Langston Willis
The Acquisition Leadership Challenge Program (ALCP) has extended the application deadline to Sept. 13 for the October, November, and December 2012 ALCP II courses. The courses, open to eligible GS-14s, -15s, and equivalents, are being offered from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 in Atlanta, GA; Nov. 5-9 in Alexandria, VA; and Dec. 3-7 in Huntsville, AL. The Huntsville and Alexandria courses are seeking primarily local students, as they will not offer TDY.
The ALCP II program is a 2 ½-day series of seminars that focus on increasing leadership acumen for civilians, identifying the major challenges for new organizational leaders, and incorporating individual talents into a cohesive workforce. To achieve this, leaders must understand the motivations, needs, and interest of other people. “There is a lot of material condensed into this time on how the students can help themselves,” said Scott Greene, Acquisition, Education, and Training Branch Chief.
The foundation of the ALCP is self-awareness as the key to developing both leadership and diversity; the goal is to create an innovative culture, by helping to recognize each individual’s personal preferences and behaviors and how each person not only interacts with co-workers but also is viewed by others.
This approach includes addressing people’s unconscious biases, helping them to discover new approaches to doing things and emphasizing the strength and power in accepting individual differences to produce a stronger “whole.”
The course is instrument-based, and participants get the results while in attendance. Some of the programs include 360-degree feedback, personality preference, and conflict management.
“This program is an eye-opening course on learning about your strengths through using the in-your-face data and the constructive feedback from your co-workers. It provides insight into not just what you have to work on to improve, but also your strengths,” Greene explained.
If you meet the eligibility requirements, please review the announcement at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program/ for information and application directions.
The application process will be conducted using the Army Acquisition Professional Development System (AAPDS) at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/. AAPDS is an automated process used to select individuals for education, training, and experience opportunities.
For more information, contact Darrell E. Whitehurst at 703-805-1236 or Darrell.e.Whitehurst.civ@mail.mil.
- LANGSTON WILLIS is a Writer/Editor supporting the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center for SAIC. He has worked on projects with the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, Program Executive Office Soldier, and the Army’s Executive Partnerships Office. He served for seven years in the U.S. Army and has more than nine years’ experience as a Writer/Editor working on military topics. Willis holds a B.A. in journalism from Norfolk State University.
