Moving from managing tasks and teams to system-level leadership that shapes strategy and drives change is one of the most challenging transitions in a public service career.
ANZSOG’s new Strategic Leadership in the Public Sector (SLPS) is a 10-week, high-intensity accelerator designed to transition operational experts into system-level authorities.
The complexity of public sector challenges means mid-to-senior level leaders are facing these system-level challenges earlier in their careers. Cross-boundary work is now an essential part of their leadership, and the growth in AI and other emerging technologies creates new leadership risks, opportunities and decisions.
The SLPS program is designed primarily for EL2 leaders (or equivalents), and for high performing EL1s preparing to step into EL2 level responsibilities. Early career SES Band 1 leaders are also welcome to apply, if they’re seeking formal education in system level leadership.
While leaders at these levels have excellent operational knowledge and skills, they often lack the skills to be effective operators at the system level, and to take a strategic approach to adaptive leadership in complex environments.
SLPS will be delivered fully online over ten weeks using the latest digital learning technology, designed to fit in with the busy work schedules of public sector leaders.
This digital-first model allows for peer engagement, and exposure to insights from senior practitioners, as well as the chance to learn at your own speed.
SLPS is a practice-focused program that culminates in a faculty-vetted Capstone project, ensuring learning application that translates into immediate, tangible outcomes for the sponsoring agency. The project turns a live challenge in the participant’s organisation into a high-impact strategic intervention.
The program is built around five core ‘capability sprints’ on the following themes:
Authority and Psychological Safety - Creating high trust, high accountability environments that enable constructive challenge, difficult conversations and shared ownership of outcomes. Learning to shift from managing team dynamics to managing relational environments across teams.
Strategic Innovation and ProSocial AI Governance - Providing ethical, system-level oversight of AI and emerging technologies, protecting trust while enabling responsible innovation. Making informed, leadership-level judgements about risk, transparency and long-term public value impacts.
Adaptive Leadership in Complexity - Leading confidently through volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, maintaining direction, alignment and commitment. Shifting from problem-solving to mobilising people and partners, enabling adaptive responses to disruption.
Strategic Identity and Self-Awareness - Understanding and refining their own leadership identity, including their impact, presence and system- level influence. Aligning personal values, organisational purpose and the demands of their roles to lead with clarity and authenticity.
Stakeholder Influence and Public Value Partnerships - Influencing across jurisdictions, portfolios and sectors, navigating competing incentives and expectations with diplomacy and clarity. Moving from transactional engagement to coalition-building, enabling progress without relying on formal authority.
SLPS will be delivered for the first-time in 2026, but its development is based on consultation and feedback from public services and is part of ANZSOG’s new program suite for 2026.
Final faculty and program design for Strategic Leadership in the Public Sector is still being confirmed; the program is scheduled to run from 6 October to 10 December in 2026. For more information visit the ANZSOG website.