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OPM.gov / Agency Services / Training and Development / For Individuals / Leadership Development Assessments
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Leadership Development Assessments


Target Audience: Aspiring to experienced leaders  |   Tuition: $615 - $2080   |   Format: Virtual

Schedule update: The fall 2026 cohort is now closed. You can sign up to receive updates when the spring 2027 cohort opens, or learn more about cohort-based assessments for teams within your agency.

View assessment bundles below  |  Download fact sheet

Overview  

OPM’s Leadership Development Assessments give federal employees research-based insight into their leadership strengths, growth opportunities, and development priorities. Whether you’re preparing for your first supervisory role or strengthening your effectiveness as an experienced leader, there’s a bundle built for your development goals — and all are available for individual enrollment.

What you get

Each bundle gives you access to tools used governmentwide, benchmarked against real federal leadership data, and supported by individual feedback or coaching to help you turn results into a concrete development plan—not just a report you file away.

Assessments

  • OPM Leadership Potential Assessment (OPM-LPA): Best for aspiring leaders preparing to step into supervisory roles with feedback on competencies
    and motivational factors that support leadership readiness and growth.
  • OPM Leadership 360™: Anyone in a formal leadership role who wants multi-rater feedback on leadership behaviors aligned with the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).
  • OPM Personality Assessment for Leaders (OPM-PAL): Offers research‑based insights for leaders at all levels, focusing on personality-based tendencies that shape leadership style and effectiveness.

Developmental support

  • Individual feedback sessions: a 45-minute phone session with an OPM facilitator to review and interpret feedback report(s) and identify development areas.
  • Leadership coaching: Three one-hour phone sessions with an OPM coach to help set developmental goals, create an action plan, reflect progress, and identify practical steps to support continued growth.

Assessment bundles

Choose the assessment and feedback type that best supports your leadership and development goals.

   
Type Best for Assessments and Support Tuition
Bundle 1 Aspiring leaders preparing to move into formal leadership roles. OPM-LPA with feedback $715
Bundle 2 Leaders in a formal leadership role who want multi-rater feedback on leadership behaviors aligned with the ECQs. OPM 360™ with feedback $715
Bundle 3 Aspiring or formal leaders who want personality-based insight into leadership style and effectiveness. OPM-PAL with feedback $615
Bundle 4 Aspiring leaders who want feedback on leadership readiness plus a personality-based lens on leadership style. OPM-LPA, OPM-PAL, and feedback $965
Bundle 5 Leaders in formal roles who want multi-rater feedback plus a personality-based lens on leadership style. OPM 360™, OPM-PAL, and feedback $965
Bundle 6 Aspiring leaders who want assessment feedback plus coaching support to guide development and career growth. OPM-LPA, OPM-PAL, and coaching $2080
Bundle 7 Leaders in formal roles who want assessment feedback plus coaching support to guide development action. OPM 360™, OPM-PAL, and coaching $2080


Group assessments

OPM also offers these assessments to groups within agencies to help build the leadership capabilities needed to achieve their mission. For agencies with groups of 10 or more participants, cohort-based assessment delivery is typically the most cost-effective option and provides a more coordinated experience for participants, agency points of contact, and OPM. Cohort delivery allows agencies to align assessment timing, communications, reporting, and follow-up support around their leadership development goals.

Open enrollment assessment bundles are designed for individual participants or very small groups, generally when fewer than 10 individuals from an agency want to participate. Agencies interested in assessing a group of employees should learn more or contact Leadership_Assessment@opm.gov to discuss cohort options.

Assessment details

This multi-rater feedback tool evaluates aspiring government leaders on nine competencies and five motivational factors critical to career growth and readiness for a formal leadership role. Feedback from the aspiring leader, their supervisor, peers, and other stakeholders reveals how others experience their leadership behaviors, serving as a powerful foundation for targeted development and career growth.

This multi-rater feedback tool gives government leaders a clear, comprehensive view of their leadership strengths and development needs related to the ECQ competencies. The assessment uses a structured process to collect feedback from multiple sources—the leader, their supervisor, peers, direct reports, and other stakeholders—to reveal how others experience a leader’s behaviors, helping them build self‑awareness and focus their development where it matters most.

A self-assessment that measures the personality and behavioral tendencies that shape leadership style, based on the well-established “Big Five” framework (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Emotional Stability). OPM psychologists have linked the five factors to the ECQ competencies, giving participants targeted feedback on how their personality affects their effectiveness as a leader.

What to expect

After selecting your bundle, you’ll receive guidance on the assessment process, what to expect, and how to complete your assessment. For multi‑rater assessments, this will also explain how to choose raters who can provide meaningful feedback.

You’ll complete your assessments through OPM’s online platform. You’ll also invite raters for the OPM Leadership 360™ and Leadership Potential Assessment, giving supervisors, peers, and colleagues time to provide candid input on your leadership.

After the survey closes, you’ll receive a feedback guide and your individual report, giving you a clear picture of your strengths, development areas, and insights tailored to your leadership style, behaviors, or readiness.

You’ll then meet one‑on‑one with an OPM feedback provider or leadership coach, depending on your bundle, to review your results and begin shaping a clear plan for what comes next.

Note: Coaching sessions must be completed within three months of report delivery.

Register

Note: Submitting the registration form does not complete your enrollment. You will receive payment instructions by email, and your registration will be finalized once payment is processed through Pay.gov.

Download fact sheet

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