By Certified Federal Writers and Trainers,
Resume Place, Inc., July 2, 2026, Baltimore, MD.

Resume Place, Inc., SES Trainers and Writers write / coach, and teach executives to write their CCARs and short accomplishments for the 2-page SES Resume. I asked the SES team to write the ECQ for Thomas Jefferson about writing the Declaration of Independence. What a GREAT ECQ STORY. So, get inspired to write about your Federal job / Executive leadership experiences with Jefferson’s story of writing the Declaration of Independence. Kathryn Troutman, President, Resume Place, Inc.

An ECQ 1 Leadership Lesson

A historical illustration of mission awareness, disciplined communication, collaboration, and commitment to the principles of the American founding.

The Office of Personnel Management’s current Executive Core Qualifications begin with ECQ 1: “Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding.”

The qualification calls for demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.

Its supporting competencies address knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to the rule of law, and civic-mindedness. For senior executives, these are not ceremonial concepts. They shape how leaders interpret authority, apply law and policy, protect institutional boundaries, manage public resources, and serve the public.

The current SES process no longer relies on the former ten-page ECQ narrative essays at the initial application stage. Even so, the CCAR framework (Context, Challenge, Action, and Results) remains a useful way to organize executive accomplishments for resumes, assessments, interviews, and leadership development.

Thomas Jefferson’s work on the Declaration of Independence offers a compelling historical illustration. The example below is a modern first-person reconstruction based on documented events.

It is not Jefferson’s own account, an authentic ECQ submission, or a claim that an eighteenth-century assignment maps perfectly onto modern federal employment. It uses a familiar leadership framework to examine how a consequential public mission moved from assignment to adopted result.

How this Accomplishment Would Appear on the 2-Page SES Resume

The full CCAR narrative – listed below – is useful for examining leadership judgment and preparing for an assessment or interview. NOW with the new 2-Page SES Resume must communicate the same accomplishment much faster. It normally removes the CCAR labels, compresses the context and challenge into a brief opening, devotes most of the statement to the leader’s actions, and closes with the result and significance.

In modern resume form, the historical accomplishment might be condensed as follows:

Selected by the Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence amid armed conflict, divided colonial interests, and the absence of international recognition. I synthesized founding principles and documented grievances into a clear argument for multiple audiences, incorporated review by committee members and Congress, while preserving the central rationale. I produced the document adopted on July 4, 1776, establishing the public justification for independence and an enduring statement of equality, rights, consent, and legitimate government. (75 words)

For the 2-Page SES Resume: Although substantially shorter, this statement still answers the four essential questions: What was happening? What challenge had to be overcome? What did the leader do? What changed as a result? In an actual federal or SES resume, the same structure should also include the scale of responsibility, affected stakeholders, organizational impact, and measurable outcomes wherever the record supports them.

ORIGINAL LONG-FORM CCAR FORMAT — WHICH WOULD BE USEFUL TO PRACTICE AND PREPARE FOR THE SES QUALITY REVIEW BOARD (QRB) INTERVIEW.

Context

In June 1776, the thirteen American colonies were already engaged in armed conflict with Great Britain, but we had not formally declared ourselves to be independent states. Public opinion remained divided, delegates to the Continental Congress represented colonies with different interests, and our emerging nation had not received international recognition.

The Continental Congress appointed a committee of five members (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and me) to prepare a declaration explaining why the colonies believed separation from Great Britain had become necessary.

I was selected to draft the Declaration of Independence while serving as a Virginia delegate to the Second Congress and as a member of the Committee of Five.

I understood that the assignment carried extraordinary consequences. The document needed to present a coherent justification for independence, withstand examination by respected colleagues, secure the approval of Congress, and communicate our position to people in the colonies and to governments abroad. This was more than a writing assignment. It was an effort to explain the purpose, principles, and legitimacy of a political revolution.

