Ten years later: Backstage at the Emerging Leaders Experience

As with all success stories, this one too started with a dream.

Back in 2013, a handful of passionate UNSSC trainers found that system-wide leadership learning opportunities for middle-level professionals at the interagency level were slim.  As learning specialists, we wanted to create the space and learning platform   to build skills and reflect on leadership potential. That is how the UN Emerging Leaders Experience residential learning programme was born.

Ten years later the programme is still going strong. Last year we had our largest-ever and most diverse cohort (up to 100 emerging leaders in a single group); welcoming leaders from more than 34 agencies and 40 duty stations across the globe.

This article provides an opportunity for us to “peel back the curtain” and look at what it takes to ensure impact by learning:  increasing and fortifying knowledge, skills and performance, while changing behaviours, minds, and hearts.

Choosing the right ingredients for a leadership programme

To ensure the programme remains relevant, over the years we have revised the curricula to continue to align with the changing leadership culture at the UN.

We have two key methodological approaches:

• asynchronous (forms of instruction and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time)
• and synchronous (a learning event in which a group of participants are engaging in learning at the same time).  

The asynchronous component makes the training flexible by ensuring that participants are able to fill their knowledge gaps and adequately prepare for the synchronous component which fosters collaboration and empowers participants to learn and connect with peers from across the UN system.

Experiencing a leadership programme with fellow UN leaders is empowering. For most of the participants the real work begins at the end of the programme. Both the 360-degree assessment, and coaching sessions are our way of ensuring that the messages and learnings are personalized and serve participants throughout their leadership journey.

Participants often note that UNEL-e is not a single event but rather an ongoing journey where the weeks spent on the programme enable them to apply new concepts in a real-world UN setting by testing them in their own work environments.

“What a wonderful experience! This training brings together all you need to learn, refresh, and put into practice. Interactive, dynamic, full of insights and moments of reflection. I loved the opportunity to improve my communication skills and be coached towards specific objectives. I also enjoyed getting to know many colleagues from all corners of the world by learning from their personal paths and experiences. The UNSSC team and the speakers were simply amazing!” - Riccardo Zennaro,  Programme Management Officer, UNEP, Kenya

On the other side of the screen

Delivering UNEL-e is a team effort.  Our collective goal is to provide a high-quality learning experience that meets the needs of each diverse cohort.

For example, to reduce ‘Zoom Fatigue’, we have implemented a combination of social interaction, and brain stimulation exercises. Music tends to inspire participants, create emotional connections, and boost participant engagement; we continue to incorporate different musical elements to create an enjoyable experience for participants while learning.

Engaging breakout rooms are also an integral part of programme delivery. They offer participants a space to reflect on how the learning applies to them as individuals, and to their specific UN contexts. Ultimately, we have found that the breakout rooms foster inclusivity and relationship-building among peers. 

Graphic facilitation is yet another way to make the UNEL-e content and stories come to life through convincing illustrations, that are more likely to stay in the long-term memory and inspire participants to take action.

“An entire team of experts is preparing each week to ensure an optimal learning experience before, during and after each module, including the opportunity to build new networks among UN colleagues from all agencies/regions as well as with UNEL-e staff and instructors. Everyone is accountable for learning. This wholistic approach is what gives the UNEL-e its edge. The learning hack of hacks!” - Douglas Passanisi, UNEL-e co-facilitator

“A highly professional dedicated team of speakers and resource persons who have selected with extreme care and attention a huge amount of learning resources, as well as motivated peers that you can immediately relate to and connect with. Thank you UNSSC colleagues for putting this together.” - Eiman Elmasry, Quality Assurance, Data and Analytics Officer, ITCILO, Italy

“I am very grateful to the team who made every effort to bring on board the best experts in their fields to make it possible for us to learn, exercise and apply a range of soft skills to enhance our performance as future UN leaders. By engaging with colleagues from all over the world and agencies, we were able to address our challenges and share our stories, brainstorm solutions, think outside the box, and learn from each other. Thanks to all for making it happen!” - Anastasiya Brylova, Health Service Delivery Officer, WHO, Ukraine

Leading through conversations

Online discussion provides participants with the opportunity to:

• share different perspectives on issues and what works within different country contexts;
• tap into best practices from high-performing peers;
• network with diverse and knowledgeable peers from different UN agencies and backgrounds;
• learn from different aspects and experiences of leadership in the UN,
• stimulate peer-to-peer learning and support for each other throughout the learning process.

In some cases, the solutions, hacks and resources discussed or recommended by participants have formed the basis of practical best practice checklists for immediate application within their respective workplaces. This added value to the live webinars. UNEL-e creates a sense of belonging and community making participants more motivated to complete the programme, safe enough to contribute to discussions, and open to feedback that can help them improve.

