Colleyville, Texas City Hall
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Colleyville College? 
It is a program open to all interested employees and designed to assess individual strengths and improvement areas, establish individual development and training plans, and assist in the development of skills necessary for career advancement or enhancement.

Who can participate?
All employees are eligible to participate in the program that have successfully completed their first six months of employment and are currently performing their duties at a satisfactory level.

What must I do to participate? 
Participation requires you to complete a simple application indicating your interest, including an acknowledgement from your supervisor and department director in the form of a signature. 

Why participate? 
Participation is voluntary and gives you an opportunity to increase your knowledge, experience and abilities that will prepare you for a supervisory, management or executive leadership role in the future.  This program will prepare you for the future.  The only thing holding you back is you!

If I sign up what do I have to do, what am I signing up for? 
The great part about the College is that it is completely individualized.  You’ll start by taking a 360 Assessment, analyzing your strengths and areas of improvement.   A 360 Assessment is important because it will provide you an understanding of where you are now: what your current strengths are, the level of your current performance or leadership effectiveness, and what are seen as primary development needs.  You will submit information about yourself as pare of the process, as well as your supervisor and several of your co-workers who work alongside you.  Good assessment data helps people clarify what needs to be learned, improved, or changed.  Having data not only motivates a person to close the gaps but provides clues to how the gaps might be closed.

The results from your 360 assessment will only be read by you, your Supervisor, Department Director the Human Resources Director. Once you receive the results, you will meet with them to discuss your career goals and implement an Individual Development Plan determining action step for the next 6-12 months.  It will be your responsibility to attend assigned classes, work on projects, and complete your action steps.  You’ll evaluate your progress at the end of the first 8 months and determine continued action steps.  The goal is to prepare you for your future.

When I hear “College,” I think of sitting in a classroom or training room; this doesn’t really sound like that, am I right? 
You are absolutely correct.  Our philosophy is that it takes more than book work to prepare for management; it takes strengthening areas ripe for improvement and using the knowledge learned in practical settings. This is where development strategies come in.  You may attend training classes or even be encouraged to pursue a college education.  However, that’s not all; other employee development strategies could include: specific job assignments, on-the-job coaching, job enrichment, job shadowing, job rotation, “acting” assignments, taskforce assignments, conference leader or instructor, participation in higher-level meetings.  Anything that will help strengthen improvement areas making you a well rounded professional.
The idea is to narrow the gap of what you can already do and what is necessary to meet future work requirements and competencies.

Sounds like a lot of work? 
You’re probably right, but nothing worth working for ever came easy; and you are worth working for!

What if I get in this and find I can’t complete due to personal or other circumstances? 
Remember, this is voluntary.  If you get started and determine this isn’t the right step for you that is ok.  You are a valued member of this team and we will continue to provide opportunities for you to grow and learn at your own pace.  We understand that circumstances in life happen that may create a hardship for you.  Let your supervisory, director and human resources know your plan.  We will hold your development plan open for reentry in the future. 

Why is the City doing this? 
The City recognizes its strength comes from the employees.  This is our way of saying you are valuable and we want to keep you.  We believe that if we commit to assisting you, that what you gain will be given back to the community through improved services, innovative approaches to problem solving, enthusiasm in customer service and an overall commitment to excellence.  It’s hard to go wrong with that.

Is there a cost? 
There is not a cost to you for training or development. In fact, most of the classes will be held during the day and considered part of your regular schedule.  Therefore, you are getting paid to learn and grow. If class times fall out of your regular work schedule, your schedule may be adjusted.  Overtime issues will be worked out with your supervisor and department director.
If it is recommended that you advance your education through college course work or a degree program, then you are responsible for the cost and will have to work with your supervisor and department director regarding scheduling issues.   Remember the City’s tuition reimbursement program is available to help cover the costs.

What is the time commitment and calendar of events?    
The time commitment will be based on how aggressively you want to pursue your goals.  You will have approximately 30 days to complete the 360 Assessment process and then within the next 30-60 days your Individual Training and Development plan will be established.  Then it is up to you, your supervisor and director to follow-through and complete the items listed.  You may have training classes to attend, projects to work on, books to read, etc. the direction and intensity level is set by you.  The City will review an aggregate report of all employee assessments to determine common themes for development of on-site training and development programs.  
What is the selection process? 
This is a voluntary program.  Selection is based on your completion and submission of an application to Human Resources by the deadline date.  If you miss the first date, you can always apply the second time around.  Generally, the dates for submission will be October 2 and January 5. We believe that since this is a new endeavor for our organization it’s prudent to begin with only a few departments rather than the entire organization all at once.  This will help us improve the program as we go.
If you are interested in participating in the College of Executive Leadership, the selection process will be based on completion and submission of your application to Human Resources by the deadline and then a review from a selection committee will take place.  Approximately five people will be selected to start the program.  Applicants will be considered from all departments and selections will be based on interest in becoming a future municipal government executive.

What if my supervisor won’t sign my application?
The supervisory signature is just to let them know you are interested and participating in the program so they can coordinate your training and development plan with your regular schedule.  This shouldn’t be an issue, if you supervisor is unavailable to sign, then send to your Director and to Human Resources we will follow up with the supervisor later.

College of Executive Leadership
The mission is to develop the next generation of executive leaders by investing in City of Colleyville employees interested in growing their career. 

This program includes workshops with area municipal government leaders, luncheons to analyze deeper into various topics, individual reading assignments, mentoring and group project.

It is estimated that it will take approximately two years to complete this training and development program, however, the development doesn’t stop there.  You will have on-going challenges, training and growth opportunities to prepare you for the next step in your career.

Program Competencies
The program is designed to be compatible with ICMA Emerging Leaders program and will assist participants in developing core competencies in the following areas:
*      Leadership in local government
*      Ethics and Integrity
*      Analytical Skills
*      Organizational Effectiveness
*      Strategic Planning
*      Community Building
*      Effective Policy and Administration

Program Elements:
1. Begins with a 360 degree assessment; outlining strengths and areas for improvement necessary for success as a senior department head or other executive leader.

2. The 360 assessment is reviewed with you, your department director and human resources to outline an individual training and development plan (ITDP).

3. Take part in five (5) scheduled workshops, one every other month beginning in January 2007.

4. Participate in four (4) scheduled luncheons, one every other month beginning in February 2007.

5. Participate in appropriate training classes as outlined in your ITDP.

6. Meet with your assigned mentor a minimum of 3-5 times throughout the course of the program; increased learning will occur the more opportunities you have to meet.

7.  Completion of a group project appropriate for the City of Colleyville during year two.

8.  Exchange Leader to another area city for exposure to their best practices in a variety of settings. (Under development)

Program Completion
A graduation ceremony will be scheduled at the completion of the program to celebrate your success.