Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)

It is required by law¹ that the qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) be certified by an independent Qualifications Review Board based on criteria established by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) describe the leadership skills needed to succeed in the SES. This includes a set of 28 competencies, grouped into five clusters based on similarities of importance and content. AMA offers specific recommendations for training that can help candidates acquire the skills needed to satisfy the ECQ competency requirements.

Creativity and Innovation

• Critical Thinking
• Innovation and Design Thinking Certificate Program

Flexibility & Resilience

• Achieving Leadership Success Through People 
• Agile Leadership and Strategy
• Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
• Leading Disruptive Change and Innovation: Your Plan for Breakthrough Growth
• Leading with Emotional Intelligence
• Management Skills for New Managers
• Managing Hybrid Teams
• Successfully Managing People
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Signature Edition 4.0
• The SLII Experience™ – Powering Inspired Leaders
• Women Leading with Impact: Resilience and Strategic Risk-Taking

Strategic Thinking

• AMA's 5-Day "MBA" Certificate Program
• Innovation and Design Thinking Certificate Program
• Moving from an Operational Manager to a Strategic Leader
• Strategic Thinking

Vision

• AMA's Advanced Executive Leadership Program
• Developing Executive Leadership
• Leadership Certificate Program 
• Leadership Development for Women
• The Voice of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results
• Transformational Leadership: How to Inspire Extraordinary Performance
• Women's Leadership Certificate Program

Conflict Management

• Conflict Management Workshop
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness
• Leading with Emotional Intelligence
• Making the Transition from Staff Member to Supervisor
• Managing the "Unmanageable": Tough People, Tough Situations
• Responding to Conflict: Strategies for Improved Communication
• Successfully Managing People

Developing Others

• Coaching for Optimal Job Performance
• Coaching from a Distance: Developing Your Team When You Can't Be Face to Face
• Coaching Certificate Program
• Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
• Management Skills for New Managers
• Management Skills for New Supervisors
• Making the Transition from Staff Member to Supervisor
• Successfully Managing People
• The SLII Experience™ – Powering Inspired Leaders

Leveraging Diversity

• Developing a Culture of Respect: How to Cultivate a Harassment-Free Organization
• Diversity & Inclusion Certificate Program
• Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Online Workshop
• Finding Common Ground: How to Overcome Unconscious Bias
• Leadership Strategies for Creating a Respectful Workplace
• Leading in a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
• Management Skills for New Managers
• Management Skills for New Supervisors

Team Building

• Collaborative Leadership Skills
• Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness
• Leadership and Team Development for Managerial Success
• Leadership Skills and Team Development for Technical Professionals
• Leading Virtual Teams
• Managing Hybrid Teams
• Project Team Leadership: Building Commitment Through Superior Communication
• The 13 Behaviors of High-Trust Leaders
• The Voice of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results
• Women's Leadership Certificate Program

Accountability

• Collaborative Leadership Skills
• Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness
• Leadership Skills for Supervisors
• Management Skills for New Managers
• Management Skills for New Supervisors
• Making the Transition from Staff Member to Supervisor

Customer Service

• Customer Service Excellence: How to Win and Keep Customers

Decisiveness

• Analytical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Critical Thinking
• Developing Your Analytical Skills: How to Research and Present Information
• Using Data to Drive Strategy
• AMA's 5-Day "MBA" Certificate Program

Problem Solving

• Analytical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Critical Thinking
• Innovation and Design Thinking Certificate Program
• AMA's 5-Day "MBA" Certificate Program

Productivity

• Delegation Boot Camp
• Doing It All: How to Stay Focused and Engaged
• Extraordinary Productivity: The 5 Choices That Drive Success
• Management Skills for New Managers
• Managing Chaos: Tools to Set Priorities and Make Decisions Under Pressure
• Taking On Greater Responsibility: Step-Up Skills for Non-Managers
• Time Management
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Signature Edition 4.0

