Executive Leadership in Major Projects
The course price of $46,500 includes accommodation and meals for three five-day residential programs in Sydney.
Overview
Our Executive Leadership in Major Projects (ELMP) program has transformed projects and advanced careers. This is not a general leadership program. Instead it integrates world-class research with real-world experience on the theme of project excellence. It is uniquely tailored for the rapid, unpredictable, paradoxical, and tangled challenges of leading complex projects and project portfolios.
The program blends three immersive one-week residentials held in Sydney interspersed with online learning.
What you'll learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Expand thinking by growing the strategic mindsets that bring clarity to complexity, guide delivery excellence, and promote execution agility
- Master the architecture of collaboration and learn how to mobilise collective action across teams, units, organisations, and ecosystems
- Expand lived-experience of major project success by drawing on candid stories of success, failure, and career-defining challenges
- Broaden your network of project executives across industry and government
- Unlock productivity and progress in the systems you lead
- Reposition yourself within your own organisation for your next leadership role
John Grill Institute for Project Leadership
A global leader in research and executive education on how organisations conceive, set-up, deliver, and benefit from nation-building projects. Working with industry, government, and communities to enhance productivity and shape future projects and their outcomes.
Founded through a generous donation by John Grill, they are building leadership capability and capacity to transform the performance of projects.
For any enquiries about the ELMP program or application process, please email john-grill.execed@sydney.edu.au.
Program Aims
This program is designed to create a step change in leadership mindset and skillset. It aims to build the capacity to steward project ecosystems toward success. It blends strategic insights with the strategic mindsets and relational leadership capabilities that bring clarity to uncertainty and decode complexity in ways that inspire motivation and action. This program is highly experiential, including the opportunity to apply learnings to their own challenges and test proposed solutions with industry peers, mentors, and expert coaches.
- A senior major project leader with at least 20 years' relevant experience.
- Supported by an organisation sponsor.
- Curious to expand your ability to lead and navigate the systems that you operate, through a deeper understanding of the complex technical, cultural, power, and political dynamics.
- Willing to step out of traditional leadership paradigms and explore cutting edge thinking.
This immersive program is designed to maximise impact through three intensive, one-week residentials held in Sydney, where participants engage in facilitator-led sessions that are practical, hands-on, and deeply collaborative. In-between these residentials will be online check-ins, group work, coaching, mentoring and experiential activities - designed to help apply insights directly to real-world challenges. Participants should plan for one 2-hour online session per week, plus reading and group work.
Applicants must be senior complex project professionals currently working in or leading major projects. There are no formal prerequisites to join the Executive Leadership in Major Projects program; however, participation is subject to a competitive application process that includes a statement of learning and an interview.
We recommend bringing a laptop computer or tablet device.
The 2027/2028 program fee is $46,500. This includes accommodation and meals for three five-day residential programs in Sydney. Travel to and from Sydney is not included.
Our 2027/2028 program team:
- Bradley Hastings, Director of Executive Education, John Grill Institute for Project Leadership, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney
- Alis Anagnostakis, Founder, Facilitator & Coach, Vertical Development Institute
- Josephine O’Reilly, Facilitator, University of Sydney
- Joan Lurie, Founder, Organomics
- Shawn Callahan, Founder, Annecdote
- Hannah Clement, Executive Director
- Camilla Drover, Chief Executive, Sydney Metro
- Peter Meurs, Retired project steward
- Graeme Newton, Chief Executive Officer, Cross River Rail
- Mary Lou Maher, Professor, University of Sydney
Successful applicants will undertake a pre-program leadership diagnostic assessment to establish a baseline for their development, which will serve as a reference point throughout the program. Participants will deliver a close-out presentation reflecting on their learning and impact, followed by a final leadership diagnostic re-assessment that provides each individual with a personalised report on their growth, leadership evolution, and future development priorities.
- ANZ, AEC, and Ausenco
- BHP
- Laing O'Rourke and Lendlease
- Macquarie, Microsoft, and Mirvac
- NAB and NSW Health
- Telstra, Transport for NSW, Transurban, and TSA Management
- Westpac, Woodside Energy, and Worley
Please note: To apply, follow these steps:
Enrolment in this course is via application. To apply, follow these steps:
1. Click the "Apply now" button under "Upcoming classes" to add the course to your cart. Then proceed to checkout by clicking "Checkout now" or the cart icon at the top right of the page.
2. Answer all required application questions, then proceed to the Confirmation screen. The total will display as $0, as submitting an application is free.
3. Review our Terms and Conditions and tick the box to confirm your agreement.
4. You will receive an email confirming that we've received your application. Please allow time for review and avoid submitting multiple applications.
5. Once your application has been assessed, you will receive an email advising you of the outcome. If successful, the email will include a personalised link back to the course page.
6. Follow the link and click "Enrol now" under "Upcoming classes". (Important: Use the link provided-otherwise you may still see "Apply now" instead of "Enrol now.")
7. Proceed to checkout again to finalise your enrolment. Any applicable discounts or special pricing will be automatically applied.
Contact john-grill.execed@sydney.edu.au if you would like to discuss how they can support your organisational training needs through this course. Either as a group booking, whole course block booking, or customised delivery to meet your business requirements.