2nd African-American National Security and Intelligence

UNCLASSIFIED
A Synthesis of Proceedings
Best Practices and Recommendations
2 nd African American National
Security and Intelligence Career
Development Leadership Summit
13 June 2015
UNCLASSIFIED
September 2015 - Publication Date
Foreword
UNCLASSIFIED
During the 2nd African American National Security and Intelligence Career Development Leadership Summit, 13 June 2015,
approximately 150 professionals including senior executive officers engaged in productive and collaborative dialogues,
information and training sessions. A key focus of the SUMMIT was “Optimizing Your Potential and Impacts” in support of
America’s National Security. Our concerns included, but were not limited to, the under-representation of African Americans in
the pipelines at the GG/GS-14/15 levels-bands 4/5 through SES/SIS levels, performance evaluation policies and practices that
appear to disenfranchise ethnic group employees; trends that reveal African Americans’ annual performance evaluation
scores, including the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) agencies, are consistently and systematically lower
in most categories of annual ratings; lesser promotions and recognitions across the board; fewer critical assignment selections
and lesser credible career development opportunities as well as a lack of transparency in policies and processes—as a result,
African Americans are, in many instances, systematically relegated to lesser competitive and lesser career enhancing
positions, rather than broader exposures and higher-level responsible positions. For example, purportedly across the IC
Enterprise, many high achieving African Americans are consigned to a single lower grade level–for 20 years or more—without
any hope of advancing to supervisory, management and/or senior leadership status, notably, in critical mission areas and top
tier leadership, i.e. directorate and deputy agency head levels. This is due , in part, to a lack of credible mentoring, coaching,
influential and genuine leader sponsorship interventions. Ultimately, we’re all patriots, with the common goal of supporting
America’s National Security Imperatives.
This is not a time for “business as usual” as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—Director’s Diversity in Leadership Study—
Overcoming Barriers to Advancement—posits (April 2015). From the 1st and 2nd Summits (2014 and 2015) information, review
of the Annual Report on Hiring and Retention of Minority Employees in the Intelligence Community (FY2014) and data
synthesized (qualitative and quantitative), there are several indicators that the CIA report is a reflection of same issues across
the Intelligence Enterprise. For example, the CIA’s report illuminates key indicators of failure to “recognize this basic truth of
management policy. None of this is new information.” A few key findings by CIA external Senior Advisors posit—
• Leaders, managers, and supervisors do not prioritize diversity in leadership as a critical mission factor
• Top senior leaders do not hold their leadership cadre accountable for creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive
workplace
• Officers (especially ethnically diverse officers) experience the organization differently based on race, ethnicity, disability,
and sexual orientation; additionally, ethnic group officers are stereotyped which often times stymie competitive career
prospects and advancement
Collectively, with IC leaders, managers and supervisors, we must promote strategic competitiveness across the entire
workforce to ensure America’s National Security and Intelligence Enterprises continue on the world’s leading stage during this
millennium and beyond. We are all stakeholders in the equation to keep America safe! One way of achieving that goal is to
ensure the entire talent base—all personnel echelons— is equipped with the credible three E’s--education, experiences and
exposures that span over a career. Further, our community must ensure transparency of policies, practices and processes.
Leaders, managers and supervisors must embrace the competitive development of their people as well as ensure feeder
pools are ethnically diverse to promote a multi-generational National Security Workforce of “one”. Ultimately, leaders and
decision makers must be brutally honest and face past systemic shortcomings as well as a lack of accountability, limited
transparency and rationed fairness. Our nation demands of us as public servants to be the best and nothing less.
Lenora Peters Gant, Ph.D.
Chair 2015 Leadership Summit
Leadership Summit Purpose
• Support and advance America’s National Security Imperatives
• Promote competitiveness into senior levels (GS/GG 15s & Band 5 to Senior Executive Levels of the U.S.
Government National Security (NS) Enterprises by sponsoring professional development and career
enhancement opportunities with emphasis on ethnically diverse employees, with emphasis on African Americans
and women
Leadership Summit Intent
• Reinvigorate the NS and Intelligence Networks to cultivate coalitions around common concerns – e.g. fair and
objective personnel policies, management accountability , critical assignments, communication and transparency.
• Identify human capital best practices from across National Security Enterprises and industry that may be
transportable in promoting efficiencies, productive and harmonious work environments for all personnel.
