30多年来， Excellence in Government Fellows program has helped federal employees develop the leadership skills to solve government’s biggest challenges. 今天, EIG is the premier leadership development course for career civil servants working in GS-14 和 GS-15 positions. 提供丰富的课程, personalized coaching 和 ample networking activities, the program instills in government leaders the core competencies 和 values of our 澳门网赌正规网址平台领导模式, the new st和ard for effective federal leadership. Manuel Medrano is one of thous和s of government leaders who have enrolled in—和 benefited from—EIG. 阅读更多 below to learn how the program helped Medrano become a leading cybersecurity expert at the State Department.

Manuel Medrano realized he wanted to become a public servant during a family vacation in Washington, D.C. Impressed by the gr和eur of the city’s federal buildings, Medrano—then a college student—pledged that he would one day work in one of them.

今天, Medrano is on the cusp of a 10-year federal career that has taken him from working as an information technology specialist at a USAID outpost in Kabul, Afghanistan to serving as a supervisory cybersecurity specialist at the State Department’s Cloud Program Management Office in the Bureau of Information Resource Management.

在这个角色中, Medrano监督, directs 和 monitors cybersecurity programs that protect the office’s enterprise cloud assets—tools that store 和 process data, 比如服务器, databases 和 data storage architecture. The office has been critical in helping State Department personnel work abroad safely 和 effectively, supporting “mobile diplomats” who work overseas 和 regularly need to share 和 communicate information electronically with foreign organizations 和 individuals.

Medrano’s career might have evolved differently had he not enrolled in the Excellence in Government Fellows program. The program—or EIG—offered Medrano top-notch executive coaching, practical curriculum 和 new network contacts that enabled him to become the leader he is today.

初步怀疑

在Medrano加入EIG之前, he viewed training programs as obligatory commitments that did not help him do his job better.

“To be honest, I was very skeptical when it came to training. I was like, ‘Oh, here we go, another check-the-box training,’他说.  

Initially, Medrano carried this attitude into the EIG program. He missed the first session due to a work commitment 和 did not expect anyone to notice until his coach called to follow up. When Medrano insisted he had to miss the first meeting, the coach warned him that he would have to work doubly hard to catch up 和 encouraged him to keep an open mind about the course.     

Medrano called the conversation a “game-changer” that illustrated how direct 和 honest communication could resolve sticky situations. He has drawn on this lesson to be a more communicative leader.

“After that, I felt more confident to be open-minded 和 actually have those crucial conversations. That’s important to become a better leader,他说.  

管理

This confidence enabled Medrano to deliver change 和 earn promotions at State. When he joined the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in May 2018, 例如, he pushed his supervisors to begin collaborating with the private sector to beef up the bureau’s threat intelligence. They initially rejected the idea.

Medrano credited the EIG program—和 a book it assigned called “Crucial Conversations”—with providing him the communication tools to get his bosses to buy in.   

“I was able to manage up 和 get my boss to support me 和 the director to support me,他说.

管理 eventually helped Medrano become the deputy division chief of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Cyber Threat Analysis Division. He believes that the EIG program played a critical role in this promotion by making him a stronger communicator 和 more confident innovator.

Medrano’s coworkers noticed the change. 当他离开局里的时候, they gave him a spoon as a going away present in recognition of his ability to “stir the pot.”

“My director said that he had noticed a transformation that I went through while doing [EIG],梅德拉诺说.

“My director said that he had noticed a transformation that I went through while doing [EIG].”

向上移动

Even though Medrano graduated from the EIG program in August 2019, it has continued to serve his career. Before moving into his new role at the Cloud Program Management Office, Medrano contacted his EIG coach for support 和 advice. She provided critical guidance that helped him l和 the position 和 jump into the GS-15 pay scale—the highest level in the job classification system, 总日程表, used by a majority of the federal workforce. 到2018财年末， only about 4% of General Schedule employees worked at the GS-15 level, which typically include those in supervisory, specialist 和 advanced degree positions.

“She played a big role in getting me ready to go through that process of getting promoted,他说.

今天, Medrano wants to pass along the lessons he’s learned to others.

He said the program enabled him to develop the interpersonal skills 和 emotional intelligence necessary to communicate the value of cybersecurity 和 IT modernization to State’s mission 和 help employees adapt to the agency’s ever-evolving technology needs.

He has also mentored others in the field, enrolling in 和 then co-coaching IT Leaders—now part of the Partnership’s Mission Support Leadership Program—和 advising participants in our 网络安全人才计划, a new public-private partnership that helps fill the government’s cybersecurity talent gap.

Medrano tells his mentees to enroll in EIG the first chance they get.

“In order to achieve your mission, you need to have the interpersonal skills that a leader needs 和 the change management skills that a leader also needs,他说.

“EIG helped me continue to ‘stir the pot’ 和 use these skills to enable others to become strong leaders who get their teams to see cybersecurity 和 IT modernization as critical to their agency’s mission.”

Medrano补充道, “I want to continue to make sure that we provide the IT capabilities 和 the security in order for federal government employees to perform their work 和 continue to make a difference. 这就是我的动力.”

Continue reading for information on 如何报名 in the Excellence in Government Fellows program.

“EIG helped me continue to ‘stir the pot’ 和 use these skills to enable others to become strong leaders who get their teams to see cybersecurity 和 IT modernization as critical to their agency’s mission.”