Program Overview

In today’s ever-changing world, management expertise is not enough to drive change and ensure success: You must also be a leader. That means you need a skill set defined by the ability to build coalitions, drive results and performance and guide organizational change.

Senior Executive Fellows is the unparalleled professional development program for executives who want to sharpen their leadership and managerial skills. It's designed for GS-14/GS-15 federal employees and their corporate sector, international, non-profit, multi-lateral, and military counterparts.

Led by renowned Harvard faculty and expert practitioners, this immersive four-week executive leadership skills program will provide you with a framework for problem-solving, conditioning you to ask the right questions and find the most strategic approach to your challenge. You'll immediately take on a leadership role in the classroom and gain the tools necessary to look at issues from a new perspective.

This leadership skills program incorporates the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) for Senior Executive Service (SES). Many government agencies offer it as part of their Senior Executive Services (SES) Candidate Development Programs (CDPs).

illustration of schedule
Schedule for online program

Program Curriculum

You'll explore issues such as cooperative versus competitive interactions with governmental agencies, political appointees, the media, as well as private sector organizations and individuals. Through analysis of the experience and interactive discussions about the critical choices made by key players along the way, you'll gain valuable insights, training and practice in making challenging leadership decisions about actual situations in real time.

Learning Objectives

The Senior Executive Fellows curriculum will help you to:

  • Identify and analyze the challenges and opportunities facing your organization—and master them both politically and technically.
  • Develop strategic plans of action using communication, negotiation and coalition-building skills.
  • Manage the tensions between long-term policy goals and short-term political pressures.
  • Create an organizational environment that is responsive to change, but also true to its purpose and tradition.

Application Information

The Senior Executive Fellows program is designed for top-level managers who aspire to be executives in all types of organizations.

Recommended applicants include:

  • Top managers from the U.S. federal government (GS-14 and 15)
  • Senior officials from the military (O-5 and O-6)
  • Executives from the corporate and nonprofit sectors
  • International participants from backgrounds similar to the above

The typical composition of a cohort is 70-80% U.S. federal government and military; the balance comprises leaders from the corporate and nonprofit sectors, state and local governments and those outside the U.S.

The intensive online program provides a more flexible format where you can apply concepts directly to your work while experiencing the rigor of Harvard remotely. Through an array of online modalities, you will be immersed in the curriculum and make progress on your individual challenges, while connecting with your peers and developing a robust network of colleagues that will last a lifetime. Access a sample online program schedule.

The on-campus program is an immersive and intense learning experience on Harvard’s historic Cambridge campus. During the week, you’ll experience lectures firsthand and connect with peers both in and outside of the classroom. The fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials, and most meals. Access a sample on-campus program schedule.

Hear Dana Born Discuss the SEF Program Experience

Senior Executive Fellows Faculty Chair Dana Born and Program Director Horace Ling discuss the differences between the SEF online offering and the SEF on-campus offering, and how SEF can be effective in helping you meet your objectives.

What Participants are Saying

“I gained the tools I needed to become the kind of leader I aspire to be, plus a new network of brilliant professors and peers I can turn to for advice.”

VINCENT FUSARO, US DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
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Hear From the Faculty Chair

Faculty Chair Dana Born talks about the benefits of transformational leadership and character for organizations.

Faculty & Research

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Dana Born

Lecturer in Public Policy

Ronald Ferguson Photo

Ronald Ferguson

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy

Francis Hartmann Photo

Francis Hartmann

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy

Kessely Hong Photo

Kessely Hong

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
617-384-8111
Steven Kelman Photo

Steven Kelman

Albert J. Weatherhead III and Richard W. Weatherhead Professor of Public Management, Emeritus

Roger Porter Photo

Roger Porter

IBM Professor of Business and Government
617-496-4036
Malcolm Sparrow Photo

Malcolm Sparrow

Professor of the Practice of Public Management
617-495-8359
Peter Zimmerman Photo

Peter Zimmerman

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy

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