Technical Credibility

• Advanced Tools and Techniques for Data Analysis
• Data Analysis Fundamentals: A Hands-on Workshop
• How to Turn Data Into Compelling Visual Presentations
• Using Data to Drive Strategy

Financial Management

• AMA's Advanced Financial Forecasting and Modeling Workshop
• AMA's Comprehensive Budgeting Workshop
• AMA's Course on Financial Analysis
• AMA's Finance Workshop for Non-Financial Executives
• Financial Forecasting
• Fundamentals of Cost Accounting
• Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
• The Strategic Controller: Adding Value to Your Organization

Human Capital Management

• AMA’s Employment Law Course: Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of EEO, FMLA and ADA
• Fundamentals of Human Resources Management
• Recruiting, Interviewing and Selecting Employees
• Succession Planning: Developing Talent from Within
• AMA’s Training Certificate Program
• AMA’s Virtual Training Certificate

Influencing/Negotiating

• Assertiveness Training
• Assertiveness Training for Managers
• Assertiveness Training for Women in Business
• Building Better Work Relationships: New Techniques for Results-Oriented Communication
• Communicating Up, Down and Across the Organization
• Developing Executive Leadership
• Expanding Your Influence: Understanding the Psychology of Persuasion
• Getting Results Without Authority
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Leading with Emotional Intelligence
• Negotiating to Win
• Preparing for Leadership: What It Takes to Take the Lead
• Storytelling Power: Secrets for Exceptional Communication
• The Voice of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results
• Women's Leadership Certificate Program

Partnering

• Building Better Work Relationships: New Techniques for Results-Oriented Communication
• Coaching for Optimal Job Performance
• Coaching from a Distance: Developing Your Team When You Can't Be Face to Face
• Coaching Certificate Program
• Collaborative Leadership Skills
• Leading with Emotional Intelligence
• Partnering with Your Boss: Strategic Skills for Administrative Professionals
• The 7 Habits for Managers: Essential Skills and Tools for Leading Teams
• The SLII Experience™ – Powering Inspired Leaders

Interpersonal Skills

• 7 Interpersonal Skills of Great Managers
• Building Better Work Relationships: New Techniques for Results-Oriented Communication
• Business Communication Certificate Program
• Communicating Up, Down and Across the Organization
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills for Technical Professionals
• Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
• Executive Presence for Women
• Expanding Your Influence: Understanding the Psychology of Persuasion
• Getting Results Without Authority
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Moving Ahead: Breaking Behavior Patterns That Hold You Back
• Responding to Conflict: Strategies for Improved Communication
• Storytelling Power: Secrets for Exceptional Communication

Oral Communication

• Advanced Leadership Communication Strategies
• Building Better Work Relationships: New Techniques for Results-Oriented Communication
• Business Communication Certificate Program
• Communicating Up, Down and Across the Organization
• Communicating with Confidence
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills for Technical Professionals
• Developing Effective Business Conversation Skills
• Effective Executive Speaking
• Effectively Communicating in The Moment
• Executive Presence for Women
• Expanding Your Influence: Understanding the Psychology of Persuasion
• Mastering the Art of Critical Conversations
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Mastering the Art of Critical Conversations
• Negotiating to Win
• Presentation Skills Workshop
• Storytelling Power: Secrets for Exceptional Communication
• Strategies for Developing Effective Presentation Skills
• The Voice of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results
• Virtual Presentation Certificate Program

Written Communication

• AMA’s 2-Day Business Writing Workshop
• AMA’s Business Grammar Workshop
• Business Writing Made Simple
• Effective Technical Writing

It is required by law that the qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) be certified by an independent Qualifications Review Board based on criteria established by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) describe the leadership skills needed to succeed in the SES. This includes a set of 28 competencies, grouped into five clusters based on similarities of importance and content. AMA offers specific recommendations for training that can help candidates acquire the skills needed to satisfy the ECQ competency requirements.