2018 Towards Strategic Leadership

2018Towards Strategic LeadershipMake the leap to the next level

About ANZSOG

The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) is recognised globally as a leading provider of executive-level education and research for the public sector. ANZSOG was created by government for government, with the active collaboration of its partner universities.

ANZSOG delivers:

▶ Postgraduate education incorporating the core disciplines that inform effective public administration.

▶ Executive education led by distinguished academics from the world’s leading education providers and senior officials from among ANZSOG’s ten member governments.

▶ Safe places for high performing senior practitioners to discuss and draw practical learnings from theory, research and case studies, to inform policy debates and service delivery reform.

▶ Supportive environments for senior practitioners across Australia and New Zealand to learn from one another and build lasting professional networks, benefiting governments, communities and citizens.

▶ Research that address key contemporary issues in public administration, policy development and management where information is lacking.

At the core of ANZSOG’s ethos is a deep and genuine commitment to good public administration, reflecting the aspirations of and our close relationship to our government owners.

Member governments

Towards Strategic Leadership Program 3

Message fromthe Dean

Being a senior executive in the public sector comes with all kinds of challenges and pressures. Managers are more often than not consumed by daily decision making and problem solving, and find it hard to find the time or space to reflect and think strategically.

For many years, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) has established itself as a world-class institution for the provision of public sector education, research and thought leadership and, as such, we are proud to present Towards Strategic Leadership for its ninth year.

This is a popular program among senior executives in the public and not-for-profit sectors that will challenge and inspire. It develops critical and reflective skills within participants, clarifying their personal values, and helping them better understand the systemic dynamics which impact on the public sector, and hone their ability to affect change within that world.

ANZSOG’s programs are developed in collaboration with our academic and government partners and designed specifically for the public sector. Towards Strategic Leadership has a strong international flavour, with the founder, Professor Paul ‘t Hart, traveling from Utrecht in the Netherlands to co-direct the course, with co-director Robbie MacPherson bringing twenty years of community sector experience and leadership development and coaching work across the business and public sectors.

The benefits of attending Towards Strategic Leadership do not end when the second week of study is up. An ongoing, long-lasting and valued element of the program is the bond developed between the participants from across Australia and New Zealand, who all come to the course as established leaders in different areas and at various senior levels of the public sector. Graduates enjoy new connections and the many continuing benefits offered by our Alumni program and activities. I encourage you to explore the distinctive benefits of the Towards Strategic Leadership program and hope you will consider applying. We would be pleased to welcome you into the ANZSOG network.

Professor Ken Smith Chief Executive Officer and Dean

“This is a popular course among senior executives in the public and not-for-profit sectors that will challenge and inspire.

4 Towards Strategic Leadership Program

What is Towards Strategic Leadership? This two week course is aimed at senior executives or managers in the public sector who have recently moved, or are about to move, into a more strategic leadership role within government or the public sector at large.

The most effective leaders have a defined sense of purpose, a strong sense of self and the ability to discern and address not only the urgent but the strategically important tasks. Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) is designed to develop such leaders. We help participants develop habits of reflection and strategic thinking and encourage them to integrate these into their everyday practices. The course is designed to reveal the potential strengths as well as the endemic roadblocks within participants themselves and within the systems they inhabit.

Course founder and Co-Director Paul ‘t Hart explains, ‘These are leaders who are supposed to be ahead of the game, think long term, reframe problems and question the set ways of an organisation or a program, in ways that middle management don’t always get the opportunity for. The key idea of the program is to get people from a state of running around and doing things, solving problems, into a state where they are giving themselves permission to reflect on what they are doing and have done, and open themselves up to feedback from colleagues. The course teaches them to critically examine the roles they perform in their organisation and in the broader systems in which it operates. We open up new ways of thinking about those roles and about what it takes to exercise public leadership in taking up those roles.’

Co-Director Robbie Macpherson says the course is challenging but not too earnest. ‘It’s less academic than other courses, and deliberately so,’ he says.

