Sustainable Leadership Courses for a Better World
Learn how Sustainable Leadership drives high performance, resilience and enables a better future for people and the planet
Looking to ensure high performance and to make a difference in the wider world?
Help protect your brand. Motivate customers and employees. Create long-term value for all stakeholders including society and the planet. Get through recessions and crises stronger.
Each Sustainable Leadership practice adds proven value to
your organisation. Eg being more ethical adds 7% to profits and return on assets. Training all employees can add 17% to your share price.
Learn how to use these and other evidence-based practices with us.
- Foundations course – find out how to apply Sustainable Leadership
Advanced Practitioner course – become licensed for a new career
Micro courses – keep up with current thinking
Capsules – grab the expertise you need immediately
Membership – stay up-to-date with our quality, focused content
In-house programs – contact us
Ensure your organisation benefits from Sustainable Leadership.
BOOK NOW!
2024 Mini Study Tours in Sydney
A rare opportunity for a behind-the-scenes visit to companies who successfully follow sustainable leadership, including in person discussions with the MD.
BOOK NOW!
2024 Mini Study Tours in Sydney
A rare opportunity for a behind-the-scenes visit to companies who successfully follow sustainable leadership, including in person discussions with the MD.
Our Courses
Signature courses
Foundations in Sustainable Leadership
The Foundations course provides you with a practical understanding of Sustainable Leadership that you can apply in across all sectors from business to government and nonprofits.
Upon completion, you become certified in applying sustainable leadership practices to enhance your own team’s performance and resilience.
Advanced Practitioner in Sustainable Leadership
This course enables you to become a licensed Advanced Practitioner. It follows on from the Foundations course and deepens your knowledge and skills in using our advanced tools.
Add Sustainable Leadership to your skillset as a consultant or change agent and improve leadership across your own organisation.
Micro courses
Facilitators: Our facilitators are renowned experts in their fields who have taught at leading universities and business schools
Evidence-based content: All courses are based on evidence from research and practice
Applied focus: You can apply the learnings directly to improve outcomes in your own team or organisation
Live online sessions: Each micro course is accompanied by an online networking session with other participants and the expert facilitator
Self-paced: Work at your own pace
Presentations: Material is presented in short videos with lessons and activities that you can complete within a lunch hour
Time required: 10 hours or less
Learning aids: Supplementary materials to aid understanding include expert videos, case studies, activities, podcasts and learning applications
Certificate: Complete the final quiz and earn a Certificate of Completion from the Institute for Sustainable Leadership
Leading Better Meetings
Learn evidence-based ways of making your meetings more productive and enjoyable with organisational expert, Dr Gayle Avery.
- By the end of this course, you will know how to run both online and in person meetings efficiently and effectively, while improving many Sustainable Leadership outcomes in the process.
The Brain and Sustainable Leadership
Explore how the brain affects work behaviour with renowned neuroscientist, Dr Mark Williams.
Discover how to manage people using human nature and behavioural patterns to improve productivity, collaboration and communication, while aligning with Sustainable Leadership practices.
Essential Leadership Tools
Gain highly practical tools that you can apply from day one. Ideal for new managers and leaders and as a refresher for experienced managers.
Dr Gayle Avery shows you how to guide, develop and inspire your team using simple tools that improve team performance, effectiveness and well-being.
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Capsules
Time for
Action
Get a strategic overview of the various interest groups and their arguments for acting now to make the world more resilient and sustainable.
- After taking this capsule you’ll be equipped with knowledge and arguments for making sure your organisation is at the forefront of adopting sustainable leadership practices.
Sustainable Honeybee Leadership
Find out the differences between “Honeybee” and “Locust” approaches to running organisations with dramatically different performance and sustainability outcomes.
- By looking at these differences and leadership in your own organisation, you will know how to make your firm more resilient and high performing.
Accountability and Leadership
This capsule deals with accountability, which is the glue that keeps teams and whole societies together. Accountability is an essential component of sustainable leadership.
After completing this capsule, you’ll be equipped to develop an accountability system that works for your team and is embedded in sustainable leadership practices.
Choosing your Leadership Culture
Get the leadership culture right and increase the resilience and performance of your team.
Firstly we cover the three most common leadership cultures, and then organic / distributed leadership.
On finishing this capsule, you’ll understand the differences and be informed when choosing the leadership culture for your team.
In-house courses for corporate clients
We provide tailored programs and exclusive online discussions
Motivate your teams
Prepare upcoming leaders
Develop a team of experts in Sustainable Leadership
Transform into a resilient, high performing business
What our participants say
Why Sustainable Leadership?
You know that "business as usual" isn't working and want an alternative system with a proven track record.
You're an experienced manager or non-executive board director and want to recession-proof your organisation.
You're a consultant looking to expand your business by providing sought-after expertise.
You want to be sure that your business, government or nonprofit organisation is up-to-date with current thinking.
Our Founders
Dr Gayle Avery
Gayle Avery, co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Leadership in 2007, is highly experienced in leadership development for executives globally, including in Australia, China, Europe, Laos, New Zealand and Thailand.
