to cover the generally accepted items for personnel evaluation, however, there :was a strong feeling on the part of all panel members that this criteria did not state what is apparently the three major considerations in ranking. That is, age, time in grade and overseas experience. There was general agreement that these items should not be a significant criteria for ranking but that unfortunately they appear to be. Panel Recommendations for Sub-Topics II, III, V and VII: 1. That it be made a clear statement of policy that ranking criteria, in order to make it compe.titive)should exclude considerations of age and time in grade. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Panel Recommendations for Subtopics II, III, V and VII (cont'd) 2. Our present system lacks the capability to identify and rapidly promote our really outstanding officers. There are a few outstanding young officers in our service, we must be able to identify them and move them to positions of responsibility. There is no apparent reason why our service should not now have a 30 year old GS-15 and a 32 year old GS-161 We had it in the past! We should have it nowl 3. Concerning documentation used by the panels in their ranking process: A. Utilize five years of fitness reports rather than the current practice of only three years. B. Supplement fitness reports by having the panel members contact rating officers when desired. C. A copy of fitness reports prepared or reviewed by the individual being ranked should be made avail- able to the panel in order that they may better judge an individual's performance as a supervisor and a manager of personnel. D. The anonymity of sub-panel membership should be retained. E. We should continue to exclude promotion recommenda- tions from the documents reviewed by the panel during the ranking exercise. 4. Every effort should be made to ensure annual rotation of panel members, recognizing the limited number of Super Grades available for duty on the Support Opera- tions Panel, this may be a problem. However, member- ship in sub-panels can be appointed to ensure each annual ranking exercise is managed by "new panels." 5. There is a serious question as to whether or not "part- time" panel members have sufficient time to devote to the "ranking-exercise". Admittedly the numbers being ranked are small in comparison to DDP, however, reviewing FR's and bio profiles on 135 officers in Grades GS-11 through GS-14 represents a significant task. We there- fore strongly endorse the use of sub-panels to rank 11's and 12's and recommend sub-panels be established for ranking GS-13's. We also suggest that panel members be "relieved" of current duties one to two weeks during the ranking exercise to ensure that they have sufficient time \oedtrioxcha,Ae12.002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 -4- Panel Recommendations for Subtopics II, III, V and VII (cont'd) 6. In anticipation of a need for a fair and equitable "selection-out" procedure, rankings should extend from the top to the bottom. We should adopt DDP policy of advising those personnel in bottom 5% of where they stand and provide counselling services in an effort to improve their performance or prepare them for "selection- out." Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Subtopic IV How adequate is the communication between the Career Management Officer (CMO) and all the members of the Career Service, e.g., on vacancies, personnel policies and general career service matters? This panel and indeed every one at the conference, agreed that the present CMO is doing an outstanding job in communicating commendable! However, there is simply too much that needs to be communicated to handle on a person-to-person basis. We recommend more use of the written word to define policy, procedures, as well as "news" of the "S" career service personnel changes. Issues that should be made a'matter of written record and communicated to all include: "open-door" policy and frank responses to all queries is with "S" careerists on.a person-to-person basis. A. An explanation of how the present panels are constituted and the instructions they receive as ranking criteria. B. Advise on an individual basis the results of the annual promotion ranking exercise. At least to the extent that an individual is told he is in the top 10%, the middle 80% or the bottom 10%. In this regard, individuals should be told the total headroom available at their grade level and the total number of promotions effected in their grade level. C. The relationships, formal and informal, between the sub- panels, the Support Operations Panel and the ADDS and DDS.. D. A bulletin or monthly newletter from the CMO announcing all personnel promotions and assignments. This should be extended to the field if possible. In the past this type of news has been distributed in a variety of ways, i.e., the DDS office heads meeting, the SSA Support Officers meetings and informal memos to support officers. The CMO should be charged with undertaking this type of communication and ensuring that each member of the service receives a copy of what has to be said. E. Regarding vacancy lists, we suggest that prior to requesting individual submission of the annual Headquarters Reassignment Questionnaires, the CMO circulate to all a list of anticipated vacancies for the following year. In making this recommendation we recognized that the 25X1 Approved For Release 2002/11/20: CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 system makes it extremely difficult to forecast vacancies and they are always subject to change, however, whatever information is known should be made available. F. The panel also recommended that HRQ's be submitted through command channels in the same manner that FRQ's are now processed. G. There was unanimous agreement that the Support Officers Conference be made an annual affair even if it means scheduling the conference over a weekend on our own time. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 SUBJECT : Support Conference, Panel 2B. Recommendations In outline below are the principal recommendations presented at the Support Conference by Panel 2B. 1. Management and Career Development a. Every key position in the S Career Service (not necessarily those associated with high grades) should be reviewed to deter- mine the qualifications and experience needed to fill those jobs as they become vacant through retirement or other reasons. Concurrently, a comprehensive review should be made of the personnel inventory in the S Career Service to determine present qualifications and experience and the future training and work experience necessary for those officers who will be filling these key positions. b. Officers qualified to fill key positions within the S Career Service will be those who have had a variety of work and training experience on a regular rotational basis, including headquarters and field operational support assignments and headquarters staff positions. Too often, for example, support officers are allowed to spend the greater part of their careers in operational support duties, thereby omitting headquarters staff assignments wherein essential management and planning experience for future key assignments could be obtained. c. A minority within Panel 2B strongly recommends that the Support Directorate take steps to gain control of its positions overseas and elsewhere within the Agency. Unless this vital step is taken, career and directorate development, through planned assignments and training, will be stifled. d.?. Consideration should be given to the designation of a Career Development Officer for S careerists. This individual would assist the Career Management Officer in his duties and plan for appropriate internal and external training and assignments that assist the career development of S careerists consistent with the needs of the service. Alternatively, greater attention to career development of S careerists could be given by the Staff Operations Panel or designated subpanels. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 .SUBJECT: Support Conference, Panel 2B Recommendations e. The Support Directorate should plan and administer its own internal training program for all members of the directorate. OTR could be utilized in the presentation of the various courses, but the determination of the type of courses, and as much as possible, the selecting of the courses should be a function of the Support Directorate. a. Position vacancy lists should be provided to S careerists describing positions becoming available and their appropriate dates. b. To assist headquarters in its planning for future assignments of S careerists, job and rotational preferences stated in FRQs and HRQs should be made binding on the individual unless he has a valid reason for requesting last minute changes. For example, an individual who in his FRQ requests rotation at the end of three years should not be allowed four months before rotation to request and be approved for a fourth year in his present assignment without a valid reason. Such valid reason would not be that the Chief of Station suddenly decides that he wants the support officer to remain. This recommendation will also facilitate the publication of vacancy lists noted in a. above. c. S careerists should be scheduled for periodic group meetings by grade level (at least annually) with the CMO to discuss such matters as promotion prospects, assignments (including training), and the rating system criteria. Panel 2B recognized that communication is a two-way street and that S careerists also should initiate contact with the CMO whenever there is a significant change in their personal situations that appropriately may be brought to the CMO's attention. 