Leadership Learning Lab: Foundations for New Federal Leaders
Classroom, Virtual
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for aspiring Federal supervisors, newly appointed Federal managers, and high-potential employees preparing to move into leadership roles within a Federal agency. It is ideal for GS-7 through GS-13 employees who have recently accepted or are actively pursuing their first supervisory appointment, as well as for emerging leaders nominated through agency leadership development programs. No prior supervisory experience is required.
Course Overview
The Leadership Learning Lab is a highly interactive, simulation-based program designed for aspiring and newly appointed Federal leaders. This 20-hour course provides participants with the opportunity to practice critical leadership skills in a safe, structured environment through realistic scenarios that mirror the challenges faced by Federal supervisors.
Participants engage in a series of experiential exercises, receive structured peer feedback, and reflect on their leadership behaviors to accelerate development. Each day combines brief instruction with hands-on labs, small group discussions, and facilitated debriefs focused on insight and application.
This course may be taken as a standalone offering or applied toward completion of the Federal Leadership Certificate Program.
Course Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Make effective decisions under pressure and competing priorities
- Provide clear, constructive feedback using evidence-based feedback models
- Lead difficult conversations related to performance and accountability
- Influence and align stakeholders without direct authority
- Translate strategy into actionable plans using structured planning frameworks
- Apply structured decision-making frameworks to complex leadership challenges
Course Agenda
Day One – Program Opening and Foundations of Federal Leadership
Participants are introduced to the simulation framework and peer feedback model. The day centers on exploring the transition from individual contributor to supervisor, including a discussion of common challenges new Federal leaders encounter and strategies for navigating them. Participants also take part in a leadership presence exercise in which they practice an early leadership interaction and receive structured peer feedback.
Day Two – Lab 1: Staffing and In-Basket Simulation
Participants work through two foundational supervisory challenges: a staffing simulation focused on prioritizing workforce resources, evaluating position needs, and making strategic decisions about how to allocate limited staffing capacity; and an in-basket simulation that requires prioritizing competing tasks, managing time constraints, and making real-time decisions under pressure.
Day Three – Lab 2: Performance Conversations and Stakeholder Alignment
Participants engage in structured performance conversation role plays covering feedback, accountability, and difficult dialogues with direct reports. The day also includes a Stakeholder Alignment Exercise in which participants must build consensus and navigate competing interests across a multi-party Federal leadership scenario.
Day Four – Lab 3: Strategic Planning and Ethical Decision-Making Capstone
Participants apply a structured planning framework in a project planning simulation that requires translating strategic goals into executable action plans. The program concludes with an Ethical Decision-Making Capstone, a complex scenario designed to integrate program learning and challenge participants to apply structured judgment in a high-stakes Federal leadership context.