Improving Workforce Professionalism: A Retrospective View of Developing Leadership Mass Through Your Staff

Abstract

How can the acquisition workforce train and create experience for the next generation? This research addressed how Defense Acquisition University (DAU) develops its emerging leaders among its support faculty and staff, a vital part of that equation. Through a retrospective view of Emerging Leadership Program (ELP), the author investigated the value and impact of the program's details and its resulting effect for its graduates. To learn more, the graduates participated in a survey along with their supervisors that quantified their ELP experiences and observations, as well as confirmed any concomitant value. This research assessed the outcomes of DAU's ELP over the course of six years by focusing on various ELP activities coupled with an emphasis on behavior to reinforce the importance of improving workforce professionalism. Originally, the ELP was intended to create a development pathway. Has it?