She is passionate about helping senior leaders develop a systematic approach to leadership to enable them to create long-lasting and resilient enterprises.
An honorary professor at various leading universities, she is fastidious in ensuring that course material is based on evidence from research and practice.
Dr Harald Bergsteiner
Harry Bergsteiner is a co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Leadership, and is a long-established thought leader in Sustainable Leadership.
A former adjunct university professor, Harry specialises in developing tools and other resources to help managers implement Sustainable Leadership in their organisations.
Harry’s other areas of expertise include accountability, ethics and country competitiveness.
Our Membership Area
Become a member of the ISL community working towards a better, more sustainable future for just $99 a year.
- Keep yourself informed with our:
- – Be Inspired! video collection
- – Selected Podcasts
- – Essential Readings
- – Research Tidbits
Enjoy discounts on ISL’s books, conferences, study tours, plus much more…
Who we've taught
Our instructors have designed and taught leadership for corporate clients in Australia and the Asia Pacific region, including:
Abbott, Allianz, AMP Capital Investors, ANZ National Bank of NZ, ASIC, NSW Attorney-General’s Department, Audit Office of NSW, Aussie Home Loans, Avant, Baxter Healthcare, B Braun, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), Covance, CSPC (China), CapGemini, Datacom, Delta Group, Deutsche Bank, Employers Mutual, G77, Khungfu (China), Landcom, Lumley, McDonald’s, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University Global Leadership Program, Munich Reinsurance Australia, NSW Sport & Recreation, Pfizer, ProVision, Qantas, Pernod Ricard, Premium Wine Brands, Rail Access Corporation, Reserve Bank of Australia, RSEA Safety, Shanghai General Motors, Shanghai hospital pharmacists, Siemens, Sun Microsystems, NSW TAFE, Tamworth TAFE, TMP, Thomson’s Publishers, Westpac, Woolworths.
Frequently Asked Questions
A global revolution in rethinking leadership is well underway. The world is moving rapidly towards Sustainable Leadership practices requiring greater ethics and accountability, caring for all stakeholders while fostering innovation, the environment and society.
Joining now allows you to become an early adopter of this major shift.
You can enrol in one of our specialised micro courses, become certified through our Foundations in Sustainable Leadership course, or set yourself on a new pathway to becoming a licensed practitioner in Sustainable Leadership.
Stay up to date with the latest developments by taking out an annual membership and enjoy a range of benefits.
Participants in our courses are automatically members for the duration of their studies (up to 12 months).
Yes! We run special sessions for groups or teams, with their own live calls. This is a powerful way of getting people to discuss and reflect on leadership practices in a particular team or organisation.
Each member enrols in the course, completes the online lessons at their own pace but joins the group for the live online discussions.
Courses with practical training and case studies suitable for SMEs, big corporations, government and nonprofits.
Expert instructors facilitate deep learning, understanding and implementation.
You’ll join an international community of like-minded people who care for their business, people and the planet.
Effective, self-paced, community-based online courses to enjoy while developing your leadership skills.
Yes! The lecture and activity modules are presented in manageable segments. You can learn at times that suit you.
The online Live Calls are scheduled at specific times. Participants find these interactive events highly valuable, but attendance at these online calls is optional.
We strongly recommend that you attend the Live Calls to meet members of the ISL community.
You can start the online coursework as soon as you enrol. Bring your questions or topics related to the course to the Live Calls.
No! Coming to the Live Calls is entirely optional but most people think these sessions are the highlight of the course. You get to meet and discuss with others who are passionate about sustainable leadership, including your facilitator.
Yes most of our courses have tests, particularly those leading to certification or licensing in Sustainable Leadership.
At the end of most modules, short quizzes allow you to test your knowledge. You can retake these quizzes until you achieve a passing grade. The quizzes are designed to help you learn and take the form of multiple choice and true/false questions.
In the last module of a certification or licensing course, the final test covers all the material in the course. This is the only module in a course that requires you to complete the quiz or other set activity successfully (80% correct) within two attempts. If this doesn’t happen, one of our dedicated community of facilitators will make direct contact with you to help you in meeting the requirements of this module.
You will receive your certificate of completion for a micro course after passing the final quiz with 60% of answers correct.
You can find out more by following this link to our Licensing and Certification Pathway.
Basically the Foundations in Sustainable Leadership course leads to certification whereas the Advanced Practitioner in Sustainable Leadership course leads to licensing.
You cease being a member when your annual membership expires and you choose not to renew.
We understand that sometimes people can’t continue a course for a variety of reasons. As such we offer you a 50% refund if you have visited up to and including Module 2, Session 2 in the Foundations in Sustainable Leadership or Advanced Practitioner courses. If you have chosen to progress to the next session (Module 2, Session 3) no discount will apply.
No refunds are available for the micro courses because of their short duration.
The Australian government requires us to charge Australian residents the prevailing rate of Goods & Services Tax. This tax does not apply to residents of other countries.