Leadership Learning Path

Description

Making leadership development a priority requires strong personal and organizational commitment, as well as adaptability and resiliency. This learning path offers four perspectives (self, team, stewardship and imperatives) and serves to empower and equip learners at all levels with the essential skills, knowledge and mindsets needed to develop as a leader at any stage of their career. Learners will deepen their understanding of leadership by pursuing these self-directed learning activities, which include a subset of core courses that can lead to a certificate of completion.

About the Leadership Learning Path

This learning path is designed to empower and equip you with essential skills, knowledge, and mindsets that will help you to develop as a leader at any stage of your public service career. You can explore the Leadership Learning Path at your own pace and decide at any time to pursue the certificate option. Any courses you complete prior to deciding to pursue this option will be credited towards earning the Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path.

Incorporating diverse perspectives and essential leadership learning, the Leadership Learning Path offers opportunities to:

• develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to navigate change with empathy and resilience, contributing to leadership authenticity
• effectively lead project or work teams, through communication, engagement, and commitment to a positive and inclusive culture
• broaden your awareness of leading at the organizational level and beyond, to ensure a foundational understanding of the strategic environment, dynamics, values and challenges of the public service, and effectively champion shared priorities

The Leadership Learning Path allows you to personalize your leadership development, with a variety of topic choices organized around four perspectives (self, team, stewardship and imperatives) and several types of learning products, including courses, videos, podcasts, job aids and articles.

Learning products included in the Leadership Learning Path complement the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Key Leadership Competencies, which define behaviours and skills expected of leaders in the public service of Canada and serve as a tool to identify learning and development needs for career planning, and are aligned with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service.

Getting started

You can explore the Leadership Learning Path at your own pace and decide at any time to pursue the certificate option. Any courses you complete prior to deciding to pursue this option will be credited towards earning the Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path.

Self-directed learning

You can complete any of the learning offered in the Leadership Learning Path according to your individual interests and leadership development needs, including learning identified as either core or supplemental.

Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path

To receive the Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path from the Canada School of Public Service, you must complete the online self-paced courses and instructor-led virtual classroom courses identified as core learning (around 35 courses for a total of approximately 45 hours). Progression through the core learning can be based on your personal preference and the availability of course sessions. You can take courses in any order. You may also choose to explore supplemental learning products at any time to further enhance your skills in any topic.

Get started on the Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path.

It is recommended that you establish a schedule for completing the courses, and take time to put what you have learned into practice before continuing. This will help you to consolidate and apply your learning over the longer term.

If you have already completed courses that are included in the curriculum eligible to earn the Certificate of Completion of the Leadership Learning Path, you will automatically receive credit for them and will not be required to retake those courses.

Who can benefit

Public servants at all levels, including new or aspiring supervisors, team leaders and managers, can all benefit from the learning products offered in the Leadership Learning Path. It is most suitable for learners who have a few years of experience in the public service and have completed most of their mandatory training.

All public servants should discuss their interest in leadership development with their managers to determine readiness and suitability, and communicate their interest in their personal learning plans as part of the performance management cycle.

Leadership Learning Path

• 1. Self: Developing as a leader
  • 1.1 Self-awareness
  • 1.2 Wellness

• 2. Team: Leading teams
  • 2.1 Strategy and visioning
  • 2.2 Common challenges
  • 2.3 Effective communications and impactful conversations
  • 2.4 Human-centred workplaces
  • 2.5 Inclusive leadership
  • 2.6 Leading change

• 3. Stewardship: Public service operations
  • 3.1 Collective responsibility
  • 3.2 Project and product management and agile practices
  • 3.3 Risk management

• 4. Imperatives: Public service in evolution
  • 4.1 Digital and data
  • 4.2 Democratic institutions
  • 4.3 Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • 4.4 Indigenous reconciliation
  • 4.5 Innovation and service excellence
  • 4.6 Values and ethics
  • 4.7 Climate change

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Leadership Learning Path

The Leadership Learning Path offers a self-directed learning journey through a variety of courses and other learning products at the Canada School of Public Service and other sources with the option to earn a certificate upon completion of a carefully curated core curriculum.

The goal is to empower and equip you with essential skills, knowledge, and mindsets that will help you to develop as a leader at any stage of your public service career.

The Leadership Learning Path curriculum is organized according to four perspectives:

• Self: Developing as a leader
• Team: Leading teams
• Stewardship: Public service operations
• Imperatives: Public service in evolution

In each perspective, carefully selected learning products are provided to support the professional development goals of learners.

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Self: Developing as a leader

Enhanced self-awareness and wellness are essential to developing as a leader. They empower you to cultivate more effective decision-making skills and a mindset that encourages continuous personal and professional advancement. This section features two topics:

• Self-awareness
• Wellness

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is fundamental to developing as a leader. It serves as a cornerstone for goal setting, helps you highlight areas for improvement, and fosters continuous learning and personal enhancement.

• Self-awareness: Core Learning
• Self-awareness: Supplemental Learning

Wellness

Wellness strategies and practices foster physical, mental, and emotional well-being, enabling leaders to adeptly navigate stressors, cultivate resilience, and sustain peak performance. Leaders who prioritize self-care and employ stress mitigation techniques not only enhance their overall health and leadership efficacy but also serve as role models of these behaviours for their teams.

