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Career Network

ICMA / Career Network / Career Development / Emerging Leaders Development Program

Emerging Leaders Development Program

We are now accepting applications for the Spring 2014 Emerging Leaders Development Program class. Application deadline is March 30, 2014. Space is limited. Reserve your spot today!

The Emerging Leaders Development Program

Designed to help early to mid career professionals build contemporary management skills, for a one-time fee of $500 for members and $800 for nonmembers, (the nonmember rate also includes a two-year ICMA membership with access to all benefits, including member discount rates on publications & professional development opportunities) the Emerging Leaders Development Program provides:

A credentialed manager to serve as a career coach for two years
Convenient teleseminars with senior credentialed managers or public administration professors
Successful completion of the two-year ICMA University Emerging Leaders Development Program, celebrated with a special certificate.

More About Your Facilitators

Applied Knowledge Assessment

One of the requirements of the Emerging Leaders Development Program is completion of the Applied Knowledge Assessment (AKA) before applying for the program. Click here to purchase the AKA for $75.

Your Professional Development Coach

Coaches play a key role in this program. You will be matched to a coach by ICMA from a list of approved credentialed managers. This ICMA member will be your coach over the course of the program. The coach's responsibilities include:

Serving as a sounding board and career coach throughout the year
Attending a state association meeting, regional meeting, or ICMA Annual Conference with the participant if possible
Helping to select a Management Application Project.

Essential Management Skills Certificate Content

Objective: To increase participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in the basic management and technical topics that managers need to know to be successful.

Practice Groups: (1) Staff Effectiveness; (3) Functional and Operational Expertise and Planning; (4) Service Delivery Management; (5) Performance Measurement/Management and Quality Assurance; (10) Budgeting; (11) Financial Analysis; (12) Human Resource Management; (17) Knowledge of the ICMA Code of Ethics.

Content: During the course of the program, teleseminars will be based on the following ICMA publications, which can be purchased from the ICMA Bookstore:

The Effective Local Government Manager
Managing Local Government Services
Management Policies in Local Government Finance
Human Resource Management in Local Government

There will also be 3 rounds of discussions based on personal finances and a current "hot" topic.

Management Application Project

You are required to complete a final assessment in the form of a Management Application Project. The project is flexible. You work with your coach to choose a project that meets your interests, allows you to demonstrate what you have learned and accomplished as a result of the program, and benefits your community or organization. Below are some examples of a Management Application Project provided by Lauren Palmer, Assistant City Manager, Manhatten, Kansas; Jeff Petry, Parking Services Manager, Eugene, Oregon; and Mary Sassi, Executive Director of Strategic Operations, Redondo Beach, Florida and Jennifer Phillips, Director of Animal Care Services, Orange County, California.

Certificate of Completion

After completing the Management Application Project, you can receive a certificate publicly at a Leading Practices Conference, or a state association meeting, or privately in the mail. ICMA will proudly announce your completion of the certificate in the ICMA Newsletter and send you a press release that you can submit to your local newspaper.

Eligibility

Open to anyone who is not credentialed, but who has taken the Applied Knowledge Assessment. The program is designed to benefit aspiring local government managers, as well as current local government managers and staff who want to hone their management skills. ICMA encourages work groups such as managers, assistant managers, department directors, and mid-level supervisors to enroll and complete the program together. ICMA also encourages international members to enroll.