Leadership training approaches in European civil service schools

Abstract

For the last decades interest in leadership skills training is a persistent feature of the design of contents in many educational curricula at different levels. This relevance has been highlighted in an abundant literature on leadership training and in the development of guidelines that some prominent transnational organizations have published as a convenient way to focus that training. This article summarizes the findings of the first part of a research devoted to the study of the approaches of the training in “leadership” and “digital leadership” by three stakeholders: training providers; scholars; and some major transnational organizations. The research aims to clarify the concept adopted, the priorities established and the competencies that have been considered suitable to be transmitted. Through a documentary review of leadership development training programs delivered by national schools of public administration in European Union member countries, this paper examines the perspective adopted to train civil servants in those competencies considered suitable to be transmitted when training for leadership and digital leadership.