NASPAA panel: Preparing leaders for a turbulent world
I’ll chair a panel discussion at NASPAA on October 11 on “preparing leaders for a turbulent world.” Panelists are Lan Xue (Tsinghua University); Jennifer Brinkerhoff (George Washington University); Tina Nabatchi (Syracuse University, Maxwell School); and Jennifer Murtazashvili (University of Pittsburgh GSPIA).
The preliminary conference program can be downloaded here. This session will be held from 10:45AM to 11:45AM on Thursday, October 11.
Full panel description: “We live in a turbulent world. This is not news. In 1971, Professor Donald Schön observed that the age of the ‘stable state’ was past, and that public servants should learn how to ‘understand, guide, influence and manage . . . continuing processes of transformation.’ But have we met that challenge? Do professional programs in public service provide the theory and skills needed to anticipate and respond properly to large-scale societal changes? This panel will offer perspectives from different parts of the domain of public service education. Each panelist will consider whether the curriculum in their part of the domain is adequate in preparing students for service in turbulent world, and how it could be improved.”
Participants have also prepared brief notes to accompany their presentations:
- Jennifer Brinkerhoff: Why we should teach grey.
- Jennifer Murtazashvili: Preparing for leadership in fragile states.
- Tina Nabatchi: Leading in turbulence requires soft skills.
- Lan Xue: We need a new kind of public administration.
- Alasdair Roberts: Teaching for turbulence.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
