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On Campus
Session Date-Application DeadlineProgram Fee$10,600Faculty ChairProgram Director
This session is full and now has a waitlist. Please contact the program director for more information.
For information about requirements to participate in an executive program on the Harvard Kennedy School campus, please visit this page.
Program Fee: The program fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials and most meals.
Executive Certificate: This program is a core program in the Public Leadership concentration. This program can also be used as a third program for any concentration in the Executive Certificate series.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): This program aligns with one or more Executive Core Qualifications.
Program Overview
The Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program Art and Practice of Leadership Development is designed to instill those skills and competencies. Highly interactive and experiential, this executive program is tailored for executive leadership development professionals from around the world, including consultants, teachers, and trainers. It is led by Faculty Chair Ron Heifetz, King Hussein Bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership.
During this one-week, on-campus program, you will work closely with experienced colleagues and distinguished faculty to develop innovative leadership frameworks and teaching methods, along with strategies to implement them.
PROGRAM CURRICULUM
Developed by Harvard Kennedy School faculty, Art and Practice of Leadership Development features a distinctive teaching pedagogy. It includes “Case in Point,” in which you will experience both the “perspirational” and the “inspirational” aspects of leadership through a real-time case study of the class itself. You will also participate in peer consultation groups focused on dilemmas that you face in your leadership development work.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The Art and Practice of Leadership Development curriculum explores:
- The common assumptions people have about leadership and how these assumptions limit the way they learn and practice leadership
- How the dynamics of your organization can support or impede leadership development activity
- The difference between the practice of leadership development and other personal development work
- The tools available for leadership development
- The place for values, passion, and character in leadership development
- The ethics of leadership development, especially when using experiential methods
Application Information
Art and Practice of Leadership Development is designed for experienced leadership development and consulting professionals from global organizations in the public, corporate, and nonprofit sectors.
Because the professional experience and expertise of the classroom participants is critical to the learning process, the cohort chosen will reflect a broad spectrum of perspectives and backgrounds, including:
- Government training and development officers
- Senior officers and trainers from corporate HR leadership development departments
- Senior managers from nonprofit and grassroots community-building organizations delivering leadership training
- Academics from professional schools, universities, and colleges engaged in curricular and co-curricular leadership development programs
- Principals of consulting firms advising clients on leadership in private, public, and nonprofit sectors
Immerse yourself with a cohort of fellow leaders on Harvard’s historic campus. View a sample program schedule from a previous session. Note that module titles, speakers, and sequence may change.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING
“I wanted to capitalize my professional experience with the most incredible school in the world. I also wanted to strengthen my leadership skills and experiences.”
Hasina Ranaivo, CEO, HARA Madagascar
Hear From the Faculty Chair
Professor Ronald Heifetz, the King Hussein bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, explores the question, can leadership be taught?
Faculty & Research

Ronald Heifetz

Timothy O'Brien

Farayi Chipungu

You Are Here
2015 alumnus, Lloyd Denton heading to the polls in Istanbul for the historic Turkish Constitutional Referendum. Specializing in leadership development in Turkey and the Middle East for 15 years, Lloyd is seeing up-close how the turbulent climate is affecting his client base of senior executives and promising young leadership talents.