Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) recently concluded a 4-day convergence of healthcare leaders in Abuja as part of its innovative capacity building programme LEAPS currently being delivered to thirty participants from three Nigerian States.
The LEAPS programme is a rigorous nine-month programme during which participants build their soft skills, grow in leadership presence,and work together in unique cross-ministry teams to execute and effectively manage a health system project. Participants typically represent a cross-section of senior officers from multiple states within the country and multiple agencies within the states. This convergence occurred at the 6-month mark and represented the third convergence point for this cohort of participants. It was clear from the ease of interactions between participants and faculty that a safe space fo rknowledge sharing and leadership development had been achieved, and participants through the course of the four-day event gave various testimonials to attest to this, as well as their growth and development as leaders inside and outside of the civil service.
‘This programme has helped me develop self confidence and know my worth as a leader, I have learnt to present myself and be precise in my presentation’.
Becky Agu from Nasarawa State
‘For the first time I was required to do a self assessment, I was also required to get feedback on my work and leadership style from superiors, colleagues and subordinates which I found useful for improving myself and the work I do’.
Yoanna from Kaduna State
Over the four-day event, participants received training in strategic thinking, problem-solving, and effective delegation amongst other topics. Additionally, as part of the convergence, participants gave updates on the progress of their state health projects, and several teams were able to highlight significant progress and real impact to the end user as a result of their approaches. It was particularly interesting to observe the range of projects being worked on and understand how participants are working as teams in-state to accelerate the achievement of the targets they had set for the projects. An example of one of the projects being carried by one Northern State team is a drive to increase the number of women who complete all required antenatal health visits, thus reducing their risk of pregnancy-related complications to themselves and to the unborn child.
Altogether, the convergence was a time for the participants to engage, learn and reflect on the lessons they had picked up on their leadership journey to date through peer-to-peer learning, shared updates on their individual state projects, constructive feedback and evaluation.
The Leadership Enhancement and Accountability Programme for the Public Sector is open to all state governments - those who wish to apply can find out more about this on here.
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