3. Rating Process a. "Specialists" within the S Career Service should be afforded equal opportunity for advancement along with other S careerists in the "generalist" category. This may require reserving promo- tions exclusively for these specialists so that they will not be forced to compete for the same headroom with the generalists. Perhaps, those positions within the S Career Service that are informally designated as specialist positions should be reviewed Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SUBJECT: Support Conference, Panel 2B Recommendations to determine if they all are truly specialist positions and whether or not some personnel occupying these positions could be rotated into other assignments that could broaden their experience and increase their versatility. Likewise, certain generalists could be rotated into specialist positions, such as in Records Management. b. Rotate members of the Staff Operations Panel to provide for a complete turnover of personnel every three or four years. c. Consideration should be given to making the CMO chairman of the Staff Operations Panel. d. Continue the subpanels of the Staff Operations Panel, and es- tablish subpanels to rank S careerists of the same grade. Sub- panel members should be two grades above those being rated. e. Subpanel members should be rotated yearly to avoid having the members rank the same candidates for promotion each year. 4. Lateral Entry a. S careerists should be chosen mainly from among personnel already assigned to other career services within the Support Directorate. Minimum reliance should be placed on the CT program for candidates to the SCareer Service. This will allow the Support Directorate to evaluate the work performance and interest of candidates in the S Career Service before they are chosen. b. Perhaps, as with the earlier practice, the S Career Service designation should not be given to officers below the grade of GS-13. Selected junior officers could be rotated in and out of their career specialties to fill vacancies at small overseas posts and to perform other support generalist duties elsewhere in the Agency while retaining their P, F, L, etc. career designations. This procedure would provide an even better opportunity to evaluate performance and interest in a career as a support generalist. Careful attention would have to be given early to career planning for younger officers in the Support Directorate who show promise of becoming capable S careerists. Chairman, Panel 2B Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET PANEL 3A Chairman, D THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF THE SUPPORT OFFICER We recognized, as a Panel, that the 70's are going to be lean years. Less people and money but with basically the same types of functions. How can we assure ourselves that we can meet the challenge? We must make the most of the personnel and money that we have available to us. Although we now find that our personnel requirements are not great in numbers we, of course, must address ourselves as to how we should choose our new personnel, and the type of training needed to give them the tools to accomplish their jobs. On passing we will also attempt to present an image of the Support Officer and we will address ourselves to executive potential. We will end our presentation presenting some few recommendations to the senior managers in the Support Directorate. The needs of the Career Service are paramount. What are these needs? What are the guidelines to fulfilling these needs? Nowhere can we find a set of norms that tells us there is a method of selecting and training a Support Officer. We unanimously agree that there should be some guidelines established within the "S" Career Service that will incorporate some of the thinking developed, through dialogue, by members of this panel. Approved For Release 2002/11/20: CIA-R Excluded from aatomatic dawnzradina nne Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET Selection In In the past,. the needs of the Service were satisfied by the utilization of the CT program and by the use of the lateral entry system. As many as 50-60 CT personnel entered the "S" Career Service at one time and because of this we find we have head room problems for the first half of the 70's with the second half offering some little relief. With the tight situation facing us for the next decade, we do not believe we can afford the luxury of participating further in the CT program. RATHER, we should actively seek lateral transferees from within the other DD/S components, other Directorates, other government agencies, and in the private business sector if this is our only recourse. The needs of the Service come first. If we have to have a particular type of individual, we should include lateral entry up to the GS-14 level. However, for the purposes of this discussion, we recommend lateral entry at the GS-9 level. The individual should have about 25 to 30 years of work experience ahead of him. At this grade and age we would expect the individual to have a specialty under his belt in one of the sister career services; i.e., Finance, Logistics, Personnel, etc. The individual should have a degree in either business or public administration or equivalent on-the-job experience in a specialized type job. In this instance we are looking for expertise and believe with a concerted effort on the part of management we can find the types of personnel we are looking for. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 2 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 SECRET The prospective "S" career candidate should have the necessary educational and social levels comparable to those officers he will be expected to support throughout the Agency. He must have a genuine interest in being involved in Support- type matters; in being a housekeeper, if need be, and clearing the way for the functional and technical specialists. We want a leader; one who fully understands the missions and functions of the Agency and Directorate and one who will seek to accomplish these goals. The individual should be made fully aware of the types of jobs he will be performing: the good and the bad. The individual should have a genuine interest in people. He should help other people to get ahead and also understand their problems. He should be able to express himself orally and in writing and have high values-and ethical standards. He should also be an action man, a doer; not one who sits around and complains. Lastly he should be honest, mature and responsible and be willing to work harder than the people he is supporting. Be humble! For as long as we are Support Officers, we will be taking direction from someone else. We are always responding to someone else's requirements. Selection Out! We interpreted this to mean to give to management a tool, or mechanism, which could be developed to identify those individuals in the "S" Career Service who become stagnant and are referred to as deadwood. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 3 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET This mechanism could very well be copied from other career ,services by identifying the lowest 2 or 5% in the panel rankings for each grade level. If appropriate, the individuals in the lower rankings should be encouraged to retire, voluntarily. Look to see if the individual could revert to a specialist role within the DDS, even if training is required. If this is not possible, shop the file throughout the Agency or if this fails, look to involuntary retirement. Lastly, prepare necessary papers and dismiss him from the Agency for cause. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 4 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET THE CAREER TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR THE SUPPORT OFFICER Assumption - Initial selection of an "S" careerist presumes that he will have 25 to 30 years of service prior to retirement .and an educational background or equivalent experience in public. or business administration (EOD GS-09). The career training program we propose would be based on an ideal progression and would be comprised of four training parts: EOD Career Provisional Mid-Career Rotational Executive Provisional EOD Training One week, the first, should be a familiarization with the emphasis on the role of the Support Officer. One month on-the-job Services orientation (one week each Security, Commo, Medic, and Training). Three months on-the-job Resources orientation (one month each Personnel, Finance, Logistics). Three weeks miscellaneous (one week management course; one week ADP familiarization; one week records familiarization). One month Directorate familiarization. The EOD training program would also take advantage of applicable OTR courses which could be scheduled as appropriate. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP 4ei0deiaa~'aatfattc 00030009-8 dasagrading and { I ~' ) daal ~aslfl~ai~aa Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET The second phase of training for the "S" careerist (career provisional) would comprise about 5 years of his employment. During this period the candidate would be enrolled in appropriate component training; e.g., DD/P Ops course or maybe a writing workshop in DD/I. Part-time language training would also be undertaken during this period. The third phase of the employee's training, the mid-career phase, would comprise approximately 5-20 years of his career and would take the employee up to the GS-15 level. In addition to the formal mid-career course, courses in advanced management are recommended and the employee would be encouraged to continue his language study. The employee would also be considered for senior service schools, which this panel considered as required and not as an optional requirement. The fourth phase, executive provisional, would comprise about the 20th-25th year of the employee's career, up to grade GS-16. In this phase we would emphasize executive development and management training programs. Look to Harvard, Stanford, Pittsburgh for outside the Agency programs. Look also to inter-Agency training programs; i.e., Department of State, Civil Service Commission, and Department of Agriculture. The first four phases, hopefully, would lead to the executive assignment at about the 25th-30th years of the employee's career. These assignments are as Director and Deputy Director of Support Services and other appropriate super-grade assignments. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 2 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET The suggested periods of training for each of the training phases are not as important as the concept of outlining career progression for training and developmental purposes. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 SECRET THE IMAGE AND EXECUTIVE POTENTIAL OF THE SUPPORT OFFICER Administrator or housekeeper? Probably a combination of both. At a small station overseas, early in his career, the Support Officer will be involved personally in housekeeping type of chores. Junior officers will tend to get involved more in this type of Support but it will diminish as he progresses in his career. The individual himself has a lot to do with what kind of an image he portrays. If he has learned along the way, he will convince his supervisors that he is truly a mana- ger. This can only be done by demonstrating to those we are supporting that we can assist them in getting their job done in a more effective way. To insure that this image can be maintained, the panels should strive to match the individual's personality, skills, and other qualifications as much as possible to the individuals he will be supporting. We all agreed that Executive Potential is elusive. It can be recognized and is done so now but more or less on an informal basis. The Fitness Report does point out those individuals who have this quality but not in a very positive way. Our consensus of opinion is that the Fitness Report, or attachment thereto, should provide the vehicle for rating the Executive Potential of "S" careerists and should be addressed to all individuals in grades 13 and above. The FR should be reviewed by a senior "S" careerist closest to the individual being rated; e.g., Chief of Support, should be rated for Executive Potential bptp @Gf Foj5R Qabt$0 120: CIA-R P OO C-110C-11011 Z~.' 