Technical Meeting on Leadership for a Changing Nuclear Landscape

Background

Following the publication of Leadership and Management for Safety (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 2) in 2016, Member States have repeatedly requested practical guidance on what nuclear leadership is and how it is best developed and applied, particularly in a changing nuclear landscape.

In partnership with sound managements practices and systems, strong leadership skills and capabilities form the basis for successful and sustainable organizational performance, and paradoxically, within a quickly shifting landscape that requires leaders to also be astute, adaptive, and action oriented. These leadership and management capabilities are arguably even more critical in the nuclear industry where consistent and reliable performance is an imperative. Though many organizations have leadership and management development programmes in place, not all take into consideration the unique characteristics and context of a nuclear leader within this changing context, both within the industry (e.g., small modular reactor developments, strong and positive shifting perceptions of nuclear, etc.). Nor do most programs consider how to effectively transfer newly acquired practices and approaches into day-to-day work or effectively measure this learning and its impact on safety and organizational culture. More, in addition to developing impactful nuclear leadership development programs that offer practical hands-on support and guidance, these also require a systemic perspective - one that considers both the stringent procedural protocols that are critical to nuclear facility operations and the adaptive skills and behaviours that maintain safe operations in the face of the unexpected.

In response to this need, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) developed LeaD, a web-based tool for nuclear leadership development. The tool has been in use since the beginning of 2018 as part of the Nuclear Energy Capacity Building Hub. Staff members from the World Association of Nuclear Operators and the IAEA have collaborated with other prominent experts in the development of the tool. As part of this Technical Meeting, participants will be asked to join invited speakers and experts to identify areas where the toolkit can be bolstered and augmented to offer practices, protocols, and approaches that further embed the critical leadership and management skills that foster a resilient organization and navigate effectively through a shifting nuclear landscape. Though the IAEA released ‘Leadership and Human Performance Internal Communication in Nuclear Emergencies’ (IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG‑T‑1.5) addressing leadership needs in emergency situations, no previous publication has looked at leadership needs across shifting contexts to maintain agility and stability both. To address this need, the publication initiated in 2020 titled ‘Leadership in Nuclear Organizations’ has now in 2023 been retitled to ‘Leadership of a Changing Nuclear Landscape’. The intention of this change in title and focus is to highlight the unique leadership and management strategies and practices that can help navigate the many and frequent technical, organizational, and human evolutions that contribute to this rapidly shifting landscape. It is expected to benefit leadership development programmes across the IAEA Member States. More, the LeaD Toolkit will be a resource to the reader of the publication and stand-alone support, offering more ‘hands-on’ support, practice, and guidance to develop these key leadership and management capabilities.  

Yet the goal of nuclear leadership development is a continuous practice, evolving with the science and circumstances. Therefore, opportunities to advance and evolve leadership development in the Nuclear Organization are ripe. With the preceding tools and resources as foundation, this event offers a unique opportunity to share, learn, and contribute to leadership for a changing nuclear landscape.

Objectives

The purpose of the event is to provide guidance to leaders in the nuclear industry on how to more effectively navigate a changing nuclear landscape in pursuit of performance excellence.

Specific objectives include soliciting feedback from participants on the ‘Leadership for a Changing Nuclear Landscape’ publication, and ideas and recommendations on how to strengthen the LeaD Toolkit. Participants will also have the opportunity to share leadership development strategies and best practices, and co-create the most meaningful and impactful strategies, techniques, and approaches to further develop and embed leadership in their nuclear organizations.

This Training Meeting (TR) will enable participants to learn about as well as contribute to the IAEA LeaD toolkit and other learning and development initiatives and relevant publications, share their own efforts, learn from others, and consider new and novel approaches via the event’s discussions and break-out sessions. The event is also intended to create a collaborative international framework for supporting leadership and management development within and across respective organizations.

In sum, the objectives to be realized at this event include the following:

• Gather feedback on the draft publication titled, ‘Leadership for a Changing Nuclear Landscape’;
• Understand and recognize the shifts required in leadership capability to navigate and perform safely, securely, resiliently, and effectively in this shifting nuclear landscape;
• Identify the good practices supporting development of these necessary and critical leadership capabilities within the nuclear arena.

Target Audience

The target audience for this event include senior and mid-level human resource and human factor managers and professionals who are responsible for developing, implementing, and improving leadership and management development programmes in their organizations are encouraged to attend.

Specialists from operating organizations, regulatory bodies, nuclear contractors, and specialists from international and non-governmental organizations involved in the development or promotion of leadership and management development also are encouraged to participate.

Structure

This event will be held in hybrid fashion, joining remotely or attending in person. It will offer both information sharing and interactive components to engage participants. After first grounding the event in review of current considerations of leadership in the nuclear organizations, frameworks and approaches that support its development, and existing IAEA tools and publications (e.g., LeaD, PUB, etc.), invited participants will be asked to present current and best practices as well as participate in robust, innovation and creation discussions that are intended to foster follow-up, related nuclear leadership development activity.

The meeting’s agenda will be sent to each participant in advance of the event along with the Teams link and directions for entry. Participants will also be notified in advance of any special expectations or requests such as invitations to deliver short presentations, complete pre-reads, etc.

This Technical Meeting will run four days duration. Days 1 and 2 will be comprised of plenary sessions given by invited industry partners and experts, and selected paper submissions from Member State delegates. Days 3 and 4 will more actively focus on information gathering and applied working sessions to identify and capture good practices that strengthen the leadership and the resilience within operating NPPs.

Through a mix of didactic and experiential activities, participants will fulfil the goals and objectives of this event. Activities to be applied include:

• Plenary presentations;
• Breakout discussions;
• Facilitated large group discussions;
• Applied working sessions.

Topics

• Research studying the shifts in leadership behaviours within the nuclear industry/organization;
• Unique ways the organization is developing leadership and management strengths within the organization, and how it is evaluated, and measured;
• Unique proposals (e.g., approaches, programmes, etc..) of what an operating NPP could do to strengthen resilience.

Venue and Visas

The event will be held at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), where the IAEA’s Headquarters are located. Participants must make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. All persons wishing to participate in the event have to be designated by an IAEA Member State or should be members of organizations that have been invited to attend.

In order to be designated by an IAEA Member State, participants are requested to send the Participation Form (Form A) to their competent national authority (e.g. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Mission to the IAEA or National Atomic Energy Authority) for onward transmission to the IAEA by 7 June 2024. Participants who are members of an organization invited to attend are requested to send the Participation Form (Form A) through their organization to the IAEA by the above deadline.

Participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria at least four weeks before they travel to Austria. Since Austria is a Schengen State, persons requiring a visa will have to apply for a Schengen visa. In States where Austria has no diplomatic mission, visas can be obtained from the consular authority of a Schengen Partner State representing Austria in the country in question.

Key deadlines

7 June 2024: Deadline for submission of the Participation Form (Form A) and if applicable the Grant Application Form (Form C) through competent national authority (e.g., Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Mission to the IAEA or National Atomic Energy Authority) or international organization.

14 June 2024: Submission of presentation proposals to Scientific Secretary.