The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2014 19 so doing, should consider a few steps to enhance it. This might include increas- ing the size of the program, though the Fellows I’ve spoken with all point to the small group dynamic as crucial to the program’s success. But State could run three different “classes” each year, bumping the number to 36 participants a year. The program could also give partici- pants a more active role, along the lines of the Excellence in Government Fellow- ship. Each group of Fellows could tackle a specific project to improve a particular aspect of the State workplace—showing their capacity, as one put it, “to be cur- rent, not future, leaders.” Another idea is to establish a mentor- ing program for Powell Fellows during the year following their participation in the program. Each would be paired with a senior department leader, and the two would meet throughout the year. Regardless of whether changes are made, it is clear that the end of the Pow- ell Fellows Program, and the absence of any initiatives to replace it, has left a significant gap. The program gave State flexibility in identifying its strongest performers, something it currently lacks. The program also gave mid-level officers something to strive for, and enhanced their skills, knowledge and understand- ing of what it takes to be a leader in the Foreign Service. And it did all that for just $50,000 a year. The department needs to become more involved in the process of pro- actively identifying its future lead- ers—and then equipping them for roles of increasing responsibility within our organization. The Powell Fellows Pro- gram is one step toward accomplishing that admittedly daunting task. It worked before, and it can work again. n