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Workforce Challenges in the Intelligence Community

A new generation of intelligence community professionals is just now making its way in to the workforce. They have different values, ideals and expectations than the long-serving intelligence community professionals who are nearing retirement.

Beyond the need to revamp the security clearance process and reestablish the relationship between the intelligence community and media (and the general public), add this issue of the intelligence community workforce challenge.

This issue has been highlighted by the recent Snowden leak of intelligence information.

Since the inception of our intelligence communities there have been primarily team players — those who did not question authority and who understood that you did not necessarily ask certain questions. Transparency has become a frequent term recently in our community, and we have a workforce joining these ranks that values transparency and open collaboration. Now they are a concern of national security.

A recent AFCEA EPIC event concerning the Intelligence Community and the Media touched upon this issue as Brynn Koeppen, Editor in Chief at Washington Exec (@WashingtonExec) shared that she grew up in the community and still is amazed at her colleagues and friends who candidly share information that they shouldn’t. She also reminded the attendees that she and her generation have different views of privacy than their predecessors.

Koeppen called on the community to embrace the younger generation with mentoring and coaching at every level, in both government contracting companies and in agencies. The challenge will be for the younger generation to accept this coaching as something that will benefit them and national security.

Pew Study on People and the Press

A new study by Pew Research illustrates this differing viewpoint by age.

While most agree that Edward Snowden should be criminally prosecuted for violating his security clearance oath, those under 30 believe he provided a public service by divulging the information.

Check out the full Pew Research report here.

Coaching Millenials

Two great posts on coaching millennials and why their values are different than current generations are listed below. Of course the blog is called…Coaching Millennials.

Millenials: Full Disclosure or Bust

Millenials Tirade on Transparency