• Build alliances and cultivate networks to buildUNCLASSIFIED
personal and career competitiveness.
2015 Summit
P ro c e e d i n g s
UNCLASSIFIED
Evaluations: Selective General Comments/Responses
• Morning speaker phenomenal
• Enjoyed the senior luncheon keynote; glad to see
congressional staff representation
Morning Keynote Speaker
• Great structure
Sue Gordon, Deputy Director/NGA
• Morning panel impressive
PANEL: Seniors, GEN Xers & Millennials
• Great, loved the diversity of the panel
• Networking Opportunities were great
Dialogues with IC Senior Officers
• Excellent; Awesome Summit
Executive Presence
Reginald King/CIA, Cynthia Miller/NSA
• Everything great; Invite non-minority leaders in the IC
Political Savvy
• Excellent opportunity; I’ve learned so much
Sheronda Dorsey/CIA, Sander Williams/NGA
• Very much appreciated
Receiving Feedback & Promoting Yourself
• Better advertising of Summit
Stephanie Stanard/ODNI, Earnest Green/NSA
• Formalize networking event
Traceability of Key Accomplishments• I enjoyed it immensely; Need more information on the glass
Driving Success
ceiling issue
Stacey Dixon/NGA, Jewel Martin/CIA
• Very informative and helpful
Luncheon Keynote Speaker
• Thank you Dr. Gant!
Wyndee Parker, National Security Advisor for • I’m honored that Janice Glover-Jones invited me!
the Office of the Democratic Leader of the
• Great on mentoring pledge; I will participate and become a
U.S. House of Representatives
mentee and mentor
• I expected the best because Dr. Gant was involved!
Career Development Sessions: Learning
Tracks
• More breakout sessions
• Looking forward to working with fellow charter members
Track 1: Leadership Competitiveness
Lenora Peters Gant/ODNI, Antione Johnson/NSA
• Invite more Agency Directors to hear about the barriers across
Track 2: Position Yourself for Success
the IC
Denise Carter/DIA/R, Cynthia Miller/NSA
• This year was even more amazing than last year
Track 3: Sponsorship and Networking
• This was a wonderful conference and networking opportunity
James Samuel/NGA
• Thank you for allowing me to participate
Track 4: Rank-in-Person (RIP) Strategies for
• Host Summit twice a year
Success
Sandra Wilson & Gina Thomas/NGA,
• I’m happy to have had the opportunity
Pamela Lomax/CIA
• I hope this organization moves forward and continues to
General Comments/Responses
progress
• Gina Thomas, Sandra Wilson and Pamela Lomax did an
Town Hall: Synthesis of Proceedings
excellent job!
Everette Jordan, Treasury/Deputy Asst Secretary
• Better than expected; excellent speakers and breakout
sessions
Wrap Up & Next Steps
• Great networking opportunity
Lenora Peters Gant/ODNI, Greg Gartrell/NGA
• Outstanding Day!
• Follow-on Strategy Sessions
• Lenora – You ROCK!
• Quarterly “Mix & Mingle” Sessions
• Dialogue with other people really helps in terms of developing
• Mentoring “Chats”
an action plan for your career
• Awareness & Learning Opportunities
• This 2nd Summit was excellent and very informative
• Career Planning Sessions
• This Summit was excellent! I didn’t know what to expect but I
• Town Halls w/Current & Former Senior
UNCLASSIFIED
am leaving SO inspired and empowered! Thank you!
Officers; Engage Industry Leaders
UNCLASSIFIED
2015 Summit Highlights: Mission
First . . . People Always
Top Performers Recognized with
Morning Keynote Speaker Sue Gordon,
NGA Deputy Director
Awardees with Luncheon Speaker, Wyndee
Parker, Counsel to the Speaker of the House
of Representatives and
Lenora Peters Gant, Ph.D.
