Periods of national transformation reveal a simple reality: policies are only as effective as the institutions and leaders responsible for implementing them. In Egypt’s journey toward Vision 2030, the central challenge is less about intent and more about execution within a complex public and judicial landscape.

This challenge informs the work of AUC Onsi Sawiris School of Business Executive Education (ExecEd), through the Leading Change in Dynamic Organizations program, a flagship initiative developed as a follow-up to the success of the Leadership for Government Excellence (LGE) program. Delivered in collaboration with AUC School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP), the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD), and the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, the program is designed to strengthen leadership capacity across Egypt’s public and judicial institutions in line with national reform priorities.

Leading Change in Dynamic Organizations approaches leadership not as a function of hierarchy, but as an institutional capability. The program focuses on enabling leaders to operate across organizational boundaries, manage complexity, and translate policy intent into sustained institutional delivery in dynamic public-sector environments.

The judicial sector emerged as a critical focus area. As Judge Haitham Mohamed Bahaa, an Economic Court Head and Manager of the Judicial Governance Project at NIGSD, explains, the program was designed to “make participating judges think outside of their traditional role and adopt a management mindset to be able to effectively lead teams.” He points to a structural reality within the system itself: “The judicial system functions with institutional autonomy, leaving leadership capacity as a core determinant of institutional quality.”

The most recent cohort was composed exclusively of participants from judicial entities, selected through a competitive process. For many, the experience reframed how leadership was practiced. Judge Yasmin El Isslambouli, Member of the Public Relations Office at the Administrative Prosecution Authority (APA), notes that the program “went beyond theory, and helped clarify what effective leadership looks like in practice,” noting its impact on how she manages complex situations with clarity and composure.

The program also addressed long-standing resistance to change. Judge Yasser Abdel Shakour Mostafa, Vice President at the Court of Cassation, emphasized that “change is constant” and that reform must be implemented “consistently and logically, not by emotional whims or else it will not be effective.” Others highlighted the focus on influence without authority.

As Egypt continues its reform journey, leadership development functions as more than training. It is one of the less visible, yet essential, systems through which institutional progress becomes possible.

To learn more about how ExecEd is supporting leadership capacity across Egypt’s public institutions, click here.

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