1. Leading Others Competencies
Relationship Management
Group Leadership
Customer Focus
Managing Performance and Development
Relationship Management-Definition: Encourages collaboration with a wide-range of stakeholders.  Engages in cross-functional activities.  Networks to build and strengthen support bases. Influences others; builds consensus; encourages and facilitates cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.  Seeks common ground that leads to mutually satisfying solutions.  Resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner.  Fosters a climate of commitment, team spirit, pride, respect and trust.
Ideas for Developing Relationship Management Behaviors: Seek a rotational assignment in a function where resolution is a primary activity such as: Labor Relations, Appeals, EEO and Diversity. Take a course on Interest Based Problem Solving. Deal with interpersonal conflict with someone in your personal network using honesty to build trust. Coordinate an offsite conference, convention, or dignitary visit in collaboration with multiple business units.
Group Leadership-Definition: Communicates a shared and compelling vision that provides clarity, excitement, enthusiasm and commitment. Informs people and ensures the practical needs of the group are met.  Creates an environment that encourages engagement.  Involves group members in decision-making and goal accomplishment. Ideas for Developing Group Leadership Behaviors: Teach your workgroup decision making processes (e.g. brain storming, multi voting, consensus, majority rule, etc.) and select a process to use in solving a current issue or problem. Participate or lead a team in the design of a product, process, or system with high stakes, high visibility, tight deadlines and scarce resources; use the team members for maximum efficiency. Build a task force to deal with a pressing business problem that, if possible, involves integrating system(s) across business units. Set up regular meetings or conference calls to share work and personal information to keep team members updated.
Customer Focus Definition: Solicits and understands the internal and external customers’ interests and uses this understanding to prevent and resolve problems and provide quality services. Adjusts priorities and resources to meet changing customer needs. Anticipates and meets the needs of customers by delivering and continuously improving products and services. Ideas for Developing Customer Focus Behaviors: Meet periodically with internal customers to assess and update current needs, exchange information and interests, etc.
Present customer satisfaction ratings at team meetings to assess progress and determine appropriate adjustments to operations when necessary. Conduct focus groups with customers to improve forms and/or correspondence. Analyze taxpayer correspondence for trends and improvement opportunity.
Managing Performance and Development-Definition: Develops leadership and/or technical skills in others through coaching, mentoring, rewarding, recognizing and teaching employees. Provides targeted developmental and performance feedback. Guides employees as they work. Creates an environment for continuous learning that encourages short- and long-term self-development. Ideas for Developing Managing Performance and Development Behaviors: Serve as an OJI for developing employees and managers. Encourage employees to serve as an OJI for new team members. Serve as a mentor for someone outside of your function using your experience and networks to help another in career development. Practice appropriate feedback techniques for giving and receiving feedback with a trusted peer.

2. Leading Improvement Competencies
Change Management-Definition: Displays flexibility/adaptability to changing conditions.  Understands how change will impact the organization and its people. Involves key stakeholders and communicates purpose and outcomes desired. Develops and implements strategies to support change within scope of authority and responsibility. Monitors change strategy/process and adjusts as necessary. Balances resources in support of current work and desired change. Models change. Ideas for Developing Change Management Behaviors: Develop a program to visibly acknowledge accomplishments and/or risk taking. Talk to peers, networks, and benchmark with others to see a new way of doing things. Participate in a redesign effort. Lead a group to problem solve a situation without being the final decision maker and encourage the group to make the decision. Lead a group process improvement effort.
Innovation and Risk Management-Definition: Creates innovative solutions. Identifies opportunities to develop and market services and products internally and externally. Manages risks; initiates actions that involve risks to achieve benefits/advantages. Encourages others to develop new ideas and take calculated risks. Ideas for Developing Innovation and Risk Management Behaviors: Encourage open discussion, unconventional thinking and risk taking leading to innovative and proactive business decisions. Collaborate with peers and subordinates in creating a compelling vision and/or symbol that focuses efforts on innovation and change. Benchmark external and internal organizations to identify best practices and business trends. Lead or participate on a task team whose focus is developing innovative solutions to business problems.
Achievement Orientation-Definition: Pursues excellence.  Focuses on producing high-quality work and surpassing standards.  Takes on challenging assignments and persists until significant performance improvements are attained. Ideas for Developing Achievement Orientation Behaviors: Use a coaching approach to support team members in dealing with a complex project to improve performance. Identify, design and implement a streamlined business process using a collaborative approach with the work group. Seek opportunities to participate in cross functional task groups that create or redesign high impact work processes. Engage your team in developing a plan using balanced measures that improves team performance.
Change Management
Innovation and Risk Management
Achievement Orientation