UNEL-e also implements a co-delivery approach between trainers and UN leaders. This is creative in the sense that it links theory with application and pulls the voice of the field into the presentation. It also opens the door to peer-to-peer support and information sharing, and provides a nudge from the organizations they come from to apply the desired concepts. UN leaders reinforce the common thread running throughout UNEL-e, i.e. leadership from where you sit and starting change with yourself.  

“The UNEL-e programme is special in a number of ways. Apart from the best practice content delivered through live webinars, the programme’s discussion forum provides the opportunity for tapping the experience of UN managers from around the world on approaches that deliver high-quality results.” - Ed Lannert, UNEL-e Online Moderator

A learning experience with the power to stimulate internal change

Change is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of senior UN management. Our programme motto is “leadership from where you sit’ (inspired by the UN System Leadership Framework). Throughout the programme, we instil the idea that one can lead from wherever they are, irrespective of their position. The UNEL-e’s design reinforces the role of participants as change agents.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his address to staff spoke about the engagement challenge: “we need to have strong engagement to change, to reform and to improve... It is not an engagement of the Secretary-General or one or other managers of the organization. It must be our collective engagement, to be able to address the shortcomings that we have.” 

UNEL-e uses a leadership challenge-based activity “Back to the Future” which helps participants reflect on their role in stewarding change.  Discussions centre around these two questions: 

1.  Past: What triggered your decision to apply to work as a leader for the United Nations?
2.  Future: Imagine that it is 2030, and you are looking back on your career.  What do you point to as the ‘most significant leadership moment during your time as a UN staff?  What did you do?

We hear interesting insights during this session!  Listening to the responses and hearing the participants define the type of UN leaders they aspire to be is a rewarding experience for all.

As one of the UNEL-e Alumni Simon Van Woerden, Chief of Social and Behaviour Change at UNICEF Sudan, mentioned, “UNEL-e gave me the opportunity to connect to the WHY of my career choices and provided the space for deep thinking and discussion about the motivation to sustain a career in the UN.”

Part of the alignment of the UNEL-e programme with the UN System Leadership Framework and the Chief Executive Board for Coordination's Senior Leadership Commitments includes focusing sharply on how to transform the desired key behaviours into ongoing leadership habits.

We deliver the UNEL-e programme to as many UN leaders as possible, encouraging them to start applying the new desired behaviours immediately. The large number of UN mid-level managers in our cohorts increases the chances of positive bottom-up change within the organisation.

“The UN Emerging Leaders course was extremely useful in building the skills needed to help the UN deliver its mission. It should be compulsory for all UN staff. I've recommended that everyone in my team take it.” - Tiy Chung,  Senior Communications Officer, UNHCR, Japan

“This online training was fabulous! It was meaty and refreshing well-structured and modern. For anyone who wants to grasp the main principles of leadership and management and gain tools to put them into practice, I highly recommend this course.” - Lucy Okello, Assistant Recovery Return and Reintegration Officer, UNMISS South Sudan

Leadership stories from the field

On the last day of the programme, we provide a special learning opportunity.

UN senior leaders share their real-life experiences and individual leadership journeys making the learning more relevant, practical, and inspirational for our participants. There are so many untold leadership stories in the UN. Screening and choosing unique stories from across the system is not an easy task, but it is certainly worthwhile. This interaction with UN leaders reinforces the common thread running the UNEL programmes i.e., leadership from where you sit and start change within yourself.

Throughout the course, participants engage in breakout rooms, speak up and debate in plenary sessions, as well as demonstrate empathy and help their peers. At the closure of the programme, we ask participants to vote for their peers in several categories:  Platform Luminaries for exceptionally active contributors on the platform, Limelight Stars who won the group’s hearts, You're a Gem for most helpful Habit Buddies, and Graduation Ceremony Master's for sharing the learning experiences on behalf of the group.

The champions receive books on leadership as awards. This is in place to celebrate peer-to-peer consultation and engagement, build a sense of belonging and community, and motivate participants to actively engage in the course.

“The program was a GEM to me. It really brought out the best in me as a leader. The facilitators and the UNSSC team were just amazing and outstanding. Am also impressed by the blended learning experiences from the entire cohorts and also from the Senior UN Leaders who shared their experiences. Learning from peers through their experiences was awesome.” - Fredrick Ledelea, Field Security Coordination Officer, UNMISS, South Sudan

Final thoughts

We dedicate this article to You, the Emerging Leaders! UN Emerging Leaders e-Learning is a meeting point of leadership stories. Yours and ours.

Once you join UNEL-e, you will be accompanied by a unique version of our learning journey. The perfect travel companions. You@UNELE

We would love to accompany you in 2023 in the Fall edition!