Strengthening Your Political Savvy
Upcoming Dates for the National Capital Region
To register click on your preferred date.
Summary
This one-day course will introduce you to the skills and abilities for understanding and cultivating your political acuity in the federal public service. Learn how to recognize and work with formal and informal systems, practices, relationships and cultures so that you can identify impacts, influence decisions and achieve organizational objectives.
Who should participate in this course?
This course will be of interest to federal government employees who work in policy, programming, communications, legal or corporate services as well as Ministerial, Cabinet or Parliamentary Affairs offices. If you’re responsible for linking and liaising across departments, levels and interests, this course will give you some helpful, career-building perspectives and strategies.
Participants will be able to:
- Understand and take advantage of the informal and formal power relationships, especially where the public service and political systems intersect (hierarchies and reporting structures)
- Predict the way new events and emerging issues will affect individuals and groups
- Provide strategic advice that will ultimately meet the needs and expectations of Ministers
- Foster good relations with political leaders and their staff
- When there is a ‘disconnect’ between short-term and longer-term objectives
- Build internal and external networks
What can you expect?
The program is led by seasoned senior executives, who have worked in and navigated today’s challenging environment.
Course fee
The cost of this course is $990 (no HST) per person. The price includes expert facilitation, lunch and course materials. Registration is done through an online registration system where you can select to pay by credit card or request an invoice.
Location
At the IOG premises at 60 George St. in the Byward Market, downtown Ottawa.
Time
Our courses run from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Why this is important
In today’s increasingly complex governance environment, public servants maintain the time-honored tradition of being non-partisan in the advice they provide to political leaders. At the same time, being politically astute and knowledgeable about the public and political interface, attendant relationships, protocols and practices, can produce better policy and strategic advice. Many governments have highlighted political acuity or acumen as one of several public service core competencies.
Political acuity is about judgment; understanding an issue, its origins, and the players, developing an approach, and knowing when to act. This know-how and timing is particularly important in the context of the relationship between public servants and governments.
Extending the learning
All IOG courses are prepared and taught be those who have held senior positions in the federal government. They are guided by a Learning Committee of senior federal government public servants which is chaired by the DM of AAFC, John Knubley.
Course fees include a follow-up coffee discussion and networking session (with your colleagues) where you will be able to discuss challenges faced and successes met when you tried to implement our strategies.
For those who wish to have an adapted course that is specific to their issues and requirements, customized course offerings can be delivered on request for branches, teams or groups, in English or French in any part of the country. For more information, contact Olga Arnaudova.
The IOG also offers the Coaching Circle, to assist executives and officers at all levels of government as well as non-profit and other organizations in the development of their leadership skills.
