Our Culture

IIE PATH is a competency model designed to create a common language for performance and what it takes to be successful at IIE. The competencies are visited throughout all stages of one’s career at IIE beginning with the interview process. The competencies pinpoint the behaviors and attitudes needed to help one enhance their own capabilities and ongoing success at the Institute.

Promotes Operations Excellence

• Inspires the organization to drive toward results that improve the top and bottom line as efficiently and effectively as possible.
• Sets high performance standards and uses data to monitor and measure deliverables and results.
• Identifies and articulates potential issues before they become problems.
• Recognizes the similarities across programs and products and collaborates with other teams to produce results.
• Infuses the organization with a sense of optimism and determination.

Advances Talent

• Enables others to recognize their areas of strength and opportunity in a constructive, beneficial manner.
• Empowers others to make decisions and share in responsibility.
• Understands differences between team members and uses a variety of methods to enable individuals to achieve higher levels of performance.
• Provides relevant stretch assignments to develop others’ leadership skills.
• Builds identity, coordination, development, and adaptation into team processes.

Thinks Strategically

• Brings a long-term perspective to planning and problem solving, incorporating an understanding of external forces, especially what is happening in government and education.
• Identifies opportunities for innovation, improvement, and intelligent risk-taking.
• Incorporates relevant, noteworthy research, industry trends, and practices into planning and decision making.
• Makes timely and strategic decisions judged to be right for IIE even though they may be difficult or circumstances may be unclear.
• Implements best practices to improve competitive advantage.

Helps Build Trusted Relationships

• Builds strong, collaborative relationships and alliances with sponsors, partners, vendors, and colleagues.
• Gains the trust and loyalty of sponsors, partners, vendors, and colleagues by fulfilling the commitments made to them.
• Willingly handles criticisms, complaints, and priority needs.
• Remains objective with sponsors, partners, vendors, and colleagues, maintaining a positive relationship even in demanding circumstances.
• Treats others fairly and equitably.

IIE’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA), now and throughout our history, is a critical part of our effort to engage thoughtfully with all of our internal and external constituents around the world and reaffirms our deep commitment to these principles. We believe that racism and inequality are and have been inherently contradictory to our mission. And while IIE has worked for over a century to build a more peaceful, equitable world, we recognize that there is much work yet to do. We support programs with a universal commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, multiculturalism, and international understanding and cooperation.

IIE’s DEIA Initiative is focused on action and accountability with defined goals, culture, and competency awareness by embedding DEIA into our culture. We provide education and engagement opportunities through custom learning and development initiatives to bolster knowledge, sharing, and expectations for our team members and stakeholders.

We are invested in hearing and valuing all voices worldwide across the organization. The DEIA Initiative is action-oriented, developed and led by team members throughout IIE, and championed by leadership. DEI affinity groups have been established to provide a platform for colleagues with similar identities, interests, and goals to connect with each other and foster professional and personal development. With these groups, we hope to provide team members with an opportunity to strengthen their networks, access resources for personal/professional growth, and provide IIE with feedback to help drive positive change within the organization.

DEIA affinity groups currently available:

• Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage
• Black Heritage
• Hispanic/Latinx Heritage
• LGBTQIA+
• Mental Health and Well-Being