8OR 'I OD 000030009-8 rip-1 tltl 1 n}1' ~.61 fti q U YI fl Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 SECRET RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Formalize hiring procedures for new and lateral entrance into SUPPORT Career Service. 2. Establish mechanism for the identification and selection out of bottom 2 to 5%. 3. Match man, personality, and skills to the job to be done. 4. CMO compile and maintain detailed job description for support positions world-wide. 5. Formalize long-range training program at EOD. 6. FR's to be reviewed by "S" careerist and comment made on Executive Potential. ceoir I Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : C PI 4AO*Wr6 R004000030009-8 ET 7downgragIng and , ssi#isa4fon SECR Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 LU i 6ud'tII L PANEL 3B REPORT "Professionalism of the Support Officer" The panel considered as the first part of this topic, the defi- nition of a Support Officer. It was the panel's feeling that the Support Officer is essentially a manager who coordinates the use of his person- nel toward relieving line management of administrative duties. The means to accomplish this end should be responsive team effort. We did not consider the Support Officer as a housekeeper. We felt that he needed "nuts -and -bolts" abilities and that there was certain low-level work, which was titled "donkey" work, that existed and needed to be done. In many cases it was the Support Officer who had to per- form these functions. Essentially, the thrust of the discussion was towards improving the image of the Support Officer; certain means were suggested. The first means would be to remide the Support Officer not to function as a "cop". He is not a policeman, he is there to guide and counsel. Secondly, he should join the management team and participate in de- cision making. Thirdly, he must show resourcfulness and imagination in accomplishing the goal of his unit, office, or base. Fourthly, we ~--~F-~r A4~AA Approved For Release -i/iWj..iil7pl4-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release M0211114, PIA- RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 IAL "Professionalism of the Support Officer" Page Two felt the Support Officer has to find his place and develop his role on the management team. We acknowledge that the Support Officer's role would vary by who his chief is, what the time frame is, and him- self as an individual. Finally, we felt the Support Officer has to bal- ance integrity with humility. The panel spent much time discussing the qualifications for entry into the Support General career Service. We felt that there were a number of intangibles that had to be considered. The first of these is versitility, followed by his attitude. We used attitude to mean the ability to accomplish the job needed in the proper time frame. The panel also felt some people have an inherent talent and interest for managing. Their ability can be refined, but not instilled. People with this ability should be chosen. The panel also felt that anyone entering the Support General career service should have a specialty or functional background in one or more of the support disciplines. The Support Officer should also have a breadth of interest so that he can see all ramifications of a problem and is able to perceive what must be done. Finally, the panel considered that a degree at the Bachelor level is desirable. The degree requirement generated much discussion on the part of other participants at the Conference; many feeling that a degree is unessential. Approved For Release 2002/ 1/20 : CIA-_RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 O6 ~a DE V Y V1 ~L Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 iUL I iAL "Professionalism of the Support Officer" Page Three The panel considered that there are two basic problems fac- ing the Support General service at the present time. One is finding meaningful jobs for junior officers and the other problem is filling certain of the lower graded overseas jobs with qualified individuals. To this end, we suggested certain levels in the professional life of the Support Officer. The first level would be that of a trainee. The trainee would be around a GS-10 and below level. He would be drawn from a functional office, assigned on a rotational basis, and would retain his functional career service designation during this trainee level. By using these rotational officers for the junior grade jobs, we feel openings would exist in the functional offices to allow assign- ment of present junior graded Support Officers for a two to three year tour so that they could gain some specialty knowledge. The second professional level would be that of a journeyman. This would com- prise Support Officers in GS grades 11 to 13. At this point, the offi- cer would join the S career service. Entry would be drawn from his functional offices, in most part, although direct entry would not be ex- cluded. Entry would be based on assessment, qualifications, and the Approved For Release 2002 ffl0 1 Approved For Rele? e.3992/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 H-HDEN DIAL "Professionalism of the Support Officer" Page Four need for more career officers. The final level would be that of executive, and these would be Support Officers GS-14 and above. The panel felt that by distinguishing Support Officers into various levels, the staffing of lower graded jobs would be solved and that a home for the present GS-10/11 Support Officers would be found. Further, the problem of overkill, where overqualified Support Of- ficers are assigned to junior jobs, would be eliminated. By this method, the Support services would have an opportunity to properly assess and select future Support Officers and, thereby, would not be faced with the selection out dilemma. We saw two problems in. our approach. The major problem being available ceiling, and the other, time required on the part of the trainee. Training for the professional Support Officer should be geared to the professional level. The panel saw trainee training as being a function of the parent career development training program. It was also suggested that prior to an overseas assignment to a more general job, the trainee be afforded job introduction on a rotational basis to other functional offices. We also felt that an OTR training program utiliz- ing role planning for a two to three week period would be beneficial. Approved For Release 20 1 ri rrrAfo78oRoo4oooo3ooo98 ro ~0 E. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 IAL "Professionalism of the Support Officer" Page Five Finally, on-the-job training, possible in a DDP Support Staff, would be helpful prior to an overseas assignment. As a journey- man, the Support Officer should attend the Trends and Highlights Course. He should also be considered on a selective basis for the Mid-Career Executive Development Course and the Advanced Manage- ment Planning Course. We felt at this point in time, consideration should be given to external training at the managerial and executive development courses offered by various Universities. We see this type of training as strengthening an individual's managerial analysis ability and allowing an exchange of ideas with industry participants. This would be viewed as mind-expanding training, not training for expertise knowledge. At the executive level, the Support Officer should be considered for senior schools. The reason for this would be discipline training; discipline in writing, thinking, and gaining an overview into other problems. Finally, we felt that language training was essential for any overseas assignment. Language training should be at least the courtesy level. The term executive potential was an elusive term to the panel. We felt that an executive is one who is able to bring a large team to- gether to accomplish a given task. We felt, also, that potential should Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 it L Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 "Professionalism of the Support Officer" Page Six be defined as the ability to see beyond the problems at hand and a willingness to solve these problems. It is the ability to perform at a higher level and to utilize sharp judgement. The Support Officer' s potential for executive level jobs would be assessed during the senior journeyman level. Executive ability should be hightened by the ex- ternal training mentioned and by rotational assignments, giving him the breadth of background necessary to assume the various senior jobs in the Support services. The inter-Directorate exchange program into non-support type jobs was not a favorable idea to this panel. We felt that it was not useful when the exchange was into a substantive discipline area, as it is doubtful that either the Support Officer or his career service would gain from this experience. However, where jobs exist that a manager is needed to pull together at the senior level, we feel the exchange program could be beneficial. Examples of these types of jobs would be an executive officer or a planning officer. The panel offered that the exchange program should be used when it is of mu- tual benefit to -the organization, the office, and the individual. Acting Chief, Support Branch OSP/DD/S&T Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 r- r 7' , Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 MEMORANDUM FOR: Chairman, Agenda Committee SUBJECT Support Officers Conference--Panel 4A Report PANEL 4A CAREER MANAGEMENT--WHAT IS OUR CURRENT SYSTEM AND WHAT SHOULD IT BE? 1. Our first order of business was to examine the modus operendi of the Staff Operations Panel. It was our concensus that the Staff Operations Panel is an effective and necessary managment tool. However, to perhaps enhance its present effectiveness, we would like to offer the following suggestions: A. More Frequent Rotation of Members We realize that this is a problem because of the grade requirements and number of those .available, but would it be feasible to lower the grade requirement to GS-15? Also, a member could serve more than once but only after a break of two or three years. We feel that the rotation of members would possibly. encourage new and fresh ideas to the panel on a continuing basis. B. Wider Base of Representation We feel that every directorate should be represented. For example, no one from DDS&T sits on the Panel Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 C. Ranking Subcommittees This has been an excellent innovation and we recommend its continuance. We feel that the Subcommittees should be rotated and that all available information, including the official files, should be made available to them. D. Vote for the Career Management Officer We feel that the Career Management Officer, more than