Exercising Leadership: The Politics of Change

About Course

Professional Development Certificate

Educators

2 sessions

CILL Certification

Overview

In a world in which most communities, societies, and organizations are faced with enormous adaptive pressures, the practice of leadership is critical – the ability to mobilize people to meet the challenges that will enable them to thrive in challenging and changing times.

This experiential leadership training is about the practice of leadership, using a diagnostic framework to deconstruct the complexity of adaptive challenges we face at the societal, organizational and individual levels. It provides a diagnostic and strategic foundation for leadership practice. This training takes inspiration from the Adaptive Leadership courses taught at Harvard Kennedy School and incorporates elements of the Negotiations Workshop taught at Harvard Law School. Designed for professionals from diverse backgrounds, the training builds on the rich experiences of our past participants and helps strengthen leadership skills. Through an experiential learning process, the goal is to prepare individuals to lead effectively in any situation- across teams, organizations, or roles- even without formal authority.

Intended Audience

• Professionals and managers leading teams or projects
• Educators, school leaders, and administrators
• Public sector, NGO, and policy practitioners
• Individuals navigating complex organizational or community challenges
• Anyone seeking to lead adaptively, beyond formal authority

What Participants Acquire

• A clear understanding of the difference between leadership and authority
• Tools to diagnose adaptive vs. technical challenges
• Skills to map stakeholders and interpret formal/informal dynamics
• Strategies to manage conflict, resistance, and group disequilibrium
• Techniques for effective interventions in complex situations
• Enhanced self-awareness as a leader through reflective exercises
• Confidence to lead without positional power

Training structure

This 2-day workshop includes:

• Interactive lectures introducing key adaptive leadership concepts
• Diagnostic exercises to analyze real-world adaptive challenges
• Case discussions drawn from local and global contexts
• Role-play and negotiation-based simulations
• Individual reflection and peer coaching
• Group activities for stakeholder mapping and intervention planning
• Facilitator-led debriefs to consolidate learning

Impact & Alignment

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between leadership and authority
• Define and reflect on the characteristics of formal and informal authority dynamics
• Separate technical problems from adaptive problems
• Define the terms, purpose and work avoidance
• Identify self on a disequilibrium map
• Develop stakeholder maps with different factions and perspectives
• Demonstrate techniques to handle
• Manage group dynamics and leadership intervention cycles

Certification

A Chughtai Institute of Leadership and Learning Certificate (CILL) is issued for each session upon full participation and successful submission of the session-specific applied task (as outlined in workshop details).

Attendance for the entire duration of a session is required; certificates are awarded only to participants who attend in full and complete required tasks.

If a participant is unable to attend due to an emergency, Chughtai Institute must be informed at least 24 hours in advance; otherwise, a certificate shall not be issued.