Challenge

My challenge was to transform a complex political and military crisis into a clear, persuasive, and enduring statement. The document had to identify principles broad enough to justify independence, connect those principles to specific grievances against the British government, and speak for colonies whose economies, political concerns, and regional interests were not always aligned.

It also had to use language strong enough to explain the necessity of separation without introducing arguments that might prevent congressional agreement. I did not possess final authority over the document. Adams and Franklin could recommend revisions. The full Committee of Five could alter the draft. Ultimately, the Continental Congress could amend, delete, or reject any portion of the text.

The challenge was therefore not simply to write eloquently. I needed to produce a document capable of surviving collaboration, negotiation, and institutional review without losing its central purpose.

Action

I organized the document as a disciplined argument. I began by explaining that when one people separates from another, respect for the wider world requires that the reasons for that decision be stated. I then articulated general principles concerning equality, natural rights, government by consent, and the responsibility of government to protect those rights.

After establishing those principles, I connected them to a detailed account of the actions attributed to the king and British government. I concluded by declaring that the colonies were, and ought to be, free and independent states.

I drew upon political principles and forms of expression familiar in the eighteenth century, including ideas concerning natural rights, representative government, and the relationship between a people and its rulers. My objective was not merely to introduce unfamiliar theories, but to express widely understood principles with sufficient clarity and force to explain our position.

I drafted a document that could serve several purposes simultaneously. It was a political argument, an explanation to the American public, a communication to foreign nations, and a formal statement of the identity of a new country.

I also recognized that the document would require collaboration. Before the draft was presented to the full committee, I shared it with Adams and Franklin and considered their recommendations. The Committee of Five then submitted the document to Congress, where delegates debated it and made additional changes.

I disagreed with some of the deletions and revisions. Nevertheless, I understood that the Declaration could not remain solely my document. To achieve its purpose, it had to become the official act of Congress and the shared statement of the colonies. I therefore preserved the central argument while accepting review, revision, and collective institutional ownership.

Results

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Printed copies were distributed throughout the colonies, and the Declaration was read publicly. It formally announced that the colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states and provided a public justification for that decision.

Although Congress revised my draft, the final Declaration retained its essential structure and much of its central language. It stated the principles upon which independence was being claimed, documented the grievances offered in support of that claim, and concluded with a formal declaration of political separation.

The immediate result was a clear public rationale for the revolutionary effort and a defining statement of the political identity of the emerging United States. Its influence later extended far beyond the circumstances of 1776 as its language concerning equality, rights, consent, and legitimate government was invoked in movements for abolition, civil rights, women’s rights, democratic participation, and human freedom.

The accomplishment was not that every word of the original draft survived. It was that the central argument remained intact after review by colleagues, committee members, and Congress, and that the resulting document continued to influence the nation long after the original assignment was completed.

What the Example Demonstrates About ECQ 1

That is the connection between the historical example and ECQ 1. The principles of the American founding become operational when leaders understand the system they serve, respect the rule of law, and convert public authority into competent service to the American people.

Viewed through the lens of ECQ 1, the Declaration illustrates several dimensions of executive leadership. Jefferson had to understand the governmental and political environment in which he was operating. He had to frame the mission in principles larger than his own preferences. He had to communicate with multiple audiences, accept institutional review, and subordinate individual ownership to a lawful collective process.

The example also demonstrates that commitment to founding principles is not limited to reciting historical language. It requires translating principles into decisions and work products. For modern federal leaders, that may mean applying law fairly, giving candid advice, documenting the basis for decisions, protecting due process, respecting the separation of authorities, and ensuring that organizational practices serve the public.

A strong executive accomplishment should therefore show more than personal effort. It should make the operating context clear, identify the leadership challenge, explain the decisions and actions taken, and demonstrate meaningful results. It should also show how the leader exercised authority responsibly within the governing framework.

The practical CCAR lesson is straightforward: major public accomplishments require mission awareness, audience analysis, disciplined communication, collaboration, acceptance of lawful review, and the ability to preserve essential objectives through change.

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