2015 Summit Chairperson
National Security/
Intelligence
Community Senior
Officers, Gen Xers,
Millennial Panel
STAR Award Plagues and Certificates
2015 Recipients with Dr. Gant
• Sandra Auchter, Senior Officer/NGA
• Cynthia Swift, Band 4/NGA
• Donna Welch, GS 15/DIA
• Linwood Creekmore III, GS 13/DIA
• Tamara D. Ellis, GG13/NSA
• Bria S. Flowers, GG 11/NSA
• Leanne Ma, GG 13/NSA
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIEDand Advancement
Barriers to Competiveness
Key Factors
Systemic Long-Term Issues and Concerns
1. Leaders, Managers and
Supervisors
• Lack of commitment to prioritize ethnic diversity as a critical mission
imperative
• Unequal development opportunities for ethnically diverse employees;
failure to select for mission critical assignments to promote a diverse
cadre of qualified employees
2. Accountability
• Lack of IC-wide leadership accountability; influential leaders, often times,
do not elect to mentor people of ethnically diverse backgrounds
3. Career Development
and Professional
Roadmaps
• Nonexistent, uneven, inconsistent and irrelevant career development
roadmaps
• Lack of management and supervisory guidance; lack of constructive
actionable feedback to African American employees
4. Outreach
• Failure to effectively conduct outreach and build positive partnerships on
a consistent basis with Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs), Hispanic Serving, Native Americans and Women
colleges/universities as well as with ethnically diverse professional
associations and organizations
5. Recruitment
• Failure to attract, fund and institutionalize on-going relationship building;
failure to showcase the IC as an employer of choice in underserved and
under-represented academic communities and with ethnic professional
associations
6. Mentoring and
Sponsorship
• Lack of mentoring and sponsorship by influential leaders and managers
of a ethnically diverse cohort of talent
7. Personnel Annual
Performance Ratings
and DCIPS Processes
• Failure of leaders, managers and supervisors to candidly examine and
remedy the disparities in subjective ratings that relegate ethnic groups to
the lower end of the scale. RESULTS: (a) Non-competitive selections for
relevant assignments, agency-wide and inter-agency teams that promote
career progression and exposure; (b) Non-selection for bonuses and
other recognitions
8. Lack of Inclusiveness
• Absence of a critical mass of ethnic leaders, managers and supervisors
on decision making leadership panels and boards
9. Alliances and
Networking
• Failure to promote networking opportunities for ethnically diverse
employees to build relevant business relationships and alliances
10. Promotion,
Assignment and
Career Service Boards
• Status quo processes, uneven guidance and lack of transparency,
members’ group-think, subjectivity of performance ratings for ethnic
employees, devaluing performance contributions, lack of bonuses and
recognitions which is an outcome of leaders NOT prioritizing credible
assignments, including a critical mass of ethnically diverse applicants in
UNCLASSIFIED
feeder pools with
the potential to advance to the next level
Summit Feedback: Speakers, UNCLASSIFIED
Learning/
Training Sessions, Networking
1%
15%
84%
1 Less Useful
2
3
4
5 Very Useful
UNCLASSIFIED
100% of the
Respondents
Found the
2015 Summit
Useful to Very
Useful.
UNCLASSIFIED
Metrics: Networking, Luncheon
and Town Hall Highlights
30%
Survey Responses by Agency
46%Survey Responses by Grade
22%
17%
15%
12%
15%
2% *1% *1%
*Employees on a Joint Duty Assignment (JDA)
UNCLASSIFIED
15%
13%
11%
UNCLASSIFIED – Improve Ethnically
2015 Summit Recommendations
Diverse Competitiveness – Top Five
Traceable Data Points
Measures & Metrics
1. Leadership
Accountability: Leaders,
Managers and
Supervisors
1.1 Establish formal leader expectations to remedy barriers to
overcoming competitiveness
1.2 Aggressively hold supervisors and managers accountable with
factual data
1.3 Review hiring data, ensure a ethnically slate of candidates for
critical mission assignments and leadership positions, as well as
ensuring fair and equitable protocols for selection
1.4 Publish and showcase measures/metrics of each directorates’
personnel hiring, selection data and annual performance ratings by
demographics, including EEO complaints and disparate treatment
against all employees—formal and informal complaints
