Leadership Challenge

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The Programme

The Leadership Challenge is an intensive Leadership Development Programme for Senior Public Servants.

The programme was first launched in 2005 by the Institute of Public Administration. Over three hundred senior public servants drawn from central and local government, state agencies and the health sector, have attended the programme to date.

The Leadership Challenge programme is short, intensive and delivered in three modules, which are residential, with individual confidential coaching.  In recent years, the programme was substantially redesigned to ensure that it continues to address the major challenges of leadership and change in the Irish public sector.

Who is this for?

The Leadership Challenge programme will be of interest to those at senior levels in the public service who wish to engage in a challenging and intensive programme to enhance their leadership capacity. It will be of interest to those who have senior leadership roles in central and local government, health and state agencies and international institutions and who are committed to progress and development.

Ideally, prospective participants should be at senior management team level in their organisations or have had experience at that level.

Learning Outcomes

The Leadership Challenge is designed to achieve deep learning and develop leadership behaviours and skills to achieve real and lasting change.  The programme is highly practical, and the learning has been designed around real leadership challenges to be agreed with participants. 

Learning outcomes are on two levels:

Organisation and sector wide: systemic learning outcomes that are based on analysis, reflection, and practice on key leadership challenges facing the public service and constituent agencies and bodies.

Team and Individual: through the process of analysing and working through the individual leadership challenges, delegates will develop their leadership capabilities and skills as teams and individuals.

Course Content

The Leadership Challenge for Senior Public Service is delivered over three residential modules.  Module content includes:

Module One: Framework of Adaptive Leadership
Topics in module one will include:  Technical vs Adaptive Challenges, Systems and Leadership, Creating Public Value, Personalising the Adaptive Challenge, Leadership Challenges in the Public Service, Leadership with and without Authority, Adaptive Conversations, Case Studies, Emotional Intelligence and Adaptive Leadership.

Module Two: The Art and Practice of Adaptive Leadership
Topics in module two will include: Adaptive Leadership and Creating Public Value, Case Study in Leadership, Connecting to Purpose, Engaging and Inspiring People, Inspirational Leadership; Lessons from Shakespeare, Shaping a Leadership Message, Building Leadership Presence.

Module Three: Leading in Action
Topics in module three will include: Underlying Personal Directions, Understanding Motivational Patterns, Drawing up a Personal Leadership Action Plan, Building Adaptive Resilience.

Course Leader

Teresa Casserly, Director, Leadership and Management at the IPA is the Programme Director.  The programme will include contributions from leading experts in public sector leadership.

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