USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Eligibility Requirements

1. Nominees must be a USGS employee or group of employees.
2. Nominees as a group or as an individual must not previously have received this award. However, if an individual has received the award individually, she/he can receive the award as a member of a group.
3. The contribution(s) being recognized must have occurred in the past 2 years.

Selection Criteria

1. Leadership Principles. Demonstrates leadership principles described in the USGS Guiding Principles: be respectful; be accountable; communicate; value differences; encourage; focus; collaborate.
2. Interpersonal Skills. Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills that enable consideration of and response to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of different people in different situations; partners with and influences others and negotiates solutions to problems; communicates effectively both orally and in writing.
3. Cooperative Working Relationships. Develops and sustains cooperative working relationships; encourages and facilitates cooperation within the team environment and throughout USGS; manages conflicts effectively, confronting issues and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner.
4. Continual Learning. Demonstrates a commitment to continual learning and the ability to master new technical and business knowledge; recognizes own strengths and weaknesses and pursues self-development; is flexible and open to change; deals effectively with pressure, maintaining focus and intensity.
5. Problem Solving. Identifies and analyzes problems and makes logical decisions; exercises good judgment; anticipates the impact and implication of decisions; applies creative solutions based on new insights to make organizational improvements.
6. Organizational Change Takes a long-term view and acts as a catalyst for innovative organizational changes; builds a shared vision with others; influences others to translate vision into action; anticipates issues and opportunities.
7. Customer Service.Encourages and enables others to provide quality customer service; influences others to a spirit of service; anticipates and meets the needs of clients; is committed to continuous service improvement.
8. Resource Management.Manages finances, human resources, and technical resources effectively to get the most for the organization; holds self and others accountable for accomplishment of responsibilities; values cultural diversity and other individual differences in the workforce.
9. Technical Competence.Appropriately interprets and applies procedures, requirements, regulations and policies related to areas of expertise; demonstrates political savvy, an ability to identify the internal and external politics that impact the USGS, and an ability to formulate appropriate approaches to each problem situation.

Nomination Package

1. A draft citation, not to exceed 700 words, that clearly describes the contribution(s) being recognized, relating it to at least three of the areas set forth in the above criteria. (Please note that citations longer than 700 words will be returned to the sender for modification in order to keep the length consistent for all nominees.)
2. Provide the name, phone number, and email of the person submitting the nomination.
3. The original nomination package must be mailed electronically by the due date to:




Carole DeHerrera - cdeherrera@usgs.gov

A copy of the nomination package should be sent to the nominee's supervisor.

Source of Nominations

The Office of Organizational and Employee Development, Leadership Program, will solicit nominations each July for contributions that occurred in the past 2 years. Nominations may be initiated by any USGS employee with knowledge of the outstanding leadership achievements of the individual or group.

Processing and Approval Process

Nominations will be evaluated and an award recipient will be selected by a panel consisting of the Deputy Director, one Associate Director, one Regional Executive, the Associate Director for Human Capital, and a graduate of Leadership 201 class selected by the Program Manager. One recipient (who may be either an individual employee or a group of employees) will be selected each year.

Evidence of Award

The award consists of an acrylic engraved with the recipient's name (or names, in the case of a group), a summary of the contributions, and the date of presentation; and a citation and certificate signed by the Director. In addition, the recipient's name (or names, in the case of a group) will be included on the Excellence in Leadership Award Plaque that will be displayed permanently at the USGS National Center in Reston, Virginia. If a group receives the award, each member of the group will receive a citation and certificate signed by the Director and the acrylic will rotate amongst the group members' offices. A copy of the award citation and certificate will be placed in the employee's Employee Performance File in the servicing Personnel Office.

Presentation of Award

The award will be presented at the annual USGS honor awards ceremony in Reston, Virginia. Recipient(s) are encouraged to attend the annual USGS honor awards ceremony in Reston, Virginia. Travel costs will be borne by the award recipient's office.