Leadership in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
Leadership in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
This course delves into the essential leadership qualities needed for the ESIA process. Explore different leadership styles, hone your communication with project stakeholders, and learn strategies for influencing project planning and design decisions. Develop the mindset and skills to lead your team towards achieving sustainable outcomes.
- Presented by: Palash Sanyal (Canada)
- Course level: Intermediate/Advanced
- Language of delivery: English
- Prerequisites: General experience in EIA procedure and ESIA coordinator experience from a consultancy, regulator, or client perspective. An interest in self-development, particularly leadership & management skills to enhance personal and project team performance. Increasing workplace need and interest in influencing IA professional outcomes within projects and improve the effectiveness of IA practice in general.
- Homework between sessions: Development of self-development action plans, some self-assessment and light reading.
- Logistics: This course takes place live over Zoom in multiple segments. Course times are listed in UTC; make sure to check that the time of this course works for you in your time zone.
This course is for you if you want to:
- Prepare to move into a future EIA team leader position
- Enhance your leadership skills and learn to communicate as a leader
- Try out different leadership approaches within a safe environment
Lead people, processes, and judgment in complex assessment environments.
This course is designed for practicing EIA and ESIA professionals, including consultants and consulting firms, who already understand assessment processes and seek to strengthen their leadership capabilities in real project environments.
Leading an EIA or ESIA effort requires more than technical competence. Team leads must coordinate specialists, manage pressure from clients and regulators, navigate uncertainty, and sustain performance over long and demanding project timelines. This course focuses on the leadership skills required to do that well.
Participants explore leadership roles across the EIA process, communication under pressure, influencing without authority, and aligning multidisciplinary teams around clear decision pathways. The course emphasises reflection, applied practice, and leadership judgment rather than formal management theory.
How the course has evolved: Earlier versions focused primarily on leadership styles and communication skills. Over time, the course evolved to focus on decision stewardship and professional judgment in EIA, recognising that effective leadership in assessment is exercised through accountability, clarity, and judgment under uncertainty.
Participants strengthen their ability to lead assessment teams effectively, communicate with confidence, and guide complex work toward meaningful, defensible outcomes.
Palash Sanyal, ICD.D, PMP, CPF, GCB.D is an executive facilitator, coach, and educator with global experience in impact assessment and decision-making. He has designed and delivered training for the World Bank, The Nature Conservancy, and universities and colleges across Canada and the United States. Palash also serves on several national and international boards in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, bringing practical governance insight to every learning environment. Feel free to connect with Palash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/palashsanyal/.
IAIA Members: USD$480 // Non-Members: USD$580. Full payment must be received by the posted registration deadline.
All course times are listed in UTC. Make sure to check that the time of this course works for you in your time zone.
Registration instructions: Create or login to your IAIA Member Compass account. Register online using a credit card. To pay via wire, choose the invoice option at checkout. If paying via wire, please keep in mind that payment must be received by the registration deadline, and wire transfers can take several days to process. Please plan accordingly.
Please register early! The course will be cancelled if the minimum number has not been reached one week before the course start date. If the training course is cancelled at that time due to low enrollment, IAIA will notify you and provide refund information.
Payment & refund policies: Registration is not confirmed until payment has been received and a receipt has been issued. Pre-registration and pre-payment by individual course deadline is required. IAIA will refund registration fees upon written request received before the specific course deadline; a US$125 processing fee will be retained. After the course deadline date, no refunds will be issued for cancelations or no-shows. Substitutions for paid registrants may be made in writing without financial penalty.
Refreshing to step away from technical aspects of EA and deliberately focus on how we develop as leaders.
- Recent course participant
The Leadership in ESIA course has provided me with insights into who I am as a leader and what I can aspire to be. It has allowed me to reflect on myself and identify my approach to working with others. Can't recommend this course enough.
- Recent course participant
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