PMF - Presidential Management Fellows

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Training and Development

PMF Leadership Development Program Overview

As you embark on your two-year journey as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), we welcome you to participate in the Presidential Management Fellows Leadership Development Program (PMF LDP). The PMF LDP is designed to give you a cohort-based developmental experience that prepares you for future leadership in the Federal Government. The PMF LDP curriculum helps Fellows to identify the values they hold and how those values can lead to making a difference in the Federal Government and in their role as civil servants. Through self-assessment, intensive small group discussions, team challenges and their professional individual development plan (IDP), Fellows will be guided through critical leadership competencies and have opportunities to demonstrate their learning.

The PMF Program Office has partnered with OPM’s Center for Leadership Development (CLD) experts from the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), The Lab at OPM, and the Process & Performance Improvement Program to provide the PMF LDP. To learn more about CLD and the educational courses offered, please go to https://leadership.opm.gov.

The PMF LDP is designed to take place over a participant’s 2-year fellowship. Fellows who participate are asked to make their best effort to complete the full curriculum during their 2-year fellowship.

Training Hours

NOTE: PMF LDP activities' mode of delivery are noted in parentheses. Optional activities are italicized.

*Hours listed are for planning purposes and subject to change. Actual instructional hours may vary based on project alignment and level of engagement. You will receive a certificate documenting the hours completed for each element of the program. Specific information on documenting training hours will be provided at the start of each training.

PMF LDP Open to All Presidential Management Fellows

All PMFs have access to this program though their one-time placement fee per PMF that hiring agencies submit to the PMF Program Office. There are NO ADDITIONAL TUITION COSTS. Travel costs may be required for in-person sessions.

Participation is at the discretion of the Fellow's agency and/or Supervisor and is strongly encouraged. For additional information, please review OPM Form 1310, the PMF LDP Participant Agreement. The OPM Form 1310, PMF LDP Participant Agreement, can be found under the Current PMFs/Resources webpage. This agreement is mandatory and establishes the expectations between the Fellow and their Supervisor for the Fellow’s full participation in the PMF LDP. When Fellows register, they are required to complete the agreement and upload it to the PMF TMS via their user account before their registration will be confirmed.

NOTE: Host agencies for developmental assignments and rotations are required to allow a Fellow to continue their participation in the PMF LDP once they have started (exceptions may be made for rare and unusual circumstances such as overseas travel or other conditions that would make it extremely difficult for a Fellow to continue participation while on a developmental assignment or rotation). Initial PMF LDP communications are sent to the Fellow's personal and work email addresses. It is the Fellow’s responsibility to notify their Agency PMF Coordinator of any changes and/or updates in the PMF TMS (Talent Management System).

In addition, the PMF LDP encourages the Fellow's Supervisor and Agency PMF Coordinator to be fully engaged. Additional details will be provided in separate communications to Fellows.

PMF LDP Year 1: Leading Self

This introductory leadership training begins with a multi-day in-person course followed by monthly virtual sessions with small-group Cohorts. Fellows typically enroll in this training during their first year in the program at the first available opportunity. Leading Self is a fundamental step in the leadership journey model. Fellows will explore their personal values and develop a better understanding of how they influence one’s leadership style.

The highlight is the 3-Day In-Person Orientation and Training, which serves as the foundation of the entire PMF LDP experience. Attendance is required to participate in other formal first year program elements (such as the peer-to-peer exchanges and competency training) as well as to participate in PMF LDP Year 2 “Leading Change”.

The three day begins with a half day orientation where you will engage with the PMF Program Office team, learn about the overall PMF Leadership Development Program and program requirements, network with your colleagues, and hear from Federal agency guest speakers.

You will then spend 2.5 days immersed in a transformative leadership development experience led by faculty of the highly regarded Federal Executive Institute. The training introduces you to the values, skills and competencies required to lead in the Federal Government. Highlights include interactive sessions focused on inclusive leadership, finding purpose in service, leading with integrity, and the role of the Oath of Office and civil service. This multi-day PMF LDP is grounded in assisting a Fellow to identify the values they hold that lead to making a difference in the Federal Government and in their role as civil servants. Through self-assessment, intensive small group discussions, team building challenges and a professional individual development plan (IDP), Fellows will learn to develop a vision for something they care about. With an emphasis on being a change maker through service, passion, and integrity, Fellows explore who they are and the impact that they want to make both personally and professionally.

