Special agents assigned to the Office of the Special Agent-in-Charge (SAIC), New Orleans, La., recently concluded a year-long mentoring program co-sponsored by the Customs Leadership Center. In the first program of its type offered within the Office of Investigations (OI), special agents participated in a variety of career developments and training assignments designed to prepare them for future leadership roles.

Charting a new course
In 1999, the SAIC New Orleans established a Leadership Development Board to design and pilot a formal mentoring program. The program was designed in collaboration with the Customs Leadership Center, which has helped design other mentoring programs within Customs. Successful mentoring programs have been conducted within the New York, West Great Lakes, and Mid-America Customs Management Centers and the Canine Program.

The SAIC New Orleans program attracted GS-13 senior special agents who had a strong desire to expand their organizational knowledge and skill base. They had an opportunity to learn from the experiences of successful leaders. Participating as "mentees" in the program were senior special agents C. Vernon Francis, Resident Agent-in-Charge (RAIC) Lafayette; Nancy Valencic, RAIC Nashville; Dwight McDaniel, RAIC Mobile; Sherrie Raby, SAIC New Orleans; and Roland Jones, RAIC Gulfport. Each mentee was paired with a successful manager who served as mentor and coach.

Beyond the comfort zone
The goal of the mentoring program was to develop a well-rounded cadre of future leaders and enhance the SAIC-wide leadership cohesiveness. This program gave participants a better understanding of how the SAIC/HQ offices conduct business and offered skill development in communication, teamwork, problem solving, and managing resources. The mentees developed action plans based upon their individual developmental needs. A range of developmental activities gave agents an opportunity to learn, develop, and demonstrate new skills outside of their current work assignments and "comfort zone."

The participating agents also served on committees working to restructure the SAIC New Orleans organization to address manpower losses due to retirements and reassignments. They surveyed the various administrative functions handled within the SAIC office and outlying RAIC offices, offered alternative structures, and implemented new administrative processes after obtaining management approval.

In addition, participating agents traveled on temporary duty assignments as desk officers in headquarters, shadowed senior managers, acted as resident agents in charge, and visited Strategic Trade Centers to observe other Customs programs. They also learned about time management, professional presentations, leadership styles within other agencies, and techniques for dealing effectively with difficult people. They participated in "360° assessments" to evaluate their leadership competencies as observed by their supervisors and peers. But most of all, these agents established a one-on-one partnership with a mentor as a role model and sounding board.

The pilot program concluded with a Leadership Panel discussion chaired by Katherine M. Schulte, SAIC New Orleans. Participating in the panel were Robert W. Weber, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Internal Affairs; Loraine E. Brown, SAIC Los Angeles; and John C. Kelley, Jr., SAIC El Paso. The panel members discussed their individual careers and offered advice and guidance to the agents who participated in the program. The mentees also participated in the discussion, and presented the panel with an overview of the developmental activities they undertook during the course of the program.

Says Sherrie Raby, "I am currently drawing from the lessons I learned in the mentoring program managing a national investigative initiative." Roland Jones adds, "Mentoring is an ongoing process, one that is often part of the leader's daily toolkit. I learned that successful leaders had multiple mentors."

The mentoring program piloted by SAIC New Orleans represents a paradigm shift in employee development, based on a new learning model emphasizing self-development of leadership competencies. The mentee/agents involved have gone beyond the usual expectations and are prepared for future leadership within the Customs Service.