anyone else on the Panel, is in a better position to evaluate us, and therefore should have a vote on the Panel. Subtopic 1: The "needs of the Service" versus the individual's aspirations; what degree of personal choice can the Career Service afford? It was the concensus of this panel that we must never lose sight of our mission, but at the same time we can't afford to just overlook individual desires. The two must be aligned as closely as possible. We feel that this can only be accomplished through a strong Career Development Program. To do this, we must strengthen the cultivation of our Support Careerists both on and off the job. At the present, the CMO is somewhat prohibited from fulfilling this important aspect of career development because of the various hats he wears. The same holds true for the Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Assistant CMO. Therefore, it is suggested that a Career Development Officer'3(CDO).job be established under the cognizance of the Career Management Officer. The CDO would be responsible for: A. reviewing Support Careerists records in order to evaluate possible areas of career development both on and off the job. We must seek to eliminate the connotation that everyone is his own training officer and that the "squeaky wheel gets the oil". B. Serve as an advisor to the CMO on matters of assignments and career progression. C. On a regularly continuing basislreview current assignments and career plans with Support Careerists and to identify problems which will limit assignments and training. D. The strength of our Career Development Program will determine managements degree of flexibility with regard to individual aspirations. We realize that management reaches a point when the "needs of the service" must be met and that directed assignments are a necessary management tool. Subtopic 2: What adjustments to current policies are necessary in order for the Support Directorate to make effective use of young, professionally trained generalists equipped with new ideas and management techniques? 1. Establishment of a 10-year Norm. Based upon the premise that the ideal Support Officer should be someone with a wide range of experience, Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 both at Headquarters and in the field, plus a solid framework of Agency training, the Career Service should proceed to establish "norms" which would apply and begin with young support careerists upon EOD. The norms for experience and training should not be so formal as to constitute a career plan but which serve as a guide to the Staff Operations Panel. We feel that this planning should cover roughly a ten-year time span. We suggest the following as a proposed norm for experience and training: A. Experience. 1. Two tours outside the Headquarters area, three years of which is at one post overseas, but no more than 6 years in toto overseas. 2. Headquarters tour on a rotational basis in either personnel, finance, logistics, or security. 3. Headquarters tour in DDI or DDS&T. B. Training 1. CT training for certain individuals 2. Intelligence and World Affairs 3. Basic Operations Course 4. Field Finance and Logistics Approved For Release 2002(11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 5. Supervision and Management Course, 6. Support Services Review 7. LangUage training as appropriate 2. Establishment of Third Support Support Officer in Larger Divisions. Some of the larger divisions of DDP would be ideal for the establish- ment of assistants to the Support Chiefs. 3. Establishment of Junior Advisory Panel Although.we did not completely thrash out, there was evidence from Panel 4A that there would be problems identified, but that the techniques for solving them would be few. In this vein, it was hoped that perhaps a junior panel of some type could be charged to explore these identified problems and perhaps recommend appropriate changes. Subtopic 3: How can we overcome the deficiencies. of our current assignment and job rotation policies? 1. Publish current policies. 2. Publish what vacancies are available. 3. Notify potential employees. 4. Insure effective and productive assignments. 5. Eliminate rotation for the sake of rotation. Subtopic 4: How can we better reorient the returning field officer to the Headquarters operating environment? 1. Better communications to the field regarding matters concerning our career service. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 -5- Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 2. A minimum of six months prior to the return of an employee from overseas we should be able to tell him where he will be assigned and to what job. 3. Training a. Clandestine Service Review Course. b. Support Service Review (Trends and Highlights). Subtopic 5: Is our personal rank assignment policy being abused as a management tool? We feel that there are two sides of the coin/ regarding PRA's. Good Side: A. Competitive evaluation B. Cover crisis situations. Bad Side: A. Holds back promotions B. Keeps the qualified employees in lower grades from filling higher positions. C. The list of PRA's is growing fast. We must either upgrade those positions or fill them with personnel in the grades called for. Subtopic 6: What are the problems associated with the management of specialists who compete within the "S" Career Service? We felt that the specialists must be ranked,-if for no other reasons, identity and morale. Approved For Release 2002TAT20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Perhaps periodic rotation of assignments with personnel in the generalist field would help the ranking of the specialist against the support generalist. Subtopic 7: Should the performance evaluation of the support generalist continue to be totally delegated to program officers not responsible to the head of the "S" Career Service? We feel that in order to maintain the internal discipline necessary, the rating of support generalists by program officers outside the "S" Career Service must continue. We must satisfy our customer. Summary : It was the concensus of our panel that the conference was a success. People suddenly became aware of things that they really haven't given much thought to in the past. II-was also evident to us that there must be appreciable evidence by management that identi- fied problem areas are being looked into and that results, negative or positive, are passed down to us. I hope that we have not conveyed to you that all is bad, because that has not been our intent. This is a good Career Service and it is rewarding to me that we are seeking to better still improve it. Thank you for the opportunity of participating and the experience I obtained in chairing Panel 4A. I -7- Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 found it very stimulating and rewarding. On behalf of Panel 4A, _8- Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Appfod; For Release 2002/11/20: CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 5aaitrskpyy,*`~~ utp a}s? j~, e a 9"Y. `%;L iwL.Y F ^41~fli~m{MbYeA ~ i~li~ ~ it ld w 28 September 1971 MEMORANDUM FOR: Chairman, Support Conference Agenda Committee SUBJECT Panel 4B Recommendations 1. During the decade of the 70's, the Support "Generalist must be prepared to perform an ever expanding role in responding to the administrative needs of not only the Support Directorate, but the other Directorates as well. The Support Directorate must focus upon devising a program designed to identify, develop and select highly qualified generalists to fill responsible positions of administrative management throughout the Agency. 2. Members of Panel 4B visualize the "S" Career Service as forming the basis for a manpower pool of high quality professionally trained and experienced managers. Equipped with modern day managerial tools and techniques through continued participation in the educative process and well-rounded in job experience and knowledge through rotational assignments to all Directorates in generalist, functional and specialist duties, the "S" Careerist of the 70's could be looked toward to fill many of the administrative management oriented positions existing in all components of the Agency. To this end, we submit the attached recommendations for consideration and additional study. 3. To insure continuity of the dialogue and the reasoning underlying our recommendations, we urge that at least one member of Panel 4B be assigned to any group convened to pursue its recommendations. STAT Approv !,%;,; P8 7 ~Q 000030009-8 4u;ld~fal~J:,S.Ya ~r' E`; . _ ~a ~.,n~:L ??t*a+;,,, t:sutir-. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 r In Panel 4B Recommendations 1. Devise and implement an organized Career Develop- ment Program, under which the Career Service and the individual - in a participative process - could determine immediate and long-range career goals. a. Identify administrative management oriented positions, irrespective of functional office or Directorate affiliation, that may be filled by qualified generalists and centralize the responsi- bility for assignments to these positions in the DDS. b. Analyze and define prerequisites of job experience, overseas duty, education and training for these positions. c. Establish standards for progression in assign- ments and grade, with emphsis upon inter-directorate and intra-directorate rotation, continued education and training, and familiarization in functional and specialist assignments. d. Devise - in broad terms - and communicate alternative patterns of career development - in terms of these prerequisites and standards - that would allow for knowledgeable career direction and decisions, which would meet with both the needs of the service and personal preferences as to timing and location of future assignments. e. Require performance evaluations of all "S" Careerists to be reviewed and commented upon by an appropriate senior Support officer. f. Provide opportunities for all grade levels to participate in Directorate decision making or decision recommending bodies. g. Initiate positive action to resolve the current PRA situation, to return its use to its proper role as a management tool. ~~yd~9C d JS NN t r. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 177 01; T ~ILY 2. Investigate the feasibility of an inter-functional and intra-directorate management career service at the senior level. 