The 3-day training is only the beginning, and the Federal Executive Institute will support you in the months that follow to develop key competencies for emerging leaders that align with the Federal Leadership Competency Model, Executive Core Qualifications, and the Executive Order 14035 of June 25, 2021, on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility within the Federal Workforce. The program elements include:

• Monthly coaching/mentoring sessions to continue competency development (required)
• Peer-to-Peer consultation, which provide Fellows an opportunity to solicit feedback from peers about a leadership challenge (required)
• Government Leader Interviews provide an opportunity for Fellows to interview two leaders in their agency or across government (required)
• Walk-the-Talk Monthly Challenge activities allow Fellows to put into practice the lessons learned from the previous month’s competency
• Final Reflection Session (required)

PMF LDP Year 1 Eligibility and Registration

To participate in the Year 1 session, you must meet the following criteria:

• You are a PMF who has onboarded at your host agency and your appointment information is complete (e.g., current government work email address and supervisor contact information),
• You have your supervisor’s approval to participate and attend the full 3-Day session,
• The training tuition for the PMF LDP is included in the one-time placement fee; however, any travel costs and adjustments to work schedule, will be the Fellow's appointing agency's responsibility,
• Your PMF placement fee must have been paid for by your agency (you will not be permitted to attend unless payment is submitted; please contact your Supervisor and/or your Agency PMF Coordinator directly to find out if the one-time placement fee has been paid; you can also monitor this as part of your appointment information in the PMF TMS under “Financial Status”), and
• You are available to participate in monthly competency group sessions scheduled after the event.
• You should not contact the PMF Program Office to confirm eligibility to participate in the PMF LDP; please contact your Agency PMF Coordinator.

If you meet the eligibility criteria listed above, please review this webpage entirely before registering.

You will be asked to complete the OPM Form 1310, PMF LDP Participant Agreement, which is posted under the Current PMFs/Resources webpage, prior to being confirmed for participation; additional instructions will be provided during the registration process.

Registration is posted as an event on the PMF TMS. If you plan to register to participate, you must obtain supervisory approval. Each 3-Day session will have a capacity limit – Fellows who are waitlisted will be prioritized for enrollment in the following session. Also, please make sure your work contact information and home mailing address are up to date; you can check this by logging into the Apply Site of the PMF TMS and clicking on “Manage Docs & Personal Info”. 

PMF LDP Year 2: Leading Change

Prerequisite: Completion of the 3-day in-person PMF LDP Year 1: Leading Self, Engaging Others training is REQUIRED prior to beginning the PMF LDP Year 2: Leading Change. Fellows may be concurrently enrolled in the PMF LDP Year 2 “Leading Change” training while completing required elements from the PMF LDP Year 1 training (i.e., coaching competency sessions and peer-to peer sessions.

The Year 2: Leading Change training invites Fellows participate in a series of sessions to unpack the fundamentals of Change Management and process improvement methods and tools to immediately implement toward a Challenge Project capstone connected to the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) and Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals.

Each Fellow will have approximately 24 work hours over a 3 month period to work with their team of Fellows on their Challenge Project, and then present their work in front of Fellows and agency senior leadership at the end of the project period. The Year 2 curriculum is designed to help build and strengthen Fellows’ abilities in key leadership competencies such as Partnering, Flexibility, Team Building, Problem Solving, Political Savvy, and more.

Leading change involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside an organization, to meet organizational goals. As the first of the five executive core qualifications identified by OPM, the ability to effectively lead change is important for all emerging leaders. Though this training, Fellows will participate in a multi-day session unpacking the fundamentals of Change Management and learn process improvement methods and tools to identify and solve problems. The Fellows apply these techniques on a Challenge Project Capstone, where they develop solutions for a real agency challenge, selected for its connection to the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) and Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals. Each Fellow, as part of a team, works on their Challenge Project, and presents their work to their Cohort Fellows and agency senior leadership at the end of the project period. The Year 2: Leading Change curriculum is designed to help build and strengthen Fellows’ abilities in key leadership competencies such as Partnering, Flexibility, Team Building, Problem Solving, Political Savvy, and more.

"Leading Change" Training

Training is provided by OPM’s Center for Leadership Development subject matter experts. The training is structured as a series of virtual events over the duration of an approximate 3 month period. Fellows are introduced to techniques and methods they can immediately utilize to support their work engaging in Challenge Projects. Training elements include the following:

• Change Management: Applying a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change to achieve a desired outcome
• Process Improvement: The proactive task of identifying, analyzing, and improving upon existing business processes within an organization for optimization and to meet new goals or standards of quality
• Human-Centered Design: A framework that develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process

Challenge Projects

Challenge Projects are a key component of the PMF LDP curriculum.  They present an opportunity for second year Fellows to put their training in action while supporting Federal agencies with real world challenges. Challenge Projects:

• Directly support an agency to address their challenge while applying new problem solving and change management techniques, all while receiving the support of the agency relying on the recommendations;
• Feature multiple teams working simultaneously on the project, providing multiple sets of recommendations and/or addressing different components of a complex agency challenge;
• Focus on problems that do not have a single obvious answer (i.e., the solution is not clear or the choice between solutions is debatable);
• Address a complex issue that has a significant impact on Agency strategic and mission effectiveness;
• Align with the President’s Management Agenda.

