Why this programme
Across the public and social sectors, leaders today are navigating increasing complexity—balancing policy intent with ground realities, managing diverse stakeholder needs, and delivering outcomes while adapting to constant change. Yet, many transformation efforts stall not due to a lack of ideas, but because leading change in these environments requires a different approach to leadership.
This programme equips leaders with the capabilities to lead transformation in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Delivered through a 2-day immersive workshop with small group coaching, it creates space for deep reflection, hands-on application, and peer learning. Drawing on the practices of design leaders and Chief Design Officers globally, participants will learn how to work across systems, enable innovation within teams, and take action in uncertainty—turning ideas into meaningful impact in policies, services, and programmes.
Date
New enrolment date to be released
2-day programme
Duration (Hours)
12
Time
10am – 4pm SGT
Format
In-person in Singapore. Venue details to follow.
Price
$2,400 excluding 9% GST
Who is this for
Directors, Deputy Directors, and Senior Public Leaders
Cross-agency, systems stewards & programme owners
NGO, non-profit and mission-led organisation leaders
Changemakers leading amidst complexity, doubt, or disconnection
Anyone sensing that how we lead must change before what we deliver can
Learning outcomes
Make sense of complex issues and align stakeholders
Reframe challenges across policies, services, and ground realities, and bring different teams and partners towards a shared understanding and direction.
Strengthen empathetic leadership in your work
Understand what matters to your teams, citizens, and partners, and use these insights to lead more effectively and make decisions that create real impact.
Create space for innovation within constraints
Identify what is blocking new ideas in your team, and introduce practical ways to encourage participation, trust, and problem-solving.
Navigate resistance and uncertainty through action
Shift your leadership mindset, navigate uncertainty, and move work forward by testing small, practical improvements in your services, processes, or team practices
What you'll learn
Reframing Leadership for Complexity
In a world where old leadership models no longer fit, participants take a deep dive into their own identity and the systems they’ve inherited. Through personal reflection and shared mapping of today’s leadership tensions — from control vs trust to certainty vs curiosity — they reframe their role as public leaders navigating complexity. Leaders explore practical strategies using networked leadership techniques to shift how they frame problems, engage stakeholders and respond to change.Empathy as a Leadership Practice
Empathy is redefined not as soft or sentimental, but as a strategic leadership muscle — essential for building trust and engaging with teams, citizens, and unheard voices. Leaders learn to listen with presence, tune to the ‘right channels’. The segment equips them to lead more authentically in high-pressure environments.Courage to Lead Authentically
This final segment helps leaders rediscover their voice and purpose by confronting moments when they held back or lost confidence. Through dialogue and self-awareness, they craft their own leadership manifesto — a personal yet practical blueprint for showing up with courage, clarity, and conviction. They leave re-grounded in who they are and ready to lead with authenticity across teams, organisations, and systems.
Day 1
Leading Innovation Across Systems and Stakeholders
Day 1 focuses on leading across systems and people. Participants will explore the evolving landscape of public sector leadership, learn to work across stakeholders using networked leadership, and strengthen empathetic leadership to better understand behaviours, motivations, and resistance.
Day 2
Enabling Innovation and Navigating Ambiguity
Day 2 focuses on enabling innovation and leading through uncertainty. Participants will identify and address creative blockers, build psychological safety within teams, and develop adaptive leadership by applying experimentation to real public and social sector challenges.
1.5-Hour Group Coaching
Participants will take part in small-group coaching to apply design leadership to real work challenges and receive guided feedback.
Meet your trainers
Regional Director, ThinkPlace Singapore and Asia