Leader_Coach_Facil_Support_Final_6_18_13.doc

AG-32SB-Q-13-640776 Attachment 1

Executive Leadership Coaching and Facilitation Support Background: The Deputy Administrator and Associate Deputy Administrator for USDA’s REE Administrative and Financial Management Division provide supervision to the Administrative and Financial Management Council. They would like to provide leadership development to each of the individuals as well as select managers through the use of leadership coaching.

Purpose of Coaching: Assess skills and abilities and areas of opportunity for improvement. Develop a roadmap for achieving improvements. May include:

· Increase awareness and management of strengths and limitations as a leader.

· Deepen communication skills and ability to interact with staff.

About the Executive Coaching Process: Often leaders need an objective, neutral sounding board to discuss challenges, opportunities and confront their own biases and assumptions. Coaching allows leaders and managers to step away from their day-to-day routine and effectively strategize on how they can reach beyond where they are currently. Conducted one-on-one in a completely confidential environment, coaching helps people gain clarity, removes self-imposed limitations, and increase their self-reliance, so they can better leverage their strengths, and help others do the same.

The coach will employ a variety of techniques and tools to aide in greater understanding of complex issues. These might include relevant articles, books, and observation assignments. Any practice agreed upon by the coach and client will be simple and achievable so as to increase awareness and success.

Implementation:

· Coach will work with AFM Leaders to obtain the necessary history, information and agency objectives required to create an action plan for each participant.

· Prior to coach meeting with employees, they would meet with their supervisor to obtain clear goals and objectives of the coaching assignment. They would discuss the current situation and desired outcomes and jointly determine the measurement of success. At that time the employee would make a commitment to work on the above-mentioned issues (and others) with the coach.

· Shortly after meeting with their supervisor, employee would spend 4 hours meeting with leadership coach, getting clear on goals and objective and learning tools and models.

· With the help of the coach, the employee will determine first steps toward meeting the goals set before them as well as committing to a practice of observation on one particular issue.

· The employee and the coach will commit to routine scheduled calls (12 calls approximately one month apart). The feedback/coaching sessions will occur via telephonic sessions and/or face-to-face sessions to meet the needs of the client. Each feedback/coaching session is anticipated to be one hour in length, exclusive of any preparation time.

Feedback/coaching sessions will incorporate, as appropriate:

· Identify strengths and opportunities for development.

· Identify personal development needs.

· Create goals that will ultimately be incorporated into an Individual Development Plan.

· Action planning process.

· Incorporate agency specific objectives, if applicable.

Facilitation Support

The contractor will:

· Participate in pre-meeting planning sessions (by telephone or in person) and pre-meeting conference calls as appropriate

· Assist with meeting preparation

· Help meeting participants articulate their comments, suggestions and recommendations

· Facilitate conversations to ensure a constructive outcome

· Record discussions made during meetings

· Ensure that participants have a clear understanding of next steps

· Process the outcomes from the meetings and identify next steps

Deliverables:

The contractor shall, but is not limited to the following:

· Conduct initial feedback/coaching session via in-person and/or telephonically, by date established by Leadership upon award.

· Communicate to Leadership at completion of feedback/coaching session(s) delivered. This time will be used to review participant feedback.

· Conduct follow-on feedback/coaching session via in-person and/or telephonically, when applicable, by date established by Leadership upon award.

· Coaching services will span multiple months; coach will communicate with Leadership status of coaching sessions (quarterly) Travel:

Travel by air shall be a cost reimbursable expense, not to exceed coach fare. The costs for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred by contractor personnel shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable to the extent they do not exceed, on a daily basis, the per diem rates set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). All travel must be approved in advance.

Travel by privately owned vehicle shall be at the current GSA approved mileage rate. Traveling expenses within a 35 mile radius of workshop location will not be reimbursed.