Executive Leadership in Major Projects
The course price of $49,500 is inclusive of GST ($4500) and 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:
- Learn the strategic mindsets that underpin major project strategy and delivery.
- Master the architecture of collaboration and learn how to mobilize 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 with senior project practitioners across industry and government.
- Unlock productivity and progress in the projects 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.
Program Aims
Through cross-sector collaboration and engagement with global thought leaders, this course equips senior leaders with the cutting-edge insights that underpin major project success. Participants will learn and refine the strategic mindsets and relational leadership capabilities that bring clarity to 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.
Content
- Prework. Vertical development assessment and debrief, plus reading and video content.
- Residential Immersion 1: Anchor. Five-day residential program – June 2026. This module aims to explore, clarify, and regulate the inner self to better project outward presence, authenticity, influence, and power.
- Online (July to September 2026). Pod meetings and cohort check-in with experiential practice. Progressing leadership experiments. Coaching and mentoring provided.
- Residential Immersion 2: Align. Five-day residential program – October 2026. This module aims to unlock the mindsets that underpin human meaning-making, with the view to excel at inspiring quality collaboration across ecosystems.
- Online (October 2026 – February 2027). Pod meetings and cohort check-in with experiential practice. Progressing leadership experiments. Coaching and mentoring provided.
- Residential Immersion 3: Amplify. Five-day residential program. March/April 2027. This module aims to master the strategic thinking that stewards systems into the future, including innovation and change.
- Post-program debrief. Evaluation and iteration.
- A senior major project leader with at least 10 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.
- Bradley Hastings, Director of Executive Education, John Grill Institute for Project Leadership, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney
- Nader Naderpajouh, Head of School, School of Project Management, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney
- Alina Anagnostakis, Founder, Facilitator & Coach, Vertical Development Institute
- Juliano Denicol, Professor, University College London
- Shawn Callahan, Founder, Annecdote
- Kevin Lowe, Professor of Leadership, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney
- Mike Rollo, Practitioner and Researcher, WatermanBurns
- Nicole Scurrah, Founder, Create advisory
- Katie O’Keeffe, Co-Founder, Structured Creative
- Kevin McCann, Chairman of the Board Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd
- Graeme Newton, Chief Execinformutive Officer, Cross River Rail Large
- Camilla Drover, Deputy Secretary, Transport for NSW
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.
- 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
The program fee is $49,500 (inclusive of GST). This includes accommodation and meals for three five-day residential programs in Sydney. Travel to and from Sydney is not included.
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.
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.
Please note: Places are limited, and early application is encouraged.
Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend a selection interview with the Director of Executive Education. For any enquiries about the ELMP program or application process, please email john-grill.institute@sydney.edu.au
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.
Upcoming classes
Face-to-face (venue TBA)
| When | Time | Where | Session Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 Jun 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 1.1 |
| Tue 2 Jun 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 1.2 |
| Wed 3 Jun 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 1.3 |
| Thu 4 Jun 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 1.4 |
| Fri 5 Jun 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 1.5 |
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 2.1 |
| Tue 3 Nov 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 2.2 |
| Wed 4 Nov 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 2.3 |
| Thu 5 Nov 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 2.4 |
| Fri 6 Nov 2026 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+11:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 2.5 |
| Mon 5 Apr 2027 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 3.1 |
| Tue 6 Apr 2027 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 3.2 |
| Wed 7 Apr 2027 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 3.3 |
| Thu 8 Apr 2027 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 3.4 |
| Fri 9 Apr 2027 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Room TBA - Face-to-face (venue TBA) | Immersion 3.5 |