Senior managers and supervisors at the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) are following a three-day ‘Executive Leadership Workshop’ aimed at boosting the capacity of leaders to better deliver in their respective organisations.

Twenty participants are attending th

e first of the three-day training sessions which started yesterday at the SPA boardroom at the New Port, while a second batch of 20 other participants will attend the training from September 20 to September 22.

The training has been designed by The Guy Morel Institute (TGMI) in collaboration with the Productivity Unit within the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs.

The three-day training sessions are being led by lecturer Timothe Sinon from TGMI.

The participants spent the whole of the first day (yesterday) to learn more about and discuss ‘organisation leadership’ with regard to understanding the role and importance of vision in organisational leadership, the role between leadership and management and the difference between leadership and leadership position among others.

Today, the training will focus on ‘personal leadership’ and it will end tomorrow with the learning and topic of discussion focusing on ‘societal leadership’.

Among the participants yesterday were the chief executive of the SPA Ronnie Brutus and his deputy, Egbert Moustache.

Addressing participants at the launch of the training, Maryvonne Francis, the head of the productivity unit, said the programme is to improve productivity in the workplace.

“The ministry is pleased to deliver the training sessions, the aim of which is to equip leaders and managers with the necessary tools to better manage their organisations strategically, to be able to make a difference by boosting  productivity in workplaces,” she said, noting that it is also a recommendation from the National Productivity Strategic Plan (NPSP) 2017-2021 for all organisations to have performance indicators, monitoring, evaluation reporting and competencies for achieving tasks.

Ms Francis called on the participants to enhance their listening skills and to not only hear what is being said but to analyse and to constantly monitor to ensure progress.

She highlighted on the importance of being conscious that productivity is considered as the most important factor in improving organisational performance and a company’s competitiveness, as well as a critical long-term resource for national economic and social development.

“No organisation can exist unless it maintains a competitive level of productivity and quality. Let us take this executive leadership training as a stepping stone to continuously find ways to improve our performance, that of our employees, of our workplaces and of our country,” she added.

Mr Brutus called on his staff to take this prime opportunity to harness their leadership skills in order to better lead others under their responsibility.

“I hope that the three-day session adds to the total sum of knowledge that you possess so that this is translated into tangible, overall improvements of your departments,” he added.

Ms Francis said the training will continue and officials from other organisations and work places will also benefit.

Patrick Joubert