Case Study:
Presidential Appointee Leadership Program
Our Task
The Obama White House sought to develop a collaborative culture and individual skill sets for its most senior appointee leaders to successfully execute its policies, programs and initiatives as they took the reins of government at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history.
The White House selected The Impact Center to help Cabinet members and key senior staff effectively transition to their White House and federal agency roles.
Our Strategy
Based on interviews with senior White House staff and Cabinet Secretaries to assess the challenges facing a new Administration, The Impact Center designed the Presidential Appointee Leadership Program for senior Executive Branch leaders. Through this multi-year program, The Impact Center engaged with President Obama, Vice President Biden, White House senior staff, Cabinet Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries. and Senate confirmed appointees to help them become more effective in their roles and work more collaboratively to advance the Administration’s priorities.
Our Solution
The Impact Center conducted a White House-Cabinet Retreat for the President, Vice President, all 22 Cabinet-rank officials, and senior White House staff.
Based on this work The Impact Center has been invited by a number of federal agencies to work directly with their senior executive and mid-level managers- both political appointees and career professionals- to establish a high-performing culture agency-wide, as well as work with select individuals to develop their capacity including chief executive level strategic programs for the President’s Management Council, the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the First Lady. The Office of Personnel Management and White House Presidential Personnel Office brought The Impact Center in to inform the design of their President’s Appointee Leadership Program for all SES and Schedule C appointees.
Our Results
Based on post-program evaluation surveys, participants reported the following results:
Increased awareness of their role for succeeding as senior appointees
Improved understanding of collaborating strategies to advance Administration priorities
Deepened relationships for working together in a resource-constrained and high-pressure environment
Concrete follow-up action steps captured in a report to the President.