Professional Development

We take professional development very seriously. In fact, we’re kind of obsessed with it. Not only do we want to ensure our staff members are set up to succeed in their roles (and advance to their next), but we want to make sure our organization has an internal pipeline of talent to support our growth.

Our Leadership Development System

Our Leadership Development System (LDS) serves as our overarching human capital development strategy. First, it allows us to match qualified individuals with appropriate roles during the hiring process. Second, it provides our staff with ongoing training and professional development opportunities so that they grow and eventually advance to new staff positions with increased responsibilities. Third, it ensures Teach For America retains high-performing staff members by developing the leadership potential of all individuals.

At the heart of our LDS are our core values. The LDS is also rooted in three competency areas critical to our organization’s success:

• Building relationships and influencing others: Building relationships and networks and effectively communicating with and aligning others with Teach For America’s goals.
• Operating and managing: Managing people, processes, and initiatives in order to achieve organizational excellence.
• Reasoning and strategic thinking: Identification of opportunities, thoughtful analysis, and synthesis of data leading to strategic solutions.
   

Staff members work with their managers to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth according to these competencies and the core values. These conversations happen throughout the year in manager and team check-ins, as well as our annual formal performance reviews. This process provides staff members with a clear picture of what strong performances looks like, and offers a platform for continuous growth, learning, and carving a path for their long-term career at Teach For America.

Performance Reviews

All staff members participate in our annual performance review process. Each staff member receives an individual performance review, which is based on feedback from 1) direct reports, 2) peers, 3) manager, and 4) self-assessment.

Some staff members opt to participate in a number of other performance enhancing exercises. For example, some engage in a 2x2 Feedback Session. A 2x2 typically happens in the first several months of joining staff, between formal performance review cycles for additional development, or to improve communication between a staff member and manager, or between two peers. In this review, both staff members and their managers identify two things the other is doing well and two areas for improvement.

Professional Development Resources and Training

To help staff members gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to be more successful in their current position and prepare for future opportunities, we operate from a learning map that aligns our organization-wide professional development curriculum with the competencies and core values in our Leadership Development System.

Staff members engage in milestone programs that occur periodically throughout their time on staff. These live programs give staff members the opportunity to network, reflect, and share best practices with cross-organizational cohorts and mentors.

Our staff members also engage in self-paced online trainings across a variety of topics. These are customized to be highly relevant for our organizational context and focus on the foundational skills important for everyone at Teach For America. Training topics include creating personal operating systems and giving effective feedback.

Resource Groups

Staff members have the opportunity to join a variety of resource groups, which give those who have common backgrounds or identities the opportunity to come together to build social and professional networks, create a forum for skill-building, and leverage and engage member perspectives to gain insight into key organizational initiatives. In some cases, resource groups coordinate forums for the organization at-large. For example, the Asian American resource group recently worked with several teams to organize an individual development plan workshop where they invited staff members from Human Assets to talk about how best to leverage professional development tools to improve performance in your role.