DHS Leader Effectiveness

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Supervisors and Managers (Supervisory)

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June 3, 2025 —

About the Program

The DHS mission requires that all supervisory leaders demonstrate the skills necessary to drive mission performance on behalf of the American people. Supervisors and Managers must ensure that they are prepared, capable, and committed to leading and holding employees, teams, and organizations accountable for efficient and effective results.  

The DHS Leader Effectiveness framework offers leader development specifically targeted to supervisors and managers:  

First-line Supervisors are responsible for the performance of front-line operators, building and maintaining well-functioning teams, delivering accountable results, and reporting to senior management on progress and results.

Managers (non-executive second level supervisors and higher) lead across organizations, functions, and sectors, ensuring efficiencies and translating strategic policies into effective, coordinated actions.

To ensure our leaders have the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to anticipate and meet mission demands, the Coast Guard provides its supervisors and managers with onboarding, orientation, initial, and ongoing training programs and resources that meet and exceed the requirements outlined in 5 CFR § 412.202.

Onboarding (First 90 Days)

New Supervisors and Managers are encouraged to complete an onboarding program within the first 90 days of onboarding, to include:

 

Initial Leadership​ Training (First Year)

All newly-appointed Supervisors and Managers are required (under 5 CFR 412.202 (b)) to complete initial leadership training within their first 12 months of supervision in order to build competencies identified as essential to leader effectiveness.

This is achieved by taking both the Supervisor of Civilians Tier I self-paced eLearning course and the Supervisor of Civilians Tier II instructor-led course.​

 

Continuous Supervisory Leader Development (Annually​)

Leader Efficiency must be supported by training and development that focuses on strengthening organizational capability and ensuring they are prepared, competent leaders. 

Following the first year at a new level of leadership, annual development is key in helping leaders remain up to date and proficient in the competencies identified as essential to DHS leader effectiveness and to increase proficiency in the following critical skillsets (required by 5 CFR 412.202 (b)) to drive accountable, effective workforce performance: 

  • Mentoring employees
  • Improving employee performance and productivity
  • Conducting employee performance appraisals in accordance with agency appraisal systems
  • Identifying and assisting employees with unacceptable performance

Best Practice Resources

Leaders learn best when development is “a part of” and not “apart from” their day-to-day jobs. 

Traditional classroom or online learning provides effective ways to improve leadership skills, but learning is not limited to formal education-- whether through mentoring, peer discussions, reading and temporary assignments are also essential in helping leaders advance skills and broaden perspectives and skillsets to keep pace with a continuously evolving mission dynamic.

The Coast Guard has identified the following leadership development areas for annual continuous supervisory leadership development.

  • Mentoring
  • Performance Management
  • Competency Development
  • Details and Rotations
  • “Leader as Teacher” Give Back

Mentoring

Coast Guard Mentoring Program: Connect, network and share with your peers regardless of your geographic location. Choose from several options including 1:1, Communities Marketplace and Civilian Welcome Aboard.

Performance Management

Competency Development

DHS has identified essential competencies for leading mission performance.  The following formal and self-paced courses have been identified to help grow and develop strong, competent leaders: 

Formal Training Courses
 

Self-Paced Courses

Rotations & Details

"Leader-As-Teacher" Give Back

Leaders often express that the development activity that most contributed to their own development is the act of developing others. And the data supports this-- the experience of developing others matters to effective leadership.

To that end, by serving as a formal or informal mentor, presenter, or coach, supervisory leaders help others learn through their own knowledge and experiences.

Spending even one hour per month “giving back” and helping others grow their leadership skills is an invaluable investment in growing important leadership capabilities in real-time and requires no tuition or classroom – just leaders’ willingness to grow other leaders.

Program Manager

Alyssa Lombardi Blase

 
 
 

 

 
 

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