Understanding the difference between managing and leading staff is crucial to effective leadership, a lesson that PNG public servants took from a recent short course held at the the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct.
The short course, Leading with Strategic Intelligence – Shared Values and Leading Coalitions in PNG, was attended by 16 public servants from national and provincial governments and was delivered by the Australian Centre for Public Management.
The three-day course included a coaching session envisaged to help participants as leaders to self-reflect and develop an awareness of their leadership style and the impact on team dynamics.
“This course has helped me resharpen my tools to lead my organisation,” said Annemarie Kona, Acting First Assistant Secretary at the Department of Education.
“It has challenged me to know myself as a person, and to have a greater awareness of myself before I approach others. I think that’s important if I’m going to be a positive influence on the staff that I work with.”
Grace Yap and Linus Kuravi, both managers from Nonga Hospital in East New Britain, said the course provided a rare opportunity for provincial staff to receive high quality training.
“We’ve learnt a lot, especially about management and leadership skills. When we go back to our province we are planning to disseminate some of the information that we have learnt here to our colleagues who are in managerial positions, and also to the provincial administration.”