OPM offers its Leadership Potential Assessment (LPA) to assist agencies with the identification of employees across all leadership levels that have the ability to succeed at the level of leadership immediately above their current positions. The LPA is a multi-source feedback tool that gathers information about participants from their supervisors, peers, subordinates, and other individuals with whom they work (e.g., customers) on two key areas research has shown are critical for leadership success:
- Ability
- Motivational Factors
Ability is assessed on the ten competencies most important to success at the leadership level immediately above the participant’s current position. Participant competency scores are compared with competency benchmark proficiency levels. These benchmarks can be based on OPM’s government-wide proficiency score database or customized to a specific agency. In addition to measuring ability, the LPA assesses each participant on five motivational factors critical to leadership success. These factors include: commitment to the agency, involvement with and enthusiasm for the work performed, motivation to lead others, desire to advance to a position of increased leadership responsibility, and confidence to perform leadership tasks.
The LPA can be administered at all levels of leadership in the Federal Government, including team leads, supervisors, managers, and executives, and is especially well-suited for individuals who are not currently in leadership positions. OPM administers the assessment online, and each participant receives a detailed, confidential feedback report. Group orientation and feedback briefings guide participants through the assessment process and results.
Additional LPA related services are also available. OPM can provide customized aggregate reports by supervisory status and by organization. The aggregate report can offer a snapshot of the agency’s leadership pipeline and includes information particularly useful for forming effective workforce and succession planning strategies. Participants can also take part in an individual feedback session where an OPM Research Psychologist or certified coach guides them through their results to help identify developmental opportunities.
OPM offers multiple options for administering its assessments to provide agencies flexibility in their approach to leadership assessment. The LPA can be used independently, as part of a developmental program, or in conjunction with other assessments. Additionally, OPM offers an open enrollment process for individuals to complete the assessment independently as well as a group administration process for agencies with multiple participants.