Case Study:
USDA
Our Task
In response to a perceived gap in the dissemination of priorities across the agency, senior leaders at USDA created the role of Mission Area Chief of Staff to help facilitate communication across the USDA.
In our discussions with agency leaders, a lack of understanding the role of Chief of Staff was a key issue for people filling those new roles and their agency leaders. This not only applied directly to the management aspects of the job - how to get things done - but also in recognizing that the role operates within a very complicated and difficult matrixed environment that also extends to issues of leadership and determining the priorities that can be accomplished.
USDA engaged The Impact Center to build leadership capacity for middle management within the USDA by strengthening these new roles in order to advance the Agency's mission and deliver results.
Our Strategy
Based on our assessment of the gap between strategy and execution, The Impact Center designed the USDA Leadership Development Program for Chiefs of Staff. This customized offering addressed the key challenges new Chiefs of Staff faced and provided them with:
Skills and tools they needed to achieve results in their new roles
Roadmap for future professional growth to guide them along the leadership pipeline at USDA
Our Solution
The Impact Center conducted the USDA Leadership Development Program for Chiefs of Staff over the course of 2 months. The program included skill enhancement, group mentoring, and collaborative problem solving. It also featured recognized leaders discussing successful leadership in the federal landscape. Each session included lessons and training from these experienced leaders as well as facilitated peer collaboration to address participants’ most important challenges.
The Impact Center issued recommendations, proposed concrete actions steps, and identified several best practices that strengthened the role and effectiveness of Mission Area Chiefs of Staff throughout the department and improved the day-to-day practices of internal communication at USDA.
Our Results
Based on post-program evaluation surveys, participants reported the following results:
Increased understanding of their role and knowledge of best practices for succeeding as chief of staff
Improved skills for managing office priorities in a resource-constrained and high-pressure environment
Tools for improving performance of both political and career appointees through better management strategies.
Concrete personal time management and stress management techniques.