In April 2021, a directive from the Chief of the Defence Staff and Deputy Minister of National Defence called for the creation of an organization to lead cultural transformation within the government department and the Canadian Armed Forces.

As a result of that mandate, a training partner was needed to help design and deliver a series of virtual workshops to senior officers and civilian executives who, in the future, would be evaluated on behaviours related to inclusive leadership.

AC Corporate Training (ACCT) delivers various open enrolment and custom-designed leadership courses and could draw on its expertise in the subject area to develop a syllabus and supporting content to meet the department’s stated learning objectives.

In addition, ACCT’s experience in delivering virtual instructor-led training, in both official languages, made us well-suited for the requirements of this project.

Through a collaborative approach, ACCT developed a series of nine, three-hour workshops, along with a training schedule to accommodate the expected attendance of more than 120 senior-level participants starting in the fall of 2021.

Presentations, facilitator-led group conversations, and individual exercises were designed to identify the benefits of inclusive leadership and recognize behaviours that hinder—and promote—inclusion, among other related topics.

A follow-up report prepared by ACCT showed that the content of the workshops and their online delivery received high marks from participants, in addition to the public praise received from the Acting Commander of the Canadian Army through social media.