Foundational Leadership Program

The new Foundational Leadership program is designed to build fundamental leadership skills for aspiring and newly appointed people leaders in our University of Sydney context. This fully online, self-directed program is most suitable for staff at HEO levels 5–7 and Academic levels A/B. However, it is available to all staff via Workday, at no cost. 

Piloted in 2024, the Foundational Leadership program contains curated online learning materials and interactive elements to suit a variety of learners. Our University leaders, including Pro Vice-Chancellors, Deans and Professional Service Unit  Chiefs, feature in each module, explaining how they apply the program skills in their role. As part of our Sydney in 2032 strategy, this new initiative contributes to ‘A better place to work and a place that works better’ by supporting staff who are starting their leadership journey.

We encourage participants to complete the program in consultation with their managers, as part of their Academic and Professional development. A manager toolkit has been developed to support these important conversations. You can also interact with fellow participants via the dedicated Viva Engage community we have created. 

The program topics align with the Leadership Academy Success Profiles:

• Collaborating with others
• Developing others
• Thinking and solving problems creatively
• Navigating change
• Demonstrating accountability
• Working effectively

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Suggested Learning Pathway

For an accessible version of this learning pathway, please use this link.

This learning pathway is recommended as the program has been designed to progressively build on previous knowledge. However, you can organise your learning to suit your needs. The timing shown is also a suggestion, there is no time restriction on completion. We do recommend that you space out the modules to allow time for reflection and to incorporate learning into your role.

Enrol in the Foundational Leadership program and access supporting materials below.

Recognition of program completion

Staff who have completed all six learning modules of the Foundational Leadership program are eligible for recognition of completion.  These modules are:

• Foundational Leadership Module 1: Collaborating with others
• Foundational Leadership Module 2: Developing Others
• Foundational Leadership Module 3: Creative Problem Solving
• Foundational Leadership Module 4: Navigating Change
• Foundational Leadership Module 5: Demonstrating Accountability
• Foundational Leadership Module 6: Working Effectively

Although there is no formal credential associated with the program, recognition entitles the staff member to:

• Attend the annual Leadership Academy graduation ceremony held in December each year.
• Be included in Leadership Academy alumni event invitations

To receive formal recognition of completion for the Foundational Leadership Program, staff should complete the following steps:

• Provide evidence of module completion in Workday
  • Go into the Learning section of your Workday profile,
  • Look under ‘My Learning’ and ‘Learning History’ to view your completed Foundational Leadership modules. 
  • Sort the column ‘Name’ by A-Z to group the modules together. 
  • Take a screen shot of the Foundational Leadership modules that you have completed and save the image.
• Write a short (500-1000 word) reflection summarising your key learnings and describing how the program has influenced your leadership mindset. If a Learning Journal was used, reflections from this source may be included.
• Complete the following survey where you will be asked to paste your reflection and upload the image confirming completion of the modules.  You will also be asked to tick a box confirming that you have completed the program requirements in full. 

Completion requests will be processed quarterly, and you will receive email confirmation when this is complete.