Leadership in a Challenging Century | Summer 2017

In summer 2017, Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro offered Leadership in a Challenging Century in partnership with the Picker Center for Executive Education and Training of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

The objective of this program was to offer experienced public sector managers a comprehensive framework that will be useful to them in solving problems and improving results. The framework has various important dimensions. First, it was designed to be global in nature, drawing upon “best practices” in management drawn from Columbia’s experience in different parts of the world. Second, it covered various sectors within government including health, education, and urban planning. Third, the program emphasized the need for training in interpersonal skills. Fourth, the framework devoted special care and attention to the primacy of ethics in public management.

In order to deliver this comprehensive framework, Columbia University professors, as well as invited practitioners, addressed a large variety of subject areas including: Leaders and Public-Private Partnerships, Public Ethics, Communication in Organizations, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and Competitiveness, among others. Each lecture was carefully coordinated with an appropriate site visit so that the lessons in the classroom could be illustrated by real-world examples.