United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Oct 2021
InterWorks led the IASC Emergency Team Leadership Programme (ETLP) online training, organized by UNHCR on behalf of the IASC from 18-21 October 2021. At the request of the IASC, UNHCR serves as the institutional home for the ETLP by facilitating the tendering, overseeing the design, and ensuring the delivery of the learning program. The ETLP is an interagency blended training programme which reinforces individual team leadership competencies and fosters effective, efficient and professional leadership in humanitarian emergency team settings.
More concretely, participants in the ETLP:
- increase their capacity to lead teams effectively in emergencies
- self-assess and obtain feedback on leadership strengths and gaps
- enhance their self-awareness as a leader
- learn and practice active listening skills
- distinguish between leadership styles and their uses
- identify strategies and tips for leading teams remotely
- consider decision making factors in emergencies
- enhance negotiation skills
Due to pandemic, the ETLP was conducted virtually online combining webinars, self-assessments, remote coaching and independent reading and assignments. The weeklong online training course was preceded by two weeks of pre-workshop assignments including self-assessments and readings. The instructional and learning methodology for the course combines short presentations, case study analysis, self-assessments, group discussions, table-top role plays and simulation exercises, readings, peer feedback and exchange of experiences.
As a special feature of this ETLP Online version, all participants completed the Hogan Personality Assessment which assesses strengths and blind spots related to how one relates to others, and how he or she leads and follows, based on the five-factor model of personality. Following completion of the assessment, each participant also received a private one-on-one coaching session with a certified Hogan Assessment coach to help interpret and reflect on the results.
Participants represented NGOs (14), UNHCR (2) and other UN agencies (4). Regions represented in the training included the Africa region (11), Americas region (3), Middle East region (4), Western Europe region (1) and Asia region (1).
I sincerely appreciated the very rare opportunity to reflect on my leadership style and to consider where my personal strengths and weaknesses may lie. I thought this brought significant added value to the overall experience of this workshop, beyond the focus on function and processes that characterize similar workshops.
– Workshop participant