3. Review the State Department's Macomber Report for applicability of its conclusions and recommendations to the "S" Career Service and the Support Directorate. Approve f Q 112 iffi. jW.84 f 8 4 j00030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 '21 September 1971 CONFERENCE WRAP;-UP by Approved For Release 2002/11/20 ; RIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 Mr. Coffey opened our conference (on Sunday, 19 September 1971) with a discussion of why we are meeting, and I think he called the turn when he said he hoped that we would bridge the gaps caused by the dispersal of our Support Officers and open up informal communications. He especially mentioned giving the younger officers a chance to be heard. Well, I think we all agree that they have had that chance and have taken full advantage of it. At the same time, I think that they have had a chance to hear the view of their older--not necessarily wiser, but older--colleagues. We went on from that after I description of our conference format, and Bob Wattles gave us a thoroughly informative rundown on the Career Service PMMP for the 70's. We learned that things will be a lot tighter for the next several years but over -all the picture wasn't as bleak as we all feared. The opportunity (provided by this conference) to have an impact on personnel planning for the 70's appealed to us all. (After this introduction) we started with our panel work, of course, and we had our first panel report yesterday afternoon. The theme of the conference was participation and dialogue and I think we have had that in full rewarding measure. As I proceed I hope I won't overlook too many of the significant recommendations that have been made, but should I do so please realize that each of the panel chairmen has agreed to provide me with a written report on what was agreed to in each panel, so there will be in the raw material for the final report of the conference a clear statement of each of the recommendations made. We guarantee that each of those w recommendations will certainly be in the final report and will go forward to top management. Inevitably, as I structured this (I hope) brief report, comments that were made later in the conference came to mind as I was thinking about the things that were discussed first off. I'll talk about the four subjects in the sequence in which we heard them, but there will be a certain amount of cross reference to items which came up later and I hope I don't leave out too many of the significant points of cross reference. Approved For Release 2002/11/2l`.(D(AR(]84-0078OR004000030009-8 L_ %J Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 jillrl~L 2- 25X1 On the subject of the future of the Support Directorate, perhaps a significant thing to mention is a fact that pointed out: the two workshops, without collusion or coordination, arrived at sets of proposals that were amazingly similar. One spoke in terms of goals, the other in terms of objectives; one in terms of objectives under the goals, the other in terms of techniques, but the basic themes of both reports had to do with the same subject. Panel A wanted to improve our professional. image and spoke of Support participation in substantive decisions; Panel B spoke of integrating managerial policy and involving the DD/S upper management in Agency policy making. It is basically the same concept being discussed here. Dissent was one of our topics and we put it into practice as we had our discussions. A number of people said they presently do participate. 25X1 I remember Imtiking the point that he has very :fine accesss and feels that he is fully a participant in the planning process. The panel. countered these several comments about participation as it does exist by saying it's perhaps not enough to rely totally upon the ability of the individual to build a place for himself; we need some form of institutionalized access to the planning process. Again to show the cross talk, there is a legitimate question that was raised about how much we can legislate this sort of thing, but the need has been explored in some depth here. Both panels felt we had to have control over our Support positions and we had a group go over that again this afternoon. The concern expressed by Mr. Wattles over the fact that we budget by component and thus may have problems of effectively bringing about such a change was answered in part 25X1 by I who pointed out that our ground rules on budgeting are largely internally adopted. We do recognize there are some practical. problems here, but this is one thing that has come up again and again in the conference- -some way or other, if we are going to be able to plan our future as a directorate we need to be able to know what positions we are talking about and what jobs we'll be staffing. H. G. 's remarks on the complexity of the assignment mechanism have a bearing here. We agree that we can't and wouldn't want to cram officers clown the throats of unwilling Chiefs of Station or, if we are talking about Headquarters assignments which will perhaps be more numerous in years to come, we don't want to force people into jobs where they are not wanted. At the same time it is clear that some form of consultation is going to be necessary even if we should be successful in obtaining control over these individual positions. 25X1 An idea repeated by the first two panels had to do with the creation of an environment to encourage innovation. I think we all would agree with ho made the point that it's clear at the moment we have ample evidence, in the existence of this conference if nothing else, that Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-00780R0,04000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20: CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 25X1 25X1 we have a top command which is willing to look for new ways to communicate. It's not afraid of innovation. We're talking to them at this moment about change in a climate which encourages new ideas and innovation. However, the panel which addressed this specifically in our agenda felt that we needed formal recognition of the individual officer's creative efforts in the process of evaluating his performance and that we needed to find some way to institutionalize access to the top management. Related to this, because we are talking about access in order to bring about change or play a part in that change, we had considerable discussion about dissent and we seem to tie this to communications ---effective communications up and down within the directorate. We have agreement that we have communications but that we need more and better structured communications, up and down, not just on career matters but on matters of management concern other than those involving personnel. The panels called for a formal means of evaluating and implementing dissenting views and during a session at the bar one possible way of bringing 25X1 this about came up in discussion with Bob Wattles and and several others. Suddenly Wattles turned to and said "Maybe you should be our program management officer" and we all applauded. I was briefing Mr. 25X1 Coffey over lunch today about the way the Panel report yesterday afternoon went and when I got to this comment he said, "Isn't that funny, because as you've been talking about these other things I was thinking wouldn't that be a good role for I I' I think perhaps we have in the making the beginnings of a formalized access for all of us suggesting new ideas, new ways of doing things, to the management of the directorate. One of the suggestions that's been made is the establishment of a junior reference panel through which ideas could flow. I personally see this panel as reporting to ~f this becomes the final decision about this. I'm not trying to load it in any way but it seems to be building in that direction. On this question of dissent, I think it important that we mention again that there was general agreement in terms of the individual officer and his grievances H. G. did a fine job in providing us with all the access we would 25X1 possibly need and use, tol the ADDS and the DD/S. He is given plaudits for the way he keeps his door open and provides this connecting link on individual problems. There was an expressed, felt need for feedback from the top and in this regard we recall that Mr. Wattles mentioned the possibility of periodic meetings at Headquarters in which Support Officers would gather as, presently, Personnel Officers gather monthly to hear what the latest thinking is in their Career Service. Approved For Release 2002/11/20Ltl~ 84-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 One specific suggestion by Panel 1 which really bears upon career development matters more than on their assigned topic was an. across -the -directorate suggestion and certainly worth recor.diug. It was the idea that the evaluation panel from each of the other support offices, the functional offices, should develop and then compare their criteria for promotion, the idea being that we should work toward a greater degree of comparability in the standards being used throughout the Career Services (within the directorate). In a long discussion of Organizational Development, once we got past the fact that OD didn't mean "olive drab," we learned that it is a process of looking at the human side of an organization with the purpose of diagnosing whaf people see in their organization. I think it was who pointed out that this conference has been an effort, although somewhat untutored and clumsy, in just,that process of Organization Development. The concept of making more use of the techniques of O. D. seem to appeal to all of us. On the matter of external training, we don't have as much consensus as perhaps would be ideal and I think all of us are anxious to hear what: Mr. Coffey has to say about this point. He has participated in some of the discussion on this matter today. There is clearly a large body of thought that formal training is over. -rated. An equally vocal group sees training as good for its own sake, for mindstretching, for what it does to provide access 1:o atc:~w techniques needed to solve problems yet to be defined--and there has been in several of the discussion, the suggestion that if we are to have full pr. idee in our Career Service and have :full professional stature, we need formal education. Again, we have no real consensus here. We seem to be talking on several different levels and planes and I personally believe that it is an area that: needs a great deal more exploration. I think that perhaps we learned something interesting about practical deci.sions,regarding education and relative priorities when H. G. told us that, faced with a choice between overseas assignment and pursuing a Master's Degree, the employee who chose the Master's Degree is no longer an employee. That I suspect says something about our priorities regarding education. On the subject of a critique of the "S" Career Service, again many points were made that have come up as common threads in the conference. We heard from H. G. that he felt that his, earn had been burning throughout this Approved For Release 2002/11/20: CIA-RDt84-00780R004000030009-8 SECRE Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 25X1 conference but--and I will repeat myself--there was a clear vote of confidence in the way he handled the CMO job. The panels concluded that the Support Career Service still makes sense as a way of organizing people for the problems of the 70's, although this was left without detailed response and I have a