‘It’s highly pragmatic with practical elements, but is led by contemporary thinking about leadership, led by Paul who is an exceptional thinker. It offers both a highly personal, individual take on leadership while also addressing the “How do you actually do this?” external side of leadership.’


Why the Towards Strategic Leadership program? The public sector benefits when its leaders can adapt their thinking and approach to challenging, and often seemingly intractable, issues. Effective managers know how to manage programs and people. Effective leaders make their systems think and act purposefully when directing their energies and responding to critical changes in their environment.

The Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) program provides opportunities for leaders looking to develop their strategic capabilities to examine innovative and adaptive approaches to problems and situations where existing methods have not improved outcomes for stakeholders. Participants work together to explore possible responses that combine strong theoretical foundations with lessons from real world experiences.

Course participants are also given the opportunity to understand how they can influence situations even when they are not ‘in charge’. They will be guided to better understand their own strengths and weaknesses, their leadership style, their role within their organisation, and the wider public service environment.

Paul ‘t Hart says, ‘The core element is to step into a reflective zone which from the years that we’ve taught it, can become a place where learning can happen that cannot take place in either the work context of day-to-day pressure or a conventional classroom setting. This is a deeper form of learning.’

“ ‘One of the real outcomes that I

have gone onto implement much more effectively is the concept of collaboration,

and not just from an organisational perspective. Understanding when networks

can assist in solving dilemmas has been extremely beneficial.’

Fran Southward Assistant Commissioner,

Australian Tax Office, Brisbane


Course structureThe Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) program consists of two residential modules of five days each, in June and October.

The first module explores the triangle of self, role and system within which strategic leadership takes place. Participants will be asked to examine – and then challenge – their assumptions about themselves, their organisation and the wider public sector.

‘To be honest, I think most people who come along get more than they expected,’ Robbie Macpherson says. ‘Maybe people think they are going to come along and get a fairly dry course. But they get a much more personally challenging and personally rewarding experience. We’re high on experience. We hope they are intellectually stimulated but we want it to be much more than that.’

The second module will encourage participants to engage with change and increase the adaptive capacity of systems. In particular, the Live Case Study will move the course from the abstract into the real world. Participants will tackle a real issue, experiencing the passion, purpose, innovation, confusion and avoidance that comes with managing a complex adaptive challenge.

Live case study:

The case study component of the second week is deliberately confronting.

‘We choose extremely complex and difficult issues, such as domestic violence last year, and this year we will be studying homelessness,’ Robbie Macpherson explains. ‘What we do with these complex issues is approach it so the participants realise we can never solve them; we can only make significant progress on them. The course explores how we can reform how we go about our work, and explore the problem-solution paradigm.’

Participants will hear from a range of people involved in the issue, and will consider it from multiple perspectives, before looking for practical steps and actual ideas for pragmatic leadership activity that could make an impact.


Meet the Faculty

The TSL Co-Directors – Professor Paul ‘t Hart and Robbie Macpherson – create a dynamic forum that explores the latest ideas and thinking about leadership and public administration.

Founder and Co-Director Paul ‘t HartPaul is Professor of Public Administration at Utrecht University and Associate Dean of the Netherlands School of Public Administration in The Hague. His experience with leadership is based on extensive and close-up research, training and consulting in the Netherlands, Sweden and Australia. His work focuses on political and public service leadership, policy evaluation, public accountability and crisis management.

‘Coming from Holland,’ he says, ‘One thing I like about Australian and New Zealand public servants who come on these type of programs is that they tend to be incredibly motivated, disciplined and have the guts to open themselves up in that type of setting – and it does take guts to do that. This is why I make the journey to the other side of the planet twice a year: to have the privilege of working with such a group of committed and courageous learners.’

Co-Director Robbie MacphersonRobbie is Managing Director of Adaptable Leadership and Principal at Reos Partners, a global consultancy that drives thinking and practice in solving tough, systemic problems. He has extensive experience in both the corporate world and the not-for-profit sector. He has worked in Scotland, Australia, the Netherlands, the US and South Africa.