PMF LDP Year 2 Eligibility and Registration

Eligibility to participate in the Year 2 training and Challenge Project consists of the following elements:

• Fellows must have completed the 3-day PMF LDP Year 1 training session (pre-requisite)
• Be in the second year of your fellowship at the start of the Year 2 training, and
• if not yet completed, agree to continue PMF LDP Year 1 work by participating in remaining competency and peer-to-peer sessions

Events Open to All Fellows

Networking Events:  The PMF Program Office will sponsor four networking events per year. These typically feature multiple speakers from various agencies speaking on a topic of relevance to Fellows. Networking events typically include opportunities for Fellows to interact in smaller virtual (or hybrid) environments. These events are open to ALL Fellows regardless of year and are optional. These sessions may be attended and counted for training hours with permission of your Supervisor.

Lunch and Learn:  The PMF Program Office will sponsor six lunch and learn events throughout the year. These events are open to ALL Fellows regardless of year and are optional. These sessions will focus on topics of professional interest to a wide range of Fellows. Topics will be based on needs and interests identified by Fellows, Supervisors, and Agency PMF Coordinators. These sessions may be attended and counted for training hours with permission of your Supervisor.

Other events and opportunities may be made available to Fellows throughout the year including some with the opportunity to receive training hours approved by your Supervisor. Fellows will receive updates on events directly by email as they become available.

Event Notification and Registration Process

Fellows will be notified via an automated email from the PMF TMS when an event is posted. Event details, registration, and automated emails come through the Events Management System (EMS) built into the PMF TMS. To ensure notification is sent to all Fellows, the PMF TMS will send an invitational email to the Fellow's work AND personal email addresses on record. Fellows may view their current appointment information (e.g., check the accuracy of their work email address) by logging into their applicant user account in the Apply Site of the PMF TMS. After receiving Supervisor approval to attend, Fellows may pre-register.

NOTE: Fellows accounts are default enabled to received automated emails from the PMF TMS; Fellows may opt-out of receiving automated emails if they choose. To confirm/edit your permissions, log into the Apply Site of the PMF TMS and click on “Manage Settings”.

The PMF Program Office will validate pre-registrations and send a separate confirmation email with additional details prior to the scheduled event. Registrations may be waitlisted or marked pending if the Fellow has not onboarded yet, the one-time placement fee is outstanding, or the event is full. Priority will be made for those Fellows waitlisted from the previous session.

Fellows should not register to participate until they obtain supervisory approval. Each agency has different policies and procedures for an employee's training and development. Fellows may need to consult their Agency PMF Coordinator for additional guidance.

Fellows should track their participation in the PMF LDP on their Individual Development Plan (IDP). Certificates of Completion will be provided either at the conclusion of an event or at the end of each year of the PMF LDP, as applicable. Fellows and Agency PMF Coordinators can monitor registrations and hours of completion awarded in the Events Management System. Fellows can access and print a Certificate of Completion where applicable.

Timeline

Year 1:  3-Day PMF LDP Orientation and “Leading Self” In-Person Trainings (taking place at the University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC)

• Cohort 14: May 23-25, 2023 
• Cohort 15: July 18-20, 2023
• Cohort 16: September 12-14, 2023

Dates for required competency trainings and peer-to-peer trainings will be provided by email to eligible Fellows who have completed the initial 3-Day PMF LDP Orientation and “Leading Self” Training. Additional course activity dates will be provided upon confirmed registration. The full duration of the of the Year 1 PMF LDP is 12 months and will continue into the second year of the Fellowship for most participants.

Year 2:  Training and Challenge Project

• Cohort 10: June - August 2023
• Cohort 11: January - March 2024 (exact dates to be determined)

Additional dates related to Challenge Project responsibilities will be provided by email to registered Fellows.

Resources

Please continue to check this webpage and the Current PMFs/Resources webpage for any updates as items are subject to change.

Please send any questions you might have to the PMF LDP team at PMFLDP@opm.gov.

UPDATED:  05-15-2023