• Wellness: Core Learning
• Wellness: Supplemental Learning

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Team: Leading teams

Successful team leaders exhibit competencies in effective communication, cultivating an inclusive and collaborative team culture, and demonstrating adaptability, strategic thinking, and the capacity to navigate and lead through change toward shared objectives. This section encompasses six topics:

• Strategy and visioning
• Common challenges
• Effective communication and impactful conversations
• Human-centred workplaces
• Inclusive leadership
• Leading change

Strategy and visioning

Strategy and visioning enable leaders to guide and inspire their teams by offering direction, motivation, and a decision-making framework, thereby ensuring team alignment, adaptability, and empowerment to attain success.

• Strategy and visioning: Core Learning
• Strategy and visioning: Supplemental Learning

Common challenges

Common challenges for new leaders include delegating, goal setting and problem solving. Proactively addressing and navigating them will foster a smoother transition towards effectively leading their teams.

• Common challenges: Core Learning
• Common challenges: Supplemental Learning

Effective communications and impactful conversations

Effective communication and impactful conversations are indispensable to leadership as they foster understanding, nurture collaboration, cultivate trust, empower positive change within teams and enable tangible results.

• Effective communications and impactful conversations: Core Learning
• Effective communications and impactful conversations: Supplemental Learning

Human-centred workplaces

In human-centred workplaces, leaders must focus on understanding, valuing, and prioritizing the needs, well-being, and growth of team members, resulting in improved satisfaction, engagement, and organizational outcomes.

• Human-centred workplaces: Core Learning
• Human-centred workplaces: Supplemental Learning

Inclusive leadership

Inclusive leadership is about establishing a sense of belonging and trust for all public servants, which is both a moral imperative and a strategic advantage. Inclusive leadership helps achieve organizational success by fostering innovation, enhancing decision-making, attracting top talent, and cultivating a positive workplace culture.

• Inclusive leadership: Core Learning
• Inclusive leadership: Supplemental Learning

Leading change

Leading change involves guiding teams through rapidly evolving environments, aligning them with new goals, and ensuring transparent communication to maintain engagement and morale. Effective change leadership empowers teams to be resilient and successful in dynamic circumstances and situations.

• Leading change: Core Learning
• Leading change: Supplemental Learning

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Stewardship: Public service operations

Possessing a wide variety of functional skills is imperative for leaders in the public service of Canada to ensure effective governance, policy implementation, financial and resource management, and compliance. This contributes to the overall success of public service operations and the delivery of services to the people of Canada. This section features three topics:

• Collective responsibility
• Project and product management and agile practices
• Risk management

Collective responsibility

Collective responsibility in the public sector is about stewardship. This is integral to leadership and involves responsibly and effectively managing public resources, maintaining public trust, and ensuring that decisions and actions align with broader departmental priorities.

• Collective responsibility: Supplemental Learning

Project and product management and agile practices

Project and product management and agile practices play a pivotal role in the successful planning, execution, and completion of government projects. Furthermore, they help leaders oversee the delivery of digital and digitally enabled products and services, ultimately providing consistent value to the people of Canada.

• Project and product management and agile practices: Core Learning
• Project and product management and agile practices: Supplemental Learning

Risk management

Risk management is about using a systematic approach to determine the optimal course of action for addressing risks while pursuing opportunities. It is a cornerstone for public sector leaders, and it requires strategic decision-making, adaptability, resource optimization, and accountability.

• Risk management: Core Learning
• Risk management: Supplemental Learning

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Imperatives: Public service in evolution

Several areas for action have been identified to help achieve our shared goal of a world-class public service equipped to serve the people of Canada. Each sets common expectations for leaders, and empowers them to take practical steps, both small and large, to achieve success. This section features seven topics:

• Digital and data
• Democratic institutions
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Indigenous reconciliation
• Innovation and service excellence
• Values and ethics
• Climate change

Digital and data

An increased focus on digital and data transformation is part of a leadership commitment to deliver modern programs, policies and services that are high quality, accessible, secure, efficient and tailored to meet current and emerging needs of Canadians.

• Digital and data: Core Learning
• Digital and data: Supplemental Learning

Democratic institutions

Democratic institutions are the organizational structures, processes, and practices in Canadian society that uphold the principles and support the functioning of our democratic system of governance. Leaders in the public service of Canada are committed to improving, strengthening and protecting Canada's democratic institutions.

• Democratic institutions: Core Learning
• Democratic institutions: Supplemental Learning

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Equity, diversity and inclusion in the public service of Canada is a collective obligation and opportunity, for which all leaders are expected to take practical actions that drive systemic change. This will ensure that the full capacity of our entire pool of talent is available to serve Canadians.

• Equity, diversity and inclusion: Core Learning
• Equity, diversity and inclusion: Supplemental Learning

Indigenous reconciliation

Indigenous reconciliation based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnerships is a shared responsibility of leaders in the public service of Canada. Reconciliation means renewing relationships with Indigenous Peoples and overcoming the systemic inequalities they continue to experience.

• Indigenous reconciliation: Core Learning
• Indigenous reconciliation: Supplemental Learning

Innovation and service excellence

Innovation and service excellence are focal points for leaders in the public service of Canada to better serve citizens, respond to changing circumstances, and operate efficiently and effectively.

• Innovation and service excellence: Supplemental Learning

Values and ethics

Values and ethics play a critical role in guiding leaders to uphold a strong ethical culture within their teams and across the public sector, and to maintain public confidence in the integrity of governmental institutions.

• Values and ethics: Core Learning
• Values and ethics: Supplemental Learning

Climate change

Climate change is a whole-of-society challenge that leaders in the public service of Canada are committed to addressing, including through mitigating its impacts.

• Climate change: Supplemental Learning

Frequently asked questions