‘We look at leadership as an activity, rather than as a position,’ he says. ‘We ask: what can you do? What allows someone to thrive in what they do? We explore values, purpose and what allows people to take effective action, and also what gets in the way of effective action? We unashamedly get into the more personal development side: we believe it’s critical to people being able to take effective action.’


Previous program presentersKate Jenkins – Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Elizabeth Broderick – Former Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Amanda Sinclair – Melbourne Business School

Leigh Gassner – Reos partners

Christine Nixon – Monash University Deputy Chancellor and former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner


Outcomes

At the end of the Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) program, participants will have:

▶ explored their background and the influences that shaped their appetite and potential for strategic leadership roles

▶ developed critical and reflective skills to clarify personal values and support their own and others’ development as leaders

▶ gained insight into the systemic dynamics, which underpin strategic leadership, becoming more resilient and adaptive in the face of pressure and conflict

▶ understood and critically evaluated theories and concepts of leading change and innovation in public sector settings, to build your capacity to tackle ‘wicked’ problems

▶ built new relationships with fellow participants who come from a range of levels and sectors across Australia and New Zealand.

Participants as contributorsAs in most ANZSOG courses, active participation is central to the TSL program. This is an integral ingredient to the course’s success. TSL harnesses the knowledge and experience of the participants who, as professional peers, share a common language and a commitment to public service.

Participants should expect to be a co-creator of one another’s course experience: we encourage participants to share their experiences within the safety and context of the course’s themes and frameworks, creating a collaborative learning environment that allows everybody to draw on the expertise in the room.


Course methodsThe non-traditional learning method includes extensive individual and group-based reflection, real-world case studies, experiential learning and access to exceptional leaders. Participants can expect:

▶ reflection opportunities - exploring significant personal leadership development work

▶ experiential learning – an introduction to concepts and ways of observing, intervening and experimenting with different approaches to leadership

▶ critical thinking – the examination of different ideas about leadership dilemmas, including their own experiences.

The focus is on giving participants opportunities to articulate and receive feedback on their leadership style and objectives. They discuss and reflect on actual leadership dilemmas, including their own experiences.

The Chatham House RuleTowards Strategic Leadership (TSL) happens under Chatham House Rule, which means participants can speak freely within our walls. In order to foster open and productive discussions, all TSL sessions are run in accordance with the Chatham House Rule. Specifically:

‘When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.’

‘The TSL is the best professional development

program I have undertaken, underpinned by the depth of learning and challenges that were presented.

The case study was a highlight, particularly the pressurised environment

in which it was undertaken and the confronting nature of the case.’

Alex Tay Director, Local Government Department of Premier and

Cabinet, Tasmania

‘The TSL has assisted me to advance my conceptual

strategic leadership skills. The program has improved my critical thinking and

analytical ability and through the excellent presentations and facilitation, I was challenged

by the presentation of alternative frames of knowledge upon which to act.’

Richard Cowling Assistant Commissioner,

Planning and Development Department of Police,

Fire & Emergency Management, Tasmania

“


Lifelong learningTo become an Alumni member of the ANZSOG Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) program is almost to join an exclusive club within the higher ranks of the public service leadership. Executives who have completed the program over the previous seven years have recounted how they built relationships with peers in the program who had new ways of approaching issues, or fresh ideas for specific challenges. Those cross-jurisdictional and inter-departmental connections remain so that the Alumni members have a range of contacts from within the program to call, ask advice or grab a coffee with to quietly discuss issues as they arise.

TSL alumniThe benefits of TSL extend well beyond the classroom through the national and international networks, to which you gain access by completing the program.

As well as expanding your network, your fellow Alumni can offer advice and support across portfolios and jurisdictions, benefiting both governments and citizens. Our Alumni Program helps our graduates to build these peer-to-peer relationships.


