Leadership 2020

Building Capacity. Addressing complexity. Inspiring Change.

Leadership 2020 was The Federation’s custom-built leadership development program. We invited participants from the social services sector, Indigenous communities, and the public sector/government who were working to develop their own leadership, who were contributing to social change, and who were building a strong, sustainable sector devoted to equity, justice, and active reconciliation.

Leadership 2020 combined personal experience, cutting-edge research, relevant theory, and participatory approaches to inspire and empower participants. The programs combined in-person residencies, online teaching, and self-directed learning. The content was relevant, iterative, practical, and inspired by the needs of participants who were encouraged to apply what they learned in their day-to-day practice. During the program, participants built a strong community of practice and a network of colleagues and advisors that they now draw upon with the program finished.

Access the Leadership 2020 Participant Section

Application information

All people working in the social services sector were welcome in our Leadership 2020 programs. This included non-profits, private organizations providing community social services, Delegated Aboriginal Agencies, Friendship Centres, community development organizations, and government employees (i.e., those working in MCFD, Health, CLBC, BC Housing, SDPR, School Districts).

Learning and developing leadership skills with a group of people from diverse work settings—but with shared values and intentions—was one of the most powerful and rewarding aspects of the Leadership 2020 program.

Program Evaluation

Leadership 2020 Program 5-Year Evaluation Report (2017). Ongoing evaluation was a big part of Leadership 2020’s philosophy and approach. Feedback and evaluations helped us keep the program responsive to the needs of participants and continually supportive to program graduates.

“Leadership 2020 inspired me to rise above the current conditions and create a vision for change going forward.”

“I found my voice, which was bigger than I ever imagined it could be. I embraced my vulnerability. I learned to trust my gut.”

Leadership 2020 Programs

We recognized that there are no easy or final answers to the challenges facing us, but we wanted to be committed to the long game of social change. At Leadership 2020, we tried to empower people to make real change in their community by developing leadership practices rooted in an understanding of the nature of complex systems. We practiced methods and approaches that increased our competence in effective communication, collaboration, and engagement. We learned to work more respectfully and productively across our differences and we explored ways to engage people meaningfully in the issues that affect them. People came to Leadership 2020 because they had a desire and a responsibility to lead differently in their communities and organizations.

Indigenous Focus Certificate Program

We understand very well the role social services can have on the lives of Indigenous community members and the differences between services delivered by Indigenous and non-Indigenous community organizations. The Indigenous Focus program existed to specifically and intentionally support those working with Indigenous communities and community members. All Leadership 2020 programs included a focus on the work of reconciliation, but this program took into account the specific needs of people working in programs and services dedicated to Indigenous well-being and social justice.

Certificate Program

The Leadership 2020 Certificate Program brought together emergent, experienced, and legacy leaders from diverse roles, programs, and communities across BC. Over the 6-month program, participants developed their leadership practice, discovered new ways to build and work with teams, nurtured the careers of others through coaching and mentorship, and learned how to deal with conflict and toxicity in order to create healthy and accountable workplaces.

Program Background

The Federation of Community Social Services of BC had been working on recruitment and retention issues for years when, in 2009, we were asked by our members to address what has been called a “leadership crisis” in the sector. Leadership 2020 was our response to this concern.

Led by Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth, with Chris Corrigan, Caitlin Frost, and an advisory committee from the sector, we set out to address successorship issues in the sector by asking the question: “What is the leadership that is called for now?”

After two years of research and design, our first cohort launched in 2011 with twenty-six emerging and legacy leaders from the sector. In 2012, at the suggestion of that first cohort, the Ministry of Children and Family Development was invited to send people to the program and Annemarie Travers (then the Director of Learning for MCFD) joined the hosting team. The next year, director of Aboriginal learning and practice Wedlidi Speck joined the hosting team and we introduced the first of four cohorts with an Indigenous focus.

The program ended in 2019. In total, over 500 people participated in the Leadership 2020 programs over 8 years and 14 cohorts.

Our pedagogy

The Leadership 2020 hosting team and an advisory group continually reviewed research, news, program evaluations, and participant feedback in order to refine our pedagogical approach to leadership development. The programs were continually evolving and each cohort was approached individually to meet the needs of different groups. However, the following were enduring elements of our pedagogy.

Transformative learning theory. This field of work addresses our purpose and the intention behind the kinds of leader we are trying to develop and encourage. It reflects a shift from transactional leadership to a focus on supporting, empowering, building trust, and providing inspiration.
Action learning. Such learning involves working on real problems while incorporating experiential learning theories. This process engages groups in immersive learning within a supportive community of practice (i.e, learning through doing) while creating space for reflective practice and personal inquiry.
Generative curriculum approaches. These allow hosting teams to be responsive to different cohort learning needs.

Critical social theory. This focuses on building capacity for activism as well as organizational and systemic change.
Indigenous worldviews and perspectives. Addressing power and privilege and decolonizing practice within a theory of change.
Adult learning theory. The expectation of self-directed learning and the value of tapping into lived experiences as well as expectations around collaboration and applying program learning in the real world.
Peter Senge’s work in Fifth Discipline. This work on personal mastery, mental models, and systems thinking is addressed at a personal level and creates healthier ‘ecosystems’ of learning within their organizations.

Leadership 2020

Building Capacity. Addressing complexity. Inspiring Change.

Application information

Program Evaluation

Leadership 2020 Programs

Indigenous Focus Certificate Program

Certificate Program

Program Background

Our pedagogy

Contact Info

Reconciliation

Resources

About The Federation