feeling that perhaps we haven't looked as deeply as we should have done at the question of whether the "S" Career Service, as presently structured, is valid. We were pursuing that point in our discussion just a few minutes ago, asking questions about whether we ought to go back .to the idea of a separate career service at the senior management level, filling junior positions with people from the functional offices in the directorate. Again this hasn't been explored perhaps as much as it should have been but for the moment we have addressed ways of making the present system work better. The panels assumed that we had a. competitive merit system, again without really defining what they conceived of as a competitive merit system --and the Agenda Committee had rather hoped that it might get a little deeper attention than it did--but facing the question of improving the system as it stands they expressed concern for the fair treatment of specialists and pointed out that after all the number of specialists, given the development of technology,. is likely to increase. There was clear agreement that ranking criteria should be publicized. I believe it was who voiced an uneasy feeling that, even with the ranking criteria available to its from the two panels that handled the GS-11 and GS-12 rankings, many feel that age and time in grade and overseas experience play a larger part in the process than the words in the published criteria would suggest. I wouldn't suggest this as a credibility gap but we have seen, in times past, a great deal of attention paid to these factors and I think we will all be watching with. interest to see how quickly we arrive at the 30-year -old GS -15 that 25X1 suggested ought to be one of our goals. There was clear agreement we ought to continue the use of subpanels; that rotation through those subpa.n.els should be frequent; that the panels should have more time to do their work; that perhaps there should be a special panel of GS -15's ranking the GS -13's. There was some disagreement on whether the panel should be accessible to the individuals getting ranked; one group thinking that the members should be anonymous; another thinking that they should be available for consultation. The., important thing here is that we do agree that we want to be participants, Approved' For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 `i rr'CT Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 through this device, in the ranking process. One of the panels had the rather novel idea -which has been discussed before but I've never heard actually and seriously proposed in this faslion--that the quality of a man's fitness reports (those he prepares) be considered at the time that he is being considered for promotion. There are practical problems to be faced here since fitness reports end up in the files, not of the person who writes them but the.person about whom they are written. Still and all, there is something to be said for considering the way a man performs this function when you are judging him as a Support Officer. Over a very late drink on Sunday night the, suggestion came out of one group that an extension of this might be an inquiry, when a person is being considered for senior managerial responsibilities, among his subordinates to see how he is viewed e (official) h f es t by the people who report to him. That did not come out o conversation, I have to admit. However, the informal side is also an important part of the conference. 25X1 Distribution of vacancy lists was endorsed and one panel, I think it was 2a, suggested that they be distributed annually with the Headquarters g regarding the complications that you run into when you try to devise a dependable list of vacancies, but there is 'a great deal of interest in knowing more about what is available, what opportunities exist for assignment, not only in the field but in Headquarters, in the next assignment period. There was also the suggestion, which many thought had much merit, that the Headquarters Reassignment Questionnaire, like the Field Reassignment Questionnaire, ought to be processed through command channels, the idea being that the Support Officer's supervisor should have a chance to comment, pro or con, on what he would like to see done about the individual's expressed preferences. Some of us felt that this would help support the idea that an individual should be assigned for a specific period of time to a Headquarters component and not be assigned there until he grows dusty in the chair. There is a continuing interest in communications on promotions and vacancies and, although H. G. said he had certainly been trying to get this information out, he admitted that the fact that one whole panel didn't know that such communications existed was an indication that we had to do more along this line. There was also a suggestion, which has some prickles on it, ' I think, but is worth considering, that an individual, once the rankings are complete, should be told where he fits in that ranking. In discussing this today I've learned that there was further discussion about this last evening--I didn't participate in it--and the idea has been modified to suggest that the person 'should know in which third he ranked, or in which quarter. nment Questionnaire. You heard this afternoon from Reassi Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CI 00780R004000030009-8 F Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 There has been, on a number of occasions including this at*ternoon, some expression of dissent on the question of the desirability or need for overseas service. I think it is fair to say that the majority opinion here seems to be that overseas service, even at a time when overseas is perhaps becoming a little less important on balance than it used to be, is very important qualifying service for a generalist Support Officer. One panel felt that, in order to insure that people get this kind of qualifying experience, tours should be limited to two tours or six years overseas. On Panel 2, in Panel 3b on professionalism, and again this afternoon on Panel 4, the source of young officers is seen as coming largely through lateral entry from the functional offices, Personnel, Logistics, Finance, etc., but at relatively junior grades. This morning's session on professionalism focused on the profile of the professional officer and we discovered as we progressed that we hadn't had as much consensus on Monday afternoon as the silence of the audience on these points had led us all to believe. The profile suggested by the two panels included the need for expertise, perhaps through work in one of the functional offices, perhaps because of the lateral entry already referred to; education, referred to in one context as education in order to make the officer compatible with the people he is working with and working for; leadership qualities--honesty, maturity, responsibility, hardworking, resourceful, imaginative--these are in some sense "motherhood" terms but they are not insignificant as we try to define what we see the professional Support Officer to be. It seems important that he not be a cop, not blowing the whistle on people but helping to find ways to get the job done. The emphasis on the part of the panel today was on service and much emphasis on the need for humility, taking a role which isn't necessarily at all times the one which one could consider ideal. The job of relieving the line of administration ties in with this service concept. The picture emerges of a kind of Service very different from the one described by the panel on Monday afternoon. This as you know occasioned considerable cross talk. On the subject of lateral entry, I should mention that there was the thought expressed that this would solve one of our knottiest problems. 25X1 Lateral entries and the return of individuals to the functional offices for experience would solve one of the problems, referred to I think, among others, as "overkill" in small overseas stations. n in vidual, once he's done "donkey" work, is placed in an awkward position in terms of Approved For Release 2002/11/20 A- 4-0078OR004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 his own pride in his progression when he's forced to go back to a second or third post to do essentially the same kinds of things all over again. There is at all levels, as several speakers today have said, "donkey" work whether you are an 11 or a 14 or a supergrade. There is some of this in every job. But I think it is hard to argue with the idea that an individual shouldn't be forced. to taken on succession of jobs which have nothing else. There was a. suggestion that one of the ways we might make use of these officers (who otherwise would have to go back out to unrewarding field positions) is in a third spot in area divisions; obviously there are slotting problems here but it is worth exploring. The subject of the progression of the professional officer was given a great deal of attention by the panels on prrofessiona,iization. They were in substantial agreement on breaking the careers down into an EOI) or trainee phase, although one panel saw this phase as longer than the other did; a journeyman phase, which the first panel broke into two parts, career provisional and midcareer; and finally an executive phase. Appropriate training.was called for at all levels by both panels. It was significan.t. I think that the external training that was alluded to seemed to be mainly in conjunction with executive development and not in conjunction with the development of the officer as a midcareer. ist, for example. Again we got into this rather heated exchange on the subject of academic training and again I think we are all anxious to hear what Mr. Coffey has to say about that, There was difficulty in defining executive potential. We all agreed that we can't be too rigid in our selection of the people who are to be the executives of the future. Somebody used the term "stay loose" on this, but the emphasis throughout our discussions seemed to be on identifying the executive of the future and I felt that there was not really sufficient attention being given to the question of developing the executive of the future. I would like to urge that we consider that as a specific topic for our next conference, if indeed something isn't done about it between now and then. The point was made in this context that you can't develop an executive over- night with a six week course--no one, I'm sure, was seriously suggesting that you could. My only point here is that our emphasis in our discussions centered on. finding the man, not in. developing him. On a. related point., on the question of potential, somebody asked the question at what point a Support Officer became obsolescent. It occurred to me maybe that is our ultimate solution of this executive thing; we could. turn all of our obsolescent Approved For Release 2002/11 ArP84-0078OR004000030009-8 n..