Ipas Africa Southern Region (ASR) staff from Malawi, South Africa and Zambia recently attended an intensive five-day training on Shared Leadership in Practice (SLiP) in Lusaka, Zambia.The event that took place from 10th to 15th June, 2025 marked a significant milestone in ASR’s ongoing journey towards a more collaborative, inclusive, and transformative approach to leadership within the organization. Session overview and highlights
Defining Shared Leadership: Participants explored what shared leadership means within the Ipas context, emphasizing distributed authority, collective decision-making, and mutual accountability. Staff described it as “an approach that involves the entire team in leadership and decision-making,” and “ensuring that every staff member has a sense of belonging by being involved in decision processes.”.. Group Norms and Psychological Safety: The training established group norms such as respect, compassion, and inclusivity, ensuring a safe space for open dialogue and participation. Practical Tools and Frameworks: Attendees engaged in check-in activities—proven to reduce distractions and foster authentic, productive conversations—and learned practical strategies to embed shared leadership in daily operations. Self-Reflection and Growth: Staff reflected on their own leadership styles, habits, and areas for growth, aiming to foster increased self-awareness and a deeper understanding of how to contribute to shared leadership. Participant Aspirations and Takeaways Participants expressed hopes to gain actionable strategies, practical tools, and insights from peers to strengthen collaborative leadership. Many looked forward to learning how to navigate power dynamics, foster inclusive participation, and apply shared leadership principles at both individual and organizational levels. The Launch of the Learning Hub The training culminated in the official launch of the Learning Hub: The Center for Learning and Sharing at Ipas. This new resource is designed to support ongoing learning, collaboration, and knowledge exchange across the ASR network, reinforcing commitment to shared leadership and continuous professional development. The facilitators demonstrated how to access the Learning Hub and highlighted the various resources available within it. Members were encouraged to utilize the Hub to support their learning and development. Immediate Implementation and Next Steps ASR wasted no time in putting learning into action. Immediately following the training, teams began integrating SLiP principles into their daily work—prioritizing shared responsibility, distributed decision-making, and inclusive practices. This aligns with Ipas’s broader organizational transformation, which seeks to shift power, redistribute resources, and foster ownership and autonomy throughout the network.
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The SLiP training was facilitated by Yinka Abiola Adojutelegan, Erica Colbun, and Sagun Shakya, with special participation from Mwikali Kivuvani. The sessions were designed to be experiential, action-based, and transformative—anchored in real work and lived experiences, not just theory. The curriculum focused on:
