Opportunities at the CIA

Black Collegian, Feb 2008

GERTIE STARKS You're absolutely right, Sue. We must have an environment in the directorate where employees from different cultures and backgrounds feel comfortable expressing different views, because it matters to our analytical work. It actually is key to our success.

PETER CLEMENT I want to comment specifically on one of the comments Sue made, the one about her experience. One of the reasons people like Sue and John Kringen, the Director for Intelligence, both have gotten to where they are is because they worked in many different offices, directorates, and other agencies and had a real range of experiences - in managing substantive people and budgets.

TBC: How do you prepare mid-level minority officers to assume leadership roles?

BROMLEY We try to prepare all of our officers to assume leadership roles. We've invested a lot in our training programs. We are making sure that people have an opportunity to have different kinds of assignments at various stages of their careers. I'm a poster child for that.

TBC: In the October 2006 issue of THE BLACK COLLEGIAN, John Kringen talked about the development of a Dl's Coaching and Mentoring Program for midlevel minority employees. Can you tell us about that program and how was it received by both managers and employees?

BROMLEY I think it's off to a good start. We put a lot of energy into recruiting a diverse workforce and we want to make sure that we optimize the skills and talents of all of our officers and prepare them to handle the management responsibilities here in the directorate. This program is just another tool to not only develop but retain our diverse workforce.

CLEMENT One of the things I like about this program is we specifically pair the minority officers in this program with a senior manager. Sue, John, and I are all serving as coaches/mentors. This program gives us mentors an opportunity to meet often with an employee with whom we might not otherwise have an opportunity to engage. When you spend some time with a particular individual, you actually get to know them a lot better, get to know what's going on in their world, and how they view the directorate and the Agency. This becomes a very important window for us, because we are several levels removed from their "ground truth." But as we get to know our mentee better and understand his/her career goals and aspirations, we can offer advice on training or specific assignments that would benefit the employee.

BROMLEY It's about helping people make informed decisions and choices. Some of our officers may say, "I've watched the management track and I've watched the analyst expert track. The expert track is for me. I can get to senior levels there and have a huge impact. That's where my natural interests lie. Some people look at the management track and say, "I love that. That's where I can help lead and grow people and also help create new products or think about how we do our business in the future." Having a program like this helps people see both sides before they commit to a career track.