3. Business Results Competencies
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Leveraging Resources
Strategic Planning and Implementation
Problem Solving and Decision Making-Definition: Identifies and analyzes problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; provides solutions to individual and organizational problems.  Exercises good judgment by making ethical, sound, well-informed decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; makes effective and timely decisions, even when data are limited or solutions produce unpleasant consequences. Exhibits an optimistic and persistent approach when facing business challenges. Acts proactively. Ideas for Developing Problem Solving and Decision Making Behaviors: Serve on a task force working on a pressing business problem or on a cross functional project with competing priorities using problem solving approaches when possible. Participate on various selection panels emphasizing group decision making processes to facilitate the process. Use a decision making tool for establishing a work unit action plan. Use the coaching process to assist others in solving problems.
Leveraging Resources-Definition: Applies core management principles to optimize financial, technological and human resources. Plans and allocates sufficient resources to accomplish goals and objectives. Takes steps to improve efficiency and prevent waste. Develops and implements strategies to make sound business management decisions in a manner which instills public trust. Ideas for Developing Leveraging Resources Behaviors: Partner with key stakeholders in product, program, service, equipment or systems purchases to learn about financial processes in the IRS. Seek input and buy in at group meetings on the use of organizational resources within your control of influence, e.g. assignment of equipment, travel and training budgets. Lead a team to redesign or reconfigure an office environment to promote better use of resources and increase employee engagement. Seek opportunities to participate on teams and task groups to create or redesign high impact work processes.
Strategic Planning and Implementation-Definition: Formulates effective strategies that take into account the external influences on an organization from a national and global perspective. Identifies and considers organizational strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities with a long-term perspective leading to a compelling organizational vision and strategic plan. Identifies and addresses policy barriers. Develops implementation plans and strategies, setting priorities and adjusting as necessary. Ideas for Developing Strategic Planning and Implementation Behaviors: Serve on a task force to develop business plan goals. Become familiar with the IRS or business unit strategic plan and analyze with your group how it relates to your work. Participate in your organization’s strategic planning process including the development and use of feedback tools to evaluate the plan and its goals. Work with your group to align budget with organizational goals. Write a contingency scenario for an issue/problem facing your organization.

4. Exercise 1
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an unanticipated situation that required you to make a quick decision?

5. Exercise 2 You are the lead on your team and the
team is not meeting their productivity
requirements. Your manager has been
adjusting figures on the daily report to
indicate the team is meeting the
requirement. Tell us how you would
handle this situation.

6. Never make negative comments regarding a previous position or supervisor/manager.

7. Close in the Positive
“I want to thank you for considering me for the position of _______ and if given the opportunity, I know I will do an excellent job”.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview. This position has been a career aspiration of mine for quite some time or
is a part of my Career Learning Plan”

8. After the Interview:
Reflect on the interview and how well you did and make notes on the things you feel you could have done better.
Even if you are selected for the position ask for feedback on your interview.
Send a personal note or thanking each member of the interview panel for the opportunity of interviewing.

9. PREPARING FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
Last but not least!
SELL YOURSELF! LET IT BE KNOWN!
YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES
TO BE
THE BEST CANDIDATE!

10. Any Questions