Cohort snapshot

Gender and jurisdiction

6%

2%

6%

4%

CTH

VIC

NSW

QLD

SA

TAS

45%

22.5%

12.5%

7.5%

7.5%

5%

42.5%57.5%


Agencies

Attorney General's Department

Australian Taxation Office

Educationand Training

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Infrastructure and Regional Development

1 1

Parliamentary Services

Prime Minister / Premier and Cabinet & PS Commission

1

Transport

11 1

Foreign Affairs and Trade

Communities, Child Safety &

Disability Services

Immigration and Border Protection

Justice and Regulation

Health and Human Services

/ NDIS

1

Police, Fire and Emergency

Management

Trade and Investment

1 1

6

11

2

Environment

2

4

3 3


Applications Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL) offers a maximum of 40 places each year and is always filled to capacity. A selection committee, comprised of the program co-directors and ANZSOG management, reviews applications and confirms the final cohort. It’s worth noting that decisions are made not only on the level and experience of applicants, but also with an eye to maintaining balance across genders, jurisdictions and departments.

The sponsoring government or agency of a chosen participant pays the course fees, which include tuition, accommodation, materials and most meals.

Who should attend?The program is designed for senior executives from public service departments and agencies, and the not-for-profit sector. It targets people who have moved, or are about to move, to a strategic role. For advice on suitability, please feel free to call ANZSOG.

An independent opinionTSL alumni based across Australia and New Zealand are available to provide an insider’s perspective of what it is like to participate in the course. Potential participants are invited to discuss the experience or seek the advice of Alumni, at their discretion.

Please call ANZSOG and we’ll be happy to arrange this.

For more informationTo learn more about TSL or to apply, please contact ANZSOG’s programs team:

T +61 3 8344-1990

E [email protected]

Or visit our website: anzsog.edu.au

ANZSOG Developing strategic leadership skills in public sector managers requires a different educational framework to those applying to private sector managers. While business schools teach how to create ‘shareholder value’, ANZSOG’s mission is to help public sector managers learn how to create ‘public value’.

Executive Fellows Program (EFP) The EFP is an intensive, three-week residential program for senior public service executives. With an emphasis on enhancing strategic capabilities, the EFP focuses on leadership, relationship and management skills required to effectively lead in an increasingly complex public sector.

Towards Strategic Leadership (TSL)TSL is specifically designed for people moving from an operational role to a strategic leadership role, and for those facing senior executive responsibilities for the first time. At this level, thinking and acting strategically become central.

InternationalThe School delivers a suite of customised executive level leadership programs in partnership with foreign governments in the Indo-Pacific region, and consistent with the foreign policy objectives of the governments of Australia and New Zealand. These programs create valuable peer-to-peer networks and institutional linkages, and contribute to ongoing engagement with each country.

CEOs ForumThe CEOs Forum brings senior government leaders in New Zealand and Australia together to reflect on their work with the aim of improving practices and performance. The program centres on strategic management techniques and how to apply these in the world of government.

Executive EducationANZSOG delivers specialised executive workshops designed to meet the practical needs of middle to senior public sector managers across a range of disciplines. Workshops are offered ‘open to market’ and are available for specific jurisdictions or agencies on request.

Applied LearningCurrently operating in New Zealand, Tasmania and WA, Applied Learning works in partnership with member governments to provide learning opportunities that bring challenging and fresh ideas in public policy and public management to wide and diverse audiences of practitioners.

Case ProgramThe Case Program is an internationally acclaimed centre for the promotion of interactive teaching. It hosts one of the world’s largest libraries of public policy and management teaching cases with a special focus on current events and issues in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

ResearchANZSOG research draws on its network of scholars and practitioners in Australia, New Zealand and overseas to address issues of importance to member governments in the areas of public administration, policy development and management.

For more information about these programs and other ANZSOG activities, visit anzsog.edu.au.

Contact usANZSOG Level 4 204 Lygon Street, Carlton Victoria 3053 Australia

PO Box 230, Carlton South Victoria 3053 Australia

T +61 3 8344 1990 E [email protected] anzsog.edu.au

ABN 69 102 908 118

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2018 Towards Strategic Leadership

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