Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership

Each of this municipal management course’s three modules – Essential Skills for Municipal Managers, Achieving Operational Excellence, and Public Sector Advancements – provides you with the knowledge and authority needed to take your career and your municipal organization to a new level of excellence.

Benefit from the hands-on and peer-to-peer learning during in-class exercises and case studies, and take advantage of the guidance and expertise of an advisory board comprised of current municipal executives.

Gain new insights and learn best practices on how to lead effectively and improve complex team dynamics, with a vision for public-sector reform. Learn to leverage the talents of your staff and align your role as a municipal manager with your organization’s strategies for overall operational performance. The curriculum is designed in cooperation with the Municipal Advisory Council of Municipal Executives.

The local government management course’s three modules are also available as standalone courses. See “View Modules” on the details page for registration links.

What you will learn

• Understand your leadership abilities with a 360º Leadership Assessment and related tools
• Develop advanced leadership abilities with hands-on and peer-to-peer learning during in-class exercises and through case studies
• Develop new skills in strategic management, negotiations and operational improvement planning
• Explore new trends in municipal management with a vision for public sector reform

Course content details

Module 1 5 days

Essential Skills for Municipal Managers

Master leadership competencies for managing staff and complex team dynamics in this foundational module

Improving Personal Leadership and Team Dynamics (3 Days) Using a 360-degree assessment, this session helps you analyze and improve your leadership strengths so you can boost team performance and achieve your goals.

Competencies Include:

• Essential competencies for personal leadership and municipal management in a changing world
• Creating a climate of trust through staff competency and team development
• Effective communication, including delegation, group facilitation and how to navigate in difficult situations

Teaching tools: MEPS, LSI 1 and Team Challenge Simulation

Coaching and Mentoring for Peak Performance (2 days)

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

Competencies Include:

• Increasing knowledge on coaching and mentoring by reviewing the current theory, research and practices in the field
• Practising 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 5 days

Achieving Operational Excellence

Align your role as a municipal manager with your organization's strategies for overall operational performance.

Strategic Management and Strategic Thinking (2 days)

Understand the connection between the Big Picture strategic plan and how to ensure your department is aligned with the corporation’s strategies.

Competencies Include:

• Defining your role in strategic implementation
• How to combine your expertise and strategic thinking skills with planning processes
• How to use analytic tools and turn process mapping into strategy

Political Acumen (1 day)

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.

Competencies include:

• 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

Program Evaluation to Improve Performance (2 days)

Learn the tools and techniques of program evaluation to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of municipal services and discover ways to improve results and value for money.

Competencies Include:

• How to apply the Logic Model and the Balanced Scorecard to develop meaningful and useful performance metrics
• How to evaluate programs to determine the best delivery methods and to assess cause and effect
• How to target results and use performance data in resource allocation and continuous improvement

Module 3 5 days

Public Sector Advancements Be a "change agent" and advance opportunities across your department or municipality.

Dynamic Employee Engagement in Times of Change (1 day)

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.

Competencies Include:

• 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 and Collaborative Management Techniques (1 Day)

Master proven techniques for communicating, persuading and using power effectively for collaborative outcomes.

Competencies Include:

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

Teaching tool: Negotiating Style Profile

Leadership Skills for Engaging Others During Change (2 days)

Day 1 – Improve your ability to diagnose the forces necessitating change, as well as how to effectively communicate and influence others to ensure shared commitment to the change.

Competencies Include:

• Understanding how people respond to change and strategies for overcoming resistance and engaging key stakeholders
• Communicate difficult change news in a way that engenders trust and commitment
• Reconciling polarized viewpoints when implementing changes mandated from above

Day 2 – Sharpen your interpersonal skills in order to be an effective change agent and be able to maintain harmony in the work place.

Competencies Include:

• Leveraging your strengths and “borrowing” from broader interpersonal skills that you may not be utilizing
• Influencing positively without the use of authority to get results and preserve working relationships
• Building partnerships and gaining support for your recommendations to more senior management and Council

Teaching tool: Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)

Managing with a Vision for Performance (1 Day)

Nurture an achievement-oriented organization by learning how to lead effectively in a diverse and dynamic municipal environment.

Competencies Include:

• Understanding how the public sector is perceived and what can drive positive change
• Laying the foundation for a high-performance, high-morale organizational culture
• Setting the right context for individual and team effectiveness, and learning critical people tactics

Teaching tools: Performance Management Situation and Sources of Power