Corporate Public Affairs Leadership in the 21st Century

This leadership course is the next step for graduates of the Centre’s Institute program, and for public affairs practitioners who aspire to be leaders in the function

Overview

This Centre signature program offers practitioners in a leadership role in the corporate public affairs function, or emerging leaders, with a global best practice executive education experience.

It is the next step for graduates of the Centre’s Institute program, and/or for public affairs practitioners who aspire to be leaders in the function.

Taught by Centre Faculty that develops and delivers leadership and corporate public affairs executive education internationally, and Guest Faculty with extensive experience in leadership roles, this four-day intensive program has been developed to challenge and prepare practitioners in the leadership management stream in corporate public affairs. 

The program challenges the commonly held notions of authority versus leadership, prepares participants to lead difficult change, strengthens their diagnostic skills, and distils the challenges of leadership under pressure, including engagement with stakeholders who resist change or whom may seek to derail it.

Centre Executive Director Wayne Burns provides a short program overview in this video.

The curriculum focuses on:

  • identifying the critical difference between authority and leadership;
  • diagnosing technical and adaptive change to determine what leadership approaches will best achieve success;
  • understanding how to more effectively identify critical stakeholders and engage them and lead them through significant change;
  • identifying and overcoming barriers and immunity to change;
  • dignity in leadership;
  • leading adaptive change inside and outside the organisation;
  • managing ambition and aspirations;
  • managing the causal or premeditated distractions that can derail leadership; and
  • ‘staying alive’ as a leader in the midst of significant change.

Corporate public affairs case studies and significant peer syndicate group work are part of the curriculum.

The program requires participants to immerse themselves in the residential program, and for them to be present and available over the four-day program. Learning is driven from engagement. Participants who cannot participate fully in the four-day program will not be eligible for graduation.

Demanding but transformational, this four-day program will extend markedly the leadership capability and capacity of graduates, strengthen their commitment to lead, and be of significant benefit to the organisations for which they work. The program offers participants and the organisations that sponsor them with global best executive education content, expertise, and experience in leadership broadly, and in the corporate public affairs function specifically.

Places are limited to maximise opportunities for dialogue and interaction with Faculty, Guest Faculty, and peers.

Graduates of Corporate Public Affairs Leadership in the 21st Century are awarded 30 credit points towards a GCCPA (Graduate Centre for Corporate Public Affairs).

Testimonials from previous participants

Date:
27 October 2025 -
30 October 2025 Location:
Melbourne

The Centre’s executive education programs are vendor free. Participation in Centre programs is for corporations and organisations with a dedicated and operating public affairs management function, and is not open to public relations or consultancy firms.