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Published on 1 April 2010

In June 2009, CARE piloted a new Emergency Leadership & Management Program (ELMP). The program was developed in recognition of the fact that the increasing frequency and complexity of humanitarian emergencies means that senior staff must be able to confidently:

• Lead and manage crises much more frequently than in the past
• Manage complex situations characterized by chaos, rapidly changing circumstances, and a high level of insecurity
• Lead teams under high pressure, inspire a shared vision, and empower others to act
• Negotiate a complex humanitarian landscape with multiple actors
• Adhere to high standards of quality and accountability and achieve results rapidly

The Emergency Leadership & Management Program (ELMP) curriculum focused on building both the leadership and management skills required to minimize disaster risks and to prepare for, and respond to, future emergencies.

The first course was run by a small training team of external consultants for CARE staff in June 2009 in Cairo. The course brought together 20 senior staff from around the world and included heads of emergency units of CARE members, Country Directors and Assistant Country Directors from high risk countries. The selection process was competitive, and the criteria used for the pilot version considered both participants who could most benefit from the course as well as those who could provide valuable contributions for its future development.

Participants were required to complete a course of pre-work study in the 8 weeks prior to the residential workshop, included readings and presentations on leadership, emotional intelligence, CARE’s humanitarian mandate, emergency management protocols and case studies on innovative approaches to emergency programming and disaster risk reduction. The residential workshop lasted 5 days and used a creative mix of simulations, role plays, feedback and coaching, participant case studies and other methods to address critical leadership and humanitarian management issues.

Every session of the pilot was critically evaluated by the training team, observers and participants to capture lessons for the future roll-out of the program. Overall, the pilot was considered a great success with only minor adjustments required, such as reducing the amount of reading and time allocated to preparation work, increasing the attention to safety and security, as well as personal and team stress management.

The daily ‘leadership challenges’, where participants shared and examined a challenging decision they had to make with the group, were a particularly successful method for analyzing complex issues and promoting peer learning and reflection. Some of the leadership challenges were related to making security decisions, how to support staff in a conflict, ensuring program effectiveness, prioritizing decisions and support when a lot of complex decisions need to be made at the same time.

Several months on, how useful was the course? Here is some feedback from participants:

"Very useful, for instance, with the decision-making exercise it helped me understand my thought and prioritization processes and I feel much more at ease making some tough decisions”

"I often refer back to particular processes particularly around the role plays as well as the real scenarios presented; to review what I would/should do, what do I need to take into consideration re decision making.”

The next ELMP workshop is planned for June 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand.

CARE is happy to discuss the ELMP and share resources including the program outline, materials and process with agencies. For more information, contact Chris Holm (chrisholm@careinternational.org).

Photo: Geoff Sayer/Oxfam 2008

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