~ ik Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 -9- 25X1 Approved For Release 2002/11/0 p I tT'84-00780R004000030009-8 e to trained as a criterion for advancement, I may be slightly overstating 25X1 Support Officers into executives. I'll volunteer! But then we wouldn't end up with one of those 30-year-old GS-15's that wants. (But I shouldn't phrase it like that, because it isn't just something that Jim ants us to have. The concept is a sound one. We sensed approbation in the group at the idea that there has to be some way of recognizing the kind of quality that would raise a man to GS-15 at age 30 or to supergrade at age 35.) The discussion of the professional-- and I've alluded to this already- -seemed to founder finally on a basic dichotomy between two fairly definable camps here at the conference-- two basic views of what support is all about. It would be oversimplification to say that it is management versus service because obviously those who emphasize the management side realize that management can serve, and you can manage services, so it is not a black and white thing. One of the panels saw certain levels, grade levels, applying to this in sort of a vertical continuum. I don't know what the answer is, I don't know what the common ground will finally be. But I believe we need to look very hard at this question about how we see ourselves; what our image is of ourselves. Panel 4b on career management stated as their objective one which I think no one would be prepared to quarrel with: to develop a career management program to develop qualified generalists to meet the administrative needs of the Agency--not just the DD/S, the point was made, but a larger constituency, the Agency itself. Here I felt that this last panel was bringing us full circle, and we began talking about the Career Service, the Support Officer, in. terms far more similar to the ideas presented by Panel I on Monday afternoon. Addressing the question of balancing needs against personal aspirations, the present system is seen to need an emphasis on long term needs, the idea being that with planning and with such emphasis we can assure that personal aspirations will be met. Again, the idea carne up that we would be filling junior jobs with people from the functional offices, but it went beyond that at this point, to talk about identifying positions in which generalists could serve in positions other than the jobs to which we have previously been assigned, other than those now identified as "S" jobs. .They, in this context, emphasized--and seemed to be taking one side of one of our principal controversies --continual formal training of all types in order to qualify for the problems of a decade hence, and in what I thought was a rather significant addition, pointed out the impoftance of the willingness b Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 what was said by the panel but this seems to be the implication of what they were suggesting. The panel saw a broader arena than just Support and talked about "S" Careerists in management jobs at all levels and in all Directorates. And, as you know, because it is relatively fresh in mind, the panel just completed had a number of suggestions as to how to go about this. I won't repeat them here. 25X1 ,25X1 In some additional comments made by members of this final panel, a couple of ideas seem worth emphasizing again. The idea that we could be considered in due course as Chiefs of Station is perhaps a little bit unrealistic but certainly it is legitimate to prepare ourselves for the role of executive officer in almost any specialized activity. And there was a reference to the need for an image as amore rounded and qualified administrator. I think I would be remisce if I didn't refer to one of the most provocative suggestions from hat, in order to insure the quality of people working in the specialty that he is concerned with, and in order to insure that people functioning later on in positions of responsibility, creating records and manipulating records in all forms, we consider directed assignments to what he euphemistically referred to as "certain specialties. " But it may be that records in all their forms, I repeat--and here we are speaking to omments as well--will 25X1 become so important to us (the computerized records, the computerized data, the paper data) that unless we are willing to take this kind of a step, draconian though it may seem, we may be left out in the cold. I feel I can speak with a little bit more assurance on this point since I was once directed into the Regulations job, as pointed out, and 25X1 although I at first thought that this was going to be a purgatorial sort of assignment it proved to be -a very instructive one and a very appealing one when all is said and done, and I worked with some very interesting people at the same time. There was in our discussion of the last panel's presentation a good bit of expressed concern over PRA and clearly we are asking that a new look be made at the way our slots are graded. I've. already alluded to the question of how we deal with those components in which we are asked to serve. The question of who should make the final decision about where a Support Officer serves is clearly of concern to many. I think I would have to take issue withi hat we can simply direct an individual to take another individual as his primary advisor on Support matters --but clearly we need more control over the process than we have now. Approved For Release 2002/11/20 Pd2P84-0078OR004000030009-8 ~EMEI Approved For Release 2002/11/20 CIA-RDP84-0078OR004000030009-8 And there we have it. It didn't take quite as long as I feared it would. I hope I haven't left out too many of the things which each of you had focused on as the most important elements. All things considered I think we can look back on what we have done during these days with considerable satisfaction. Certainly that is my feeling. We have learned a lot about our Career Service; a lot of things that perhaps we thought we know, we found we didn't know. We've learned a lot about each other and a lot of each other's views. Some of us who have gotten too close to the grindstone have found out it can be quite refreshing to take a new and perhaps searching look at old problems. And I hope that some of our younger officers have found that there is more willingness to listen than they might have expected there to be, but that perhaps the older colleagues that they have been dealing with here have had ideas worth listening to as well. We seem to be unanimous on one point and I will speak directly to Mr. Coffey on this. We think that periodic conferences are an excellent way to augment the kind of communications that we're seeking and we are very grateful to you for having made this one possible. The possibility of repeating this sort of confrontation, however frequently seems practical, appeals to us all, even to the extent that one panel suggested that the affair be allocated a weekend of personal time to have this kind of dialogue. So we hope that you are pleased with what has been accomplished, Mr. Coffey, and we eagerly await your comments. Approved For Release 2002/1.1/?.Q-: I~ t 84-0078OR004000030009-8 25X1 Approved For Release 2QA2/11/20- CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 MR. COFFEY'S CLOSING REMARKS I wish I could be as well organized at this point as Bruce was and summarize for you the events of the two and a half days. My summary comment I think is one word--WOW. Bob Wattles, in talking to me a little bit last evening when I came down, expressed views that I can only reiterate and amplify. Let me start with appreciation, and there are numerous appreciations very well deserved: to Bruce particularly for the time and attention which he's devoted in addition to his other duties; to H. G. ; George concentrated form and with too little time, this Directorate and especially our Career Service--the "S" general Career Service. Approved For Release ?: CIA-RDP84-007808004000030009-8 NEI Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Bob Wattles and I both come away with a certain humility at the intense loyalty which has been demonstrated by one and all regardless of age, regardless of experience--intense loyalty to Support as a career and to the activities which constitute our Support work. So, appreciations are well deserved and we certainly wish you to know that they are very sincerely given. If you'll excuse me, I'll be hopping back and forth over two pages of note- book. I was sufficiently stimulated last evening when I was finally allowed to go back to my room (it was not too early) that I couldn't let it stop there. I felt that I had to try and put down some of the good thoughts that were expressed. I can't repeat all those that I thought were good because my text would be longer than you and I have time to review. If I may, I'll pick up a few points that are, I think, appropriate to mention as we are closing out this particular conference. Again, Bob Wattles said, and I can repeat for myself as well as for him, that we are somewhat chagrined to find out that we have learned some things about the Support Career Service that we didn't know. I would like you to know that we are frank in saying this. For example, this morning we heard that in our Support panels we are not ranking all the way through--that we are not ranking to the bottom of the list. I found this to be rather surprising because I remembered that not very many weeks ago I asked the Office Directors, the Career Service Heads of the functional components, as we sat in so-called executive session, to be certain that in their rankings they went from top to the bottom. I obviously did not communicate very well with the Support Approved For Rele 2jj1/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 " !d1 _ Approved For Release 2QOd2/1.