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Maryland Wins Award for its Leadership Training Program

(Washington , D. C., April 2, 2012) The Federation of Tax Administrators announced today that Maryland Comptroller's Office is the recipient of the 2012 FTA Award for Training.

Presentation of the awards will take place during the FTA Annual Meeting, June 20 in Washington, DC.

Maryland's Leadership Training Program began in June 2009 as an 18-month plan to develop and enhance skills of workers who were identified as potential section managers. Trainees are expected to replace managers who are facing retirement. The program also seeks to develop a well-trained, professional and empowered management team. After the first offering, designers added innovations that led to expanded training initiatives. Among other activities, Maryland adapted an IRS two-week Front-Line Manager Course; created an inter-Sectional employee network; used the Intranet for training; developed courses around organizational unit functions (for instance, developing exercises around reporting requirements, operating procedures and legislative audit concerns and Continuity of Operations Planning issues); created a reading list, required book reviews and group discussions; rotated assignments and created regular meetings with the agency head to discuss progress and concerns.

Judges were especially impressed with the "shadowing people" plan, that the agency focused on a variety of outcomes, and that it happened on a shoestring budget. "If you look at the state that states are in right now, if you're thinking about a program that will be easier to transfer to other agencies, this is it," one said. One praised the "cultural change that is created when you do these kinds of work . . . they're creating a cadre of future leaders."

The Federation of Tax Administrators is a nonprofit organization composed of taxation and revenue departments of the fifty states, District of Columbia and New York City. Its mission is to improve the standards and methods of tax administration.

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