Transform your understanding of leadership, and yourself, with ANZSOG’s Executive Fellows Program

Demands on senior leaders in the public sector have changed drastically in recent years, as have the skills and behaviours required to be a leader who can lead in complexity and manage system-level challenges. 

ANZSOG’s Executive Fellows Program is a unique learning experience that is grounded in reflection and self-awareness. It is an opportunity for senior public sector leaders to connect with peers, understand who they are and how they lead, and deepen their understanding of the complex, uncertain landscape they are navigating.  

EFP co-leader Jason Ardler PSM says that public sector work had always been tough, but the last few years had seen a change in the environment and the demands it placed on leaders. 

“Public sector leaders are facing significant pressures that have no real historical precedent: climate disruption, digital transformation, fiscal constraints, and citizens who have, on one hand, really high expectations, but on the other hand, low levels of trust,” he said. 

“Even if the individual issues aren't completely new, the fact that they're all landing simultaneously and amplifying each other is new, and makes things very complex. 

“None of these problems sit comfortably or neatly within one agency, so traditional authority levers increasingly don’t reflect the work that actually needs doing.” 

“Successful leadership in this moment is defined less by technical expertise and more by the capacity to create the conditions in which good work can happen - building coalitions, enabling innovation, and sustaining organisational purpose through periods of relentless change.” 

“In addition, there's literally no space between crises for leaders to consolidate, learn, and reset - which is really important for them to sustain themselves, and maintain their effectiveness.”  

Mr Ardler is one of two new co-leaders for the refreshed EFP in 2026 and will be joined by UK Professor Karise Hutchinson. ANZSOG spoke with Professor Hutchinson earlier this year about what leaders need to know, and do, to thrive in the ‘grey zone’ of the current public sector. 

Together they will bring a blend of academic and practitioner perspectives to the EFP, with the support of a range of guest presenters including: 

• Brendan Thomas, CEO, AUSTRAC 

• Marlo Baragwanath, Victorian Ombudsman 

• John Ryan, former New Zealand Auditor-General 

• Ro Allen, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner 

• Lil Anderson, former Chief Executive, Office for Māori Crown Relations/Te Arawhiti 

A space to reflect and create a personal leadership narrative 

The 2026 EFP combines a digital experience with a five-day in-person intensive to create a practice-centred learning experience that allows participants to connect deeply with peers.  

Mr Ardler said the immersive nature of the EFP gave senior leaders with demanding professional lives a chance for self-reflection. 

“We operate in a system that rewards activity more than it does that kind of reflection and thinking. The pressures senior public servants are under don’t create natural space for deep thinking and reflection, that process of understanding themselves and why they behave the way they do,” he said. 

“Bringing leaders together, across agencies and jurisdictions, creates this rare kind of opportunity for them to examine their assumptions, hear the perspectives of others and to be challenged by their peers. 

“We went into the design process for the EFP thinking very consciously that we need to build lots of time for that into the program. 

“Participants will be working on a personal leadership narrative across the week, that speaks to the contribution they want to make and why - and then thinking about how they are going to do this and who they have to mobilise. By the end of the program, they're in a position to be able to share that narrative with their peers.” 

Leading with humanity and respect for others 

Mr Ardler said that effective modern public sector leaders would lead with humanity and recognise the dignity of the people they led and worked with. 

“It's a choice to treat the people around you, whether that's your team or your colleagues or the communities that you serve, as whole human beings with inherent value rather than functions to be managed or problems that have to be solved,” he said. 

“This isn’t always easy.  Under pressure we move faster and control more, communication becomes more directive, uncertainty gets hidden and we tend to make decisions about people rather than with them. It’s not a moral failing, its protective behaviour.  We need to be aware when it’s happening and make different choices. 

“That also means bringing your authentic self to your leadership, because being able to talk about your own uncertainty and fallibility, is what builds connection and trust.” 

Mr Ardler said that his experience as an Aboriginal man in the public sector had made him very conscious that policy reform involves ‘reimagining futures for people or communities, whose voices are often marginalised in that reimagining process’. 

“That gave me a strong sense of moral accountability, not just up the line to my minister or my secretary, but to the people that I was there to serve. It wasn't my job to be their voice, but it was my job to be a conduit for their voice into government – and hold that with integrity and humility.” 

Mr Ardler said that he wanted leaders to leave the EFP with a more honest and deeper understanding of themselves as leaders. 

“They will get some terrific tools and leadership concepts, but the real gain is learning about themselves: What are their strengths? What are their blind spots? What are their values, the ones that they will genuinely defend when things get hard, and the ones they are willing to compromise?  

“We want them to leave having built relationships with peers across the system that give them somewhere honest to turn when they face genuinely difficult situations.” 

“And, of course, what we want is for them to return back to their organisation with a renewed sense of purpose, clear on why they do what they do, why that's important and why public service matters.” 

EFP at a glance

Audience: targeted to senior public sector executives (SES1-3 or equivalent)

Delivery: Blended learning experience, combining a 5-day residential, three online sessions, and peer group coaching sessions. combines a five-day residential in Melbourne and online sessions

2026 course: 16 September – 9 December, intensive residential component in Melbourne from 19-23 October

What you will learn:

By the end of the EFP participants can also expect to: 

• Lead with greater clarity and confidence in complexity 

• Make sense of ambiguity and competing priorities, and act decisively in the ‘grey zone’ 

• Strengthen their influence across systems 

• Mobilise stakeholders and achieve outcomes beyond direct authority  

• Enhance self-awareness and effectiveness 

• Understand how their values, behaviours and communication shape outcomes  

• Apply practical approaches to real challenges 

• Work directly on current leadership issues, with structured peer and facilitator input 

• Build sustainable leadership practice 

• Develop habits and approaches to sustain performance over time  

• Lead with integrity and public value in mind 

• Strengthen judgement, ethical clarity and long-term impact  

Find out more: a free EFP information session will be held online on 20 July from 3-4pm 

Applications for the 2026 EFP are now open. You can find more information on the EFP page of the ANZSOG website, including the application form and the chance to book a 1-on-1 consultation with ANZSOG’s Learner Services team to discuss if the EFP program is right for you.