1.5 Examine and ensure consistency in protocols and processes to
remedy disparities
2. Separate the Office of
Corporate Diversity
Mission Management
from the Office of Equal
Employment Opportunity
(EEO)
2.1 Build a relevant corporate IC-wide model for Mission Diversity
separate from the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO),
as EEO is federally compliance mandated; diversity is critical
mission related
2.2 Appoint competent and influential senior officers to lead mission
diversity offices
2.3. Empower leaders, managers, supervisors and employees to
engage in regular 360 feedback and measurement approaches to
improve workforce skills, competency and morale
3. Partnerships,
Recruitment, Alliances
and Networks
3.1 Support aggressive networking and exposure opportunities that
build improved and positive relationships in underrepresented
academic communities, professional associations and
organizations
3.2 Expand sources of talent access; attract and build broader pools of
talent; recruit, cultivate and groom ethnically diverse expertise for
core mission and leadership positions
3.3 Invest resources (dollars and people) in ethnically diverse outreach
activities and fora to build public trust and broader relationships
4. Mentoring & Sponsorship
4.1 Establish mentoring baseline protocols for influential and critical
mission managers and leaders to mentor/sponsor ethnically diverse
employees
5. Career Progression and
Professional Develop
Roadmaps
5.1 Establish competitive roadmaps for the entire IC workforce
enterprise—entry, intermediate and senior levels
5.2 Promote traceable measures/metrics for tracking career
positioning
by showcasing demographic progression data by
UNCLASSIFIED
ethnicity , i.e. entry, 3, 5, 7, 10 year intervals
UNCLASSIFIED
2015 Leadership
Summit Contributors
Chair 2015 Summit
Executive Leadership
Lenora Peters Gant,
Ph.D., ODNI
NGA/JDA
Chief Executive
Officer
Janet A. Simmons/
LTC, USA (Ret),
President and CEO,
Innovative Global Security
Solutions, LLC; Summit Fiscal
Operations – www.igssco.com
2015 SUMMIT Operations
Senior Officers, Senior Program
Managers, Facilitators & Mentors
• LaForrest Williams, NSA (COL Ret/AF)
• Cindy Courville, Ph.D., DIA (Ret)
• Sandy Wilson, NGA
• Denice Carter, DIA (Ret)
• Debora Plunkett, NSA
• Joeanna Arthur, Ph.D., NGA
• Ernest Green, NSA/NRO
• Brandon Foley, CIA
• Janice Glover-Jones, DIA
• Vickie Haskins/NGA
• Torreon Creekmore, Ph.D. NGA
• Flora Lawson, NGA/NRO
• Jamila Howard, DIA
• Charles Belo, NSA
• Linwood Creekmore,DIA
• Gregory Gartrell, NGA
• Tiffany Haliburton, NGA
• Antione “Tony” Johnson, Ph.D. /NSA
(COL Ret/A)
• Cynthia Little, DIA
• Brandon Foley, CIA
• Reginald King, Ph.D., CIA
• Cynthia Miller, NSA
Key Planning Partners
Stephanie Stanard, Ph.D.
Alicia Bynum-Bryant , NGA
Ashantie Alford, Ph.D., NGA/CIA
Stephanie Doctor, NGA
William Mott , Major, USAF (Ret)
Kim Welch, DIA
Gina Thomas, NGA
Greg Gartrell, NGA
Flora Murphy, NGA
Senior Officers, Senior Program
Managers, Facilitators & Mentors
• Sheronda Dorsey, CIA
• Sander Williams, NGA
• Cynthia Miller, NSA
• James Samuel, NGA
• Sandra Wilson, NGA
• Gina Thomas, NGA
• Pamela Lomax, CIA
• Stephanie Stanard, Ph.D., ODNI
• Earnest Green, NSA/NRO
• Stacey Dixon, Ph.D., NGA
• Jewel Martin, CIA
• Ashantie Alford, Ph.D., NGA/CIA
Key References
• Jordan, Vernon et al, Central Intelligence Agency - Diversity in Leadership Study: Findings, April 2015
• Annual Report on Hiring and Retention of Minority Employees in the Intelligence Community (FY2014; FY 2013, FY2012)
• Grant Thornton and Partnership for Public Service (May 2014), Bracing for Change
• Gant, L. P. et al, SUMMIT (2014): A Synthesis of Proceedings - Best Practices and Recommendations
• Central Intelligence Director’s Advisory Group on WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP, Final Report, February 2013
• Fast Company (February 2012), The Secrets of Generation Flux: A Special Report
• Gant, L. P., Goodman, P. J. and Ward, D. L. (November 2012) Priming the Talent Pipeline: Redefining the Supply Chain for
America’s Intelligence Enterprise, People & Strategy, Volume 35, Issue 3
• Hewlett, S.A., Forster, D., Sherbin, L., Shiller, P. and Sumbert, K. (March 2010), Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited, Center for
Work-Life, Sponsored by Cisco, Ernst & Young, The Moody’s Foundation
UNCLASSIFIED