LEAD-ING CHANGE
themselves. “Te cohorts wanted to enable a true cohort experi- ence during their tenure, with standardization on training and rotational assignments, when feasible,” she said.
Tat didn’t happen with CDG/AAF. Fellows were required to negotiate their own developmental assignments, and they varied in length—some were six months, others 18 months—and they had to fit those assignments around required program training, as well as a mandatory six-month assignment in Washington, she said.
A FRESH NEW LOOK
The DACM Office is unveiling its rebranded Leadership Excellence and Acquisition Development (LEAD) program, which replaces the former Competitive Development Group/Army Acquisition Fellowship (CDG/AAF). (Image by U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center)
“Now, the fellows negotiate and start a nine-month assignment at their home station, and then in March of the following year, they will all—at one time—go down to the Pentagon and work there for six months, with primary focus on a rotation as a Depart- ment of the Army systems coordinator (DASC). And they are all going to have a DASC assignment,” Terry said. “After the D.C. rotation, LEAD participants will report back to the home station for another nine-month detail,” she said. DASCs report to the Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management, and they work in high-visibility, fast-paced assignments that provide crit- ical capabilities to the warfighter, she explained.
Kelly Terry, LEAD program manager, is spearheading the rede- sign effort. She has been employed with the United States Army Acquisition Support Center since about 1996—as one of the first acquisition career managers with the organization. She inherited the CDG/AAF program in the fall of 2018 and will be ushering her last cohort from CDG/AAF through graduation this May. “Ten we will be all new, brand new, with just LEAD,” she said.
WHY CHANGE LEAD is a 24-to-30-month program offering expanded training through a series of education, leader-development and broaden- ing assignments to build skills required for positions of greater responsibility. Fellows receive centrally funded leadership training and developmental assignments within the acquisition commu- nity—while that hasn’t changed from the CDG/AAF years, the way the training and developmental assignments will be executed has been modified.
Te driving change behind the redesign of the program was twofold, Terry explained. Te first was advice from the fellows
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Training requirements were also streamlined under the new program design, via enhanced eligibility criteria. Applicants are, at this writing, required to be certified at Level II in program management and Level III in their primary career field, Terry said. Applicants also will be required to complete the Civilian Education System – Advanced Course distance-learning module before program commencement.
Te second driver of change was the intentional “back to basics” design, Terry explained. Since there is currently no dedicated career program for acquisition program managers, the DACM Office wanted to invest in training potential program managers to ensure “that we have the best at the top,” she said.
WHAT’S NEW Some other changes to the program include a decreased length, allowing the application of the new skills and knowledge quickly; enhanced senior leadership involvement, so that big Army issues are addressed during the program tenure and the addition of a new writing assignment, Terry said. Te program uses a virtual board and relative slating list (RSL). “We host a virtual board, who will review all the applications and develop an RSL,” she said. “Te resulting RSL is then presented to the Army DACM Talent Management BOD [board of directors]. Tis is the first time we are engaging the TM BOD.” Tis enhanced process
Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2021
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