Alabama Bulletin No. AL360-7-11

Date:  May 21, 2007

Subject:  PER – Leadership Competency Assessment

Purpose:  To inform managers and supervisors of the leadership competency assessment.

Expiration Date:  June 30, 2007.

Action Required By:   May 30, 2007

On April 16, 2007, the Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced that the Department will assess the proficiency of its leaders in 28 leadership competencies and 6 performance management competencies and privacy basics training. May 1, 2007, marks the launching of this leadership competency assessment, using a Web-enabled tool called the Federal Competency Assessment Tool – Management (FCAT-M), provided by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

This leadership assessment initiative is part of the Department’s effort to strategically plan for and sustain a high performing leadership cadre. The results of the assessment will enable supervisors and their managers to identify individual competency strengths and areas for growth, and tailor leadership development plans to meet specific needs.

The following individuals are part of the target group and will be required to complete the self-assessment:

The managers of those supervisors will be required to complete supervisory evaluations and to select the proficiency levels needed for the participants’ positions.

The FCAT-M tool should only be accessed by managers who meet the aforementioned criteria. First level supervisors must complete a registration process prior to completing the assessment and should provide the optional as well as the mandatory information. The following link provides the website and instructions for completing the self-assessment and supervisor evaluation: http://policy.nrcs.usda.gov/NB_360_7_13_b.rtf.

The self-assessment and the supervisory evaluation require approximately 15 minutes to complete. The FCAT-M tool permits participants who have completed self-assessments to identify and prompt their supervisor to complete evaluations by entering the name and e-mail address of the supervisor. The self-assessment results are confidential and will be accessible only by the individual participant taking the self-assessment. In addition, as a result of OPM’s recent modification to the FCAT-M tool, participants will not be able to view supervisor evaluations and supervisors will not be able to view participant’s self-assessments.

The FCAT-M tool is available May 1 through June 1, 2007.

The listed individuals should send an email to: paul.swenson@al.usda.gov no later than May 30, 2007, certifying completion of the self-assessments and supervisory evaluations for their respective areas or staff.

If you need additional information, please contact Paul Swenson at (334) 887-4543.

/s/

GARY KOBYLSKI
State Conservationist

Reference: National Bulletin 360-7-13



 

Dist: E
 

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