~2:~CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Career Service to be sure that we too are ranking in this fashion. It appears, parenthetically, that this is essential to our dealing with problems of possible surpluses and if we are to achieve our new size in terms of total number of positions that are available to fill. It has been suggested, urged, asserted, that this is an ideal time, if indeed it is not too late, for us to be examining ourselves. Certainly we've done so, if only very very preliminarily thus far, each day at this conference. As someone put it last evening, there is upcoming a significant adjustment-- perhaps several adjustments--in the power structure of the Agency (which may be stating it a bit strongly). It is more than appropriate, therefore, that if we have any ideas for adjustments in the role of Support this is a good time (perhaps a bit late though) for us to be attempting to arrive at conclusions about a restructured Support role. I would say, I would recognize and I would acknowledge a signal which came through very loudly--we all would have to grasp the idea that what was one time the Agency, namely what we now call the Clandestine Service, is not now the Agency. In fact we have within the DD/S&T structure overseas what amounts, perhaps, to the most complicated Support job that we have to fill. That says something, I believe, to all of us. H. G. was good enough to tell me statistics a little while ago which indicate that we have an almost 50-50 split of the general Support Officers between the numbers assigned to the Clandestine Service and those assigned to positions outside the Clandestine Service. Approved For Rell A FT/20: CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 L . -3- Approved For Release 2002/11[20,; IA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Another point, which frankly I had not considered before but which I believe has considerable validity, is that the Support Officer outside the Clandestine Service is better accepted as a professional than he is within the Clandestine Service. I say again I had not ever really focused on that as a factual statement but I believe it to be true. There is an important message there for all of us for the future. Now in specifics, some of the points that came through indicate that we haven't done as well as perhaps we should have in disseminating infor- mation about how our panels operate; procedures; make-up; perhaps basic policy considerations that they have to use in reaching decisions and con- clusions. Certainly we are taking very seriously what you said along these lines. Nothing is set firmly and forever in concrete. We'll take seriously and we'll make adjustments as we have an opportunity to sift out the variety of comments and suggestions that were made during the several panel sessions as well as in some of the less formal sessions outside of this room. Now there has been a great deal said about the CS and the non-CS. I've said some things myself. I would like, however, to suggest that we not consider the Clandestine Service as being an arch enemy--either all good or all bad. We need to attempt a balanced point of view and what I have said earlier, the statistics and some of the facts and observations, would perhaps point a way or give a reason why we shouldn't be charging the CS with everything that is bad. Approved For Release ffMrt : C IA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/1 ~0~ ~IQ-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 We have, I think, some semantic problems. I think we have demonstrated these a couple of times in the panel discussions that I have heard--professional- professionalism, manager- -managerial. I think we haven't been necessarily clear, all of us, on what different individuals have meant when using these words. As we look to the future, it seemed to me that it rather boiled out that we may well be facing, or perhaps what we should be considering, is a two- panel or two -level kind of Service. There is really no management career service in the'Agency--I believe I will not be challenged on that although we, perhaps, come as close to it as anyone else, but we have a managerial future, and we seem to have somewhat of a mechanical future as well, in terms of types of positions we are trying to describe as we are looking ahead. If you will excuse me for going back to the Clandestine Service terminology, we have a little bit of the Admin Assistant versus the Support Officer, It may well be .that we can't get from one to the other in a logical, single career service progression. I am sorry that Bruce was anticipating that I was going to have many things to say about external training. This is one subject on which frankly I haven't focused particularly. That we need training for the professional officer, for the executive to participate in training such as the Senior Schools, Harvard, Cornell, Pittsburgh, I would hope we would all accept. That we need additional training in some of the things, for example, would 25X1 Approved For Release r Rf_: CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 -5- Approved For Release 2M241/,0 CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 suggest if he were still here, such as management seminars and conferences, I believe is indicated, but nonetheless perhaps first we need to decide for sure that that is the direction we are positively going to go -going to be able to go. I personally think that it is the right direction. If you will let me off the hook. on training at that point --. As I mentioned on Sunday, the problem that faces this Career Service is dispersion, and as we wind up today I find that word written in large capitals. Once again, we have achieved a certain amount of momentum here in these relatively few hours. I think we would all agree that we would like to see the machine, once it is pushed off of dead center, continue to show some movement. I find the prospect of each of us going back to his currently assigned niche and having again to focus on the papers that have built up over these couple of days in the in-basket and the stack of calls hanging from whenever you left, disturbing. I find that dispersion again is a major enemy of progress toward fulfillment of some of the things that we have pointed to during these hours. How can we best make sure that we don't lose out completely, that we don't a year from now find that we had a conference last year, and yes it was interesting and yes it was stimulating and what happened--nothing. Or perhaps we made sure that we published a list of those people who were promoted in the meantime or something of that sort and that's about all. I didn't hear all of the' discussions as to how the continued movement might be maintained. Suggestions, Approved For Releasegr(t : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 -6- 25X1 Approved For Release 2002///1111//2~0,:iFIIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 I gather, have been made as to how we might continue an agenda committee kind of thing with adjustable membership and that we might convene periodically, quarterly, semi-annually, and that we might have some kind ,of a written note sheet which would move around in the Headquarters area. One of my concerns is that I think we've only noted some problems noted some areas in which we haven't necessarily arrived at a consensus of the need for study and action. I would like to see us be able to have a mechanic for identifying ways of taking those that have been identified in these days and has made the point a number of times that this can only be the beginning and we couldn't expect to arrive at very weighty and final, completely staffed out, completely thought out conclusions. Before we quit I would be interested in your ideas so that perhaps as we leave today we could know that we are going to have a group or something or we are going to have another meeting now or three months from now at which we will come back at the same type of problems. I would prefer that we not disperse and then try desperately to catch up to get started again at some future time. There has been plenty of talk about communications --up, down, sideways- and on the slant- -again the worry is how best to keep the finger on the pulse, the ear to the ground. I was a little worried when Bruce used the word dissent (six times I think he said it) in his wrap-up. I hope we don't have that much. Opportunity for some kind of interface or interrelationship or confrontation if that is required--how best to go about this --I didn't come away with a sense Approved For Release ~/ I : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 25X1 25X1 25X1 Approved For Release 200/ 11/2Elt-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 that we had mechanics in mind and perhaps this is one of the problems that we need to talk about. Maybe that's one of the ones that should be put relatively high on the list. Do you agree--that there is money to be made-- to keep this ball rolling? An idea suggested perhaps in this latter connection is that we should create in the management of Support a management advisory group of some kind. An idea that I had talked about a little bit was to have a relatively youngish Support MAG- -I am not so sure that we should limit it to a junior Support Officers panel but perhaps that we should take a broader cut and have management advisors who don't necessarily have to be under age 30. Here again I don't come away with a feeling of consensus on this point. In summary I think I am going to suggest to you that I believe that we have opened a few doors at least a crack and I am anxious that we take advantage of this fact by establishing some mechanics which will ensure that we gain a payoff on the deliberations of these days. I would like some ideas if you don't mind spending another minute or two. Perhaps you feel that you already have these down and if so we can scratch that question. s here. I would like again to thank him for his attention and use of his facility. As always Tomes out with full marks. Bill, I don't know if you have any final points that you want to make as we leave. If you have anything we would be glad to hear it. If not, I will come back to this other question. had a few words to say but they were inaudible on the tape.) Approved For Release-200 CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 Approved For Release 2002/11/20 : CIA-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8 JLUttLI Now, are we going to do anything other than designate as whatever the title was that Bruce made up for him? 25X1 I "I would suggest that after you get your report that Bruce and the Chairmen are getting together to identify some of these specific areas or certain pieces of strong recommendations or stand-out recommendations, that you might appoint a separate panel, and again I suggest that this run the gamut of a cross section of grades on each panel, to study some of these specific areas and to come up with some recommendations to you as to what might be done to implement these points. " Reaction- -Did everyone hear what he said, we should try and designate people to work- -we have already had a couple of volunteers I might say to write definitions of the ideal Support Officer in 1981 which I formally accept. Are there any other thoughts on this business? Should we try and get together in three month's time, in two month's time or six? My own suggestion and my own thought would be that we should do it shortly here. I presume that things like implementing suggestions about panels--we are just going to go ahead and do those that we can sift out as having practical application and an ending rather than some of the larger and longer term items that need to have more time than a relatively few hours than the panels have had to wrestle with them. I declared the thing open and I declare it adjourned. I do most sincerely appreciate your help. Thank you. Approved For Release 11A-RDP84-00780R004000030009-8
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