Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership

Serve the community more effectively in changing times.

The future of administrative municipal leadership has arrived. Are you equipped to take up the challenge of new leadership responsibilities?

Prepare for the most senior-level responsibilities facing your town, county, city or region.

The rapidly changing cultural, economic and political climate requires today’s municipal professionals to make a paradigm shift in leadership style, strategy and operational performance. They need to perform at a higher level and embrace greater accountability. Designed in cooperation with the Municipal Advisory Council of Municipal Executives, the Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership will arm you with advanced leadership skills, sharpen your management acumen, and prepare you for continuous municipal sector change with insights and best practices. It will fully prepare you to take your organization and career to new heights by allowing you to:

• Strengthen municipal management leadership competencies
• Build critical management skills in the areas of interpersonal dynamics, operational performance and strategy
• Develop an enhanced ability to lead high performance and cross-functional teams
• Gain new insights into innovative strategies relevant to municipal sector leadership
• Prepare for future leadership by learning from the latest trends and issues in municipal management

The Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership is designed to equip today’s municipal sector managers with the skills and competencies to advance both individual and team performance, and effectively lead their municipality into the future.

PREREQUISITE: Participants should have a minimum of three years of management experience.

“This is a great program. We were all municipal employees and understood each other and the logic brought forward. Excellent course – great opportunity to grow.” M. Pannu, Director Transportation and Waste, Northumberland County

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Program Content

Module 1: Essential Skills for Municipal Leaders
Master leadership competencies for managing staff and complex team dynamics in this foundational module.

Redefining the Art and Science of Municipal Leadership
Strategically redefine the leadership skills demanded of today’s chaotic and uncertain work environment through an in-depth examination of daily professional interactions, an exploration of cultural transformation and the practice of scientifically-informed techniques of leadership engagement.

• Analyze and redefine the leadership skills demanded of today’s chaotic and uncertain work environment
• Examine the rudiments of corporate culture as based in leadership approaches and apply cultural concepts to excellence in team management
• Practice innovative and scientifically-informed techniques of leadership engagement, specifically geared towards creating a culture of performance and excellence

Coaching and Mentoring for Peak Performance
Develop the interpersonal skills needed to successfully leverage the talents of your staff and turn a good team into a great team.

• Increasing knowledge on coaching and mentoring by reviewing the current theory, research and practices in the field
• Practicing coaching and being coached using a variety of tools and techniques
• Differentiating between coaching and mentoring with the most effective skills in certain situations
• Teaching tool: GROW Instrument

 

Module 2: Achieving Operational Excellence
Align your role as a municipal manager with your organization’s strategies for overall operational performance.

Leadership Agility and the Art of Strategic Thinking
Leveraging the proven principles of creative thought, conceive of and connect a big picture with the realities of municipal pressures.

• Understand the principles undergirding strategic thought
• Appreciate the critical role of agile thinking in strategic agility, conception and design
• Acquire tools for linking strategic designs with the realities of implementation

Advanced Political Acuity
Cultivate your political acuity as we delve into techniques that will ultimately help meet the needs and expectations of elected officials and their political staff.

• Key players and processes in systems of government
• Formal and information decision-making processes
• The role of influence in getting things done
• Networking and the creation of strategic networks and alliances
• Case studies in applied political acuity: stakeholder relations
• Strategies and techniques for raising political acuity

 

Module 3: Public Sector Advancements
Be a “transformation agent” and advance opportunities across your department or municipality.

Dynamic Employee Engagement in Times of Change
Acquire the skills and understanding needed to engage employees and maintain constructive employee relations in unionized and non-unionized settings and in a changing environment.

• Develop a mindset that increases staff engagement
• Learn the levers that have the highest impact on employee morale and engagement
• Understand the contribution organizations, senior managers, local managers and staff make to employee engagement

Negotiation Styles & Collaborative Management Techniques
Master proven techniques for communicating, persuading and using power effectively for collaborative outcomes.

• How and when to use the many different ways of negotiating
• How to remain focused and confident in difficult situations
• How to prepare for negotiations and collaborative outcomes

Building Psychological Capital in the Workplace
Through a study of the psychology of leadership, explore and reframe the fundamental actions leaders undertake to manage uncertainty, as well as the interactional parameters required to overcome the strategic and cultural hurdles inherent in the leadership relationship.

• Devise an approach to day-to-day leadership that heightens performance and promotes ongoing development
• Link corporate culture and departmental performance to leadership behaviours
• Analyze and apply the strategic skills required to transform daily interactions into the building blocks of increased leadership vision

Who Should Attend

Participants should have a minimum of three years of management experience. This program will benefit managers at all levels in the municipal sector including provincial government officials who work with municipalities. Participants include:

• CAO / City Manager
• Treasurers and Clerks
• All Department Heads, Directors and Managers
• Fire, Police, Public Health and Library Executives
• High-potential staff who aspire to lead

 

This program is delivered in partnership with Schulich Executive Education Centre at York University.