STEPPING UP: Discover what Maine did to keep great legislative staff excited about and highly engaged in their jobs.

• Author: Little, Jackie
• Position: INNOVATIONS

The Maine Legislature has found an effective way to prepare for a successful transition to the next generation of staff leaders. And it's easy enough to adopt almost anywhere.

We have a relatively flat legislative staff structure in Maine that limits opportunities for advancement. You could say our career ladder looked more like a step stool. With many of our office heads and senior staff nearing retirement age, our human resources department recognized we could lose vast institutional knowledge and talent if we didn't do something soon to attract and keep great staff.

Our solution was to create an aspiring leaders program. In 20 IS, we invited interested legislative staff to apply with a brief written application, and 10 percent did. We accepted 14 participants based on their demonstrated leadership skills, their application responses, conversations with supervisors and their length of legislative service. Although half of them hoped to land in a traditional management role, we didn't promise them a future promotion; instead, we promised them effective training to help them become strong candidates for anticipated management vacancies. The other half of the participants were excelling in their current positions and wanted to build on those skills.

The group met six times over several months, heard presentations and participated in group discussions on topics tailored to help them achieve their professional goals. Participants were required to read various articles, watch online videos and make a presentation on a leadership book of their choice. Participants discussed topics like leading in a legislative setting, transitioning from peer to supervisor, gaining credibility, delegating effectively, motivating employees and more.

The program appears to be working. We have retained great staff who continue to be excited about and interested in their work. Out of our first cohort of as piring leaders, all are still working for the Legislature. In addition, four have received promotions. Several others have used their new skills to head up special projects, teach other employees or mentor new staff.

We were surprised by some unanticipated benefits as well. Supervisors gained a greater awareness of the importance of preparing and mentoring the next generation of leaders. The participants developed a greater understanding of the challenges involved in being a leader. And, from a human resources perspective, it further demonstrated our value to the...