Click here to skip navigation
Skip Navigation

In This Section

Management Development Centers
Certificates & Programs

OPM's Leadership Education and Development Certificate Program (LEAD)

LEAD provides a complete leadership development curriculum for current and aspiring government leaders. LEAD is designed to recognize the developmental efforts of government employees by providing official recognition of achievement at a given level of leadership. Each leadership level requires the participant to complete five seminars within three years. (Please see the LEAD table below)

The five levels of leadership in the LEAD Certificate Program are:

  • Project/Team Lead
  • Supervisor
  • Manager
  • Executive (SES level)
  • Leadership for Professionals

Outcomes of the LEAD Certificate Program:

  • Documents and honors those that put in the effort to be a better leader
  • Ensures all leadership training is directly relevant to Government application
  • Clarifies which leadership training is most critical for success; it provides a "short list" for use by employees and training managers to help focus employee development

What are the rules for the LEAD Certificate Program?

  1. LEAD Certificates are issued for a specific level of leadership.
  2. For a given level, you must complete the required number of seminars in EACH column of the table below, which will result in a total of 5 seminars to be completed for each LEAD Certificate level.
  3. The last of the 5 seminars must be completed within 3 years of the start date of the first seminar taken.
  4. It is recommended, but not required, to complete the Assessment and Core seminars first, before taking the Policy and Skill categories.
  5. You may earn a LEAD Certificate for a level of leadership, even if you are not at that level, but we strongly recommend checking with your training manager to see whether your agency has any specific rules regarding taking seminars for a higher level than your current position.

How do I get a LEAD Certificate?

  1. The LEAD Certificate Program is a self-paced program, which means OPM is not formally involved until you complete the 5 required seminars for a given level of Leadership. This also means you register for each course individually as you progress through the seminars.
  2. Within 90 days of completing the last of the five seminars at a given level, you must email a list of your five completed courses witht the start dates to validate completion within the three year period to the OPM LEAD Certificate Program Coordinator.
  3. Once validated, you will have 90 days to submit a 4-6 page capstone paper, detailing lessons learned and describing at least one example of application back on the job. The paper will be reviewed for Pass/Fail by an OPM Program Director/Faculty Member.
  4. Once a "Pass" rating on the capstone paper is attained, you will receive a LEAD Certificate.

The table below lists the recommended seminars for each certificate level. For your convenience each seminar listed is a hyperlink directly to the seminar page which identifies course description, dates, locations, and costs.

Summary of Training to Complete a LEAD Certificate by Level of Leadership
Required Training for a LEAD Certificate at a Given Leadership Level**
Leadership Level Assessment Core Development Policy Awareness Skill Immersion

Project / Team Lead

(No performance appraisal responsibility)

Take the following:

Take the following

None Required

Take three of the following:

Supervisor

(Conducts performance appraisals for non-supervisory staff only)

Take one of the following:

*This program may be used for the Supervisor Certificate if taken before or during your first year of being a supervisor.

Take both:

None Required

Take three of the following:

Manager

(Conducts performance appraisals for at least one or more supervisors)

Take the following:

Take one of the following:

Take one of the following:

Take two of the following:

Executive

(Senior Executive Service or equivalent senior manager level)

Take one of the following:

Take one of the following:

Take one of the following:

Take two of the following:

Leadership for Professionals

(Federal professionals who are not in a formal management position but who exercise influence, design and implement policy, and work in broad partnerships within and outside their agency.)

Take the following:

Take the following:

Choose any three from the Policy Awareness and Skill Immersion electives:

Definitions of Terms

  • Assessment

    • A seminar that provides assessment of current leadership effectiveness and/or potential customized for each level of leadership. OPM uses a simulation assessment for the Team Lead level; an instrument-based assessment (e.g. 360, MBTI) for the Supervisor and Manager levels; and a behavioral assessment for the Executive level

  • Core

    • A seminar that provides an overview for the key competencies considered critical to succeed at each level of leadership, as well as opportunities to develop those competencies

  • Policy Awareness

    • A seminar that provides essential policy knowledge that cuts across almost all Manager and Executive level positions such as budget and finance

  • Skill Immersion

    • A seminar that provides deep development on a specific skill or ability so that the participant can use it immediately upon returning to their agency

Most seminars are offered at either the Eastern Management Development Center (EMDC) in Shepherdstown, WVA; the Western Management Development Center (WMDC) in Aurora, CO or the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) in Charlottesville, VA.

For more information please contact the CLCS Certificate Program Manager: Claire Thurston at LEAD@opm.gov or 303-671-1136. For current seminar dates and prices go to www.leadership.opm.gov or select the seminar name in the LEAD table above.

For more information: Follow the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) link.