The Federal Executive Institute has upgraded its four-week flagship program for fiscal 2011 to keep the government's premier leadership school on top of fresh educational approaches.

Students at the Charlottesville, Va., campus, open to Senior Executive Service members and GS-15s, may find themselves literally on a battlefield or at other off-campus locations because the school added field experiences to "Leadership for a Democratic Society."

In addition, a new stand-alone course, "The Executive Zenith," has been added to the catalog.

Officials were pleased by results of four courses it tested this year, including two that have been added to "Leadership for a Democratic Society," said Sydney Smith-Heimbrock, who directs the leadership and development solutions practice at the Office of Personnel Management. Those two are "Positive Psychology" and "Organizational Leadership."

Still in the testing phase is "Influential Women," which looks at roles women have played in founding America and what women continue to do in public and private service.

"It's an effort to be more inclusive in how we talk about leadership in this country, and to explore the lasting contributions of women," Smith-Heimbrock said.

Studying women is important as the government and other organizations strive to diversify the executive cadre, and become more competent in diverse ways of leading and understanding problems, she said.

The course is an attempt to broaden the group of people that managers look to as models of effective leadership.

"Executive Zenith," to be offered beginning in April, draws on recent advances in neuroscience, or brain research. People in the leadership field use neuroscience to understand the cognitive processes behind leadership. The course covers the effects that sleep, nutrition and mental stimulation have on brain function and decision-making.

"Positive Psychology: Powerful Skills for Executive Leaders" introduces executives to recent research on motivating subordinates and creating a sense of commitment to organizational goals.

"Organizational Leadership" emphasizes the role of executives in change management, such as in a reorganization. The course starts with theory, but quickly turns to practical application so students can complete a leadership challenge project. That project involves students analyzing and designing an action plan to solve real issues at their agencies.

Agencies, which nominate employees to attend FEI, wanted "Organizational Leadership" added to "Leadership for a Democratic Society" to address problem-solving and business acumen, one of the executive core qualifications, Smith-Heimbrock said.

Also new within "Leadership for a Democratic Society" are daylong or half-day field experiences to battlefields or other locations where key parts of social movements occurred in the history of U.S. leadership. Executives are walked through the specific leadership challenge to better understand how past leaders solved critical problems.

FEI offers the four-week program in two two-week sessions to make it more accessible for people's schedules, Smith-Heimbrock said.

Information on FEI is at www.leadership.opm.gov.