Leadership skills to shape Self, Teams, Organizations, and Strategic outcomes. MCE Forward Ready Leadership Pathways.
Practical Forward Ready leadership training pathways built for Ontario public-sector realities, and not generic corporate theory.
Municipal leadership doesn't stand still. Neither does our training.
Change is constant in municipal government. New mandates, shifting workforce expectations, AI reshaping how work gets done, and supervisors promoted into leadership roles with no formal preparation for them.
Some of the municipalities we work with don't have the internal capacity to build a leadership development program from scratch. Generic corporate training rarely accounts for the realities of labour relations, public accountability, and council-driven change that municipal leaders navigate every day.
That's the gap we built our learning pathways to close by keeping the learning moving and transitioning.Content-Specific Training
Embark on Foundational, Targeted Learning
- Our CORE courses are curated by leadership development experts and mapped directly to Pathways.
- A Needs & Skills-Based Analysis reveals what your team actually needs.
- No filler modules, no one-size-fits-all curriculum. Just the skills that move the needle at each stage of growth.
Specialty Content
Take Advantage of Flexible, Elective Learning Pathways
- Add electives to sharpen a specific skill, or blend them in with Core courses to redirect focus entirely.
- Pathways flex around your team, not the other way around.
Progressive Completion Requirements
Core Skills That Keep on Evolving & Elevating the User Experience
- FRLP DEVELOP | Minimum 6 courses
- FRLP BUILD | Minimum 8 courses
- FRLP INFLUENCE | Non-negotiable, 6 courses
- FRLP TRANSFORM | Custom Learning & Design Analysis
Uncover New Priorities
Targeted, Progressive Learning Pathway for Each Leadership Persona
- DEVELOP the Capable leader
- BUILD the Consistent leader
- INFLUENCE drives the Creator
- TRANSFORM orchestrates the Visionary
Forward Ready Leadership Pathways
Leaders enter their pathway at the level that best fits their experience and progress, starting at any of the four FRLP levels: DEVELOP → BUILD → INFLUENCE → TRANSFORM.
Each move strengthens leadership skills to shape SELF, TEAMS, ORGANIZATIONS, and STRATEGIC outcomes.
Ideal for emerging leaders and supervisors looking to DEVELOP the essential mindset, self-awareness, and capable skills to lead with confidence and clarity. Be the CAPABLE Leader who leads with confidence.
Mid-level managers seeking to BUILD their leadership consistency & effectively handle increasingly complex team and business challenges, becoming the CONSISTENT Leader that strengthens leadership capability.
Experienced leaders ready to elevate their impact, expand INFLUENCE across the organization, and create value by developing and leading high-performing teams. This CREATOR elevates leadership impact.
Senior executives and organizational leaders with the vision for orchestrating TRANSFORMative change, aligning strategy with culture, and building a sustainable legacy of performance and innovation. This VISIONARY orchestrates large-scale change.
How Our Forward Ready Leadership Pathways (FRLP) Work
Every pathway starts with a needs and skills analysis
Each CORE course has been deliberately assembled to drive real behavioural change, validated by our Needs & Skills-Based Analysis and sequenced into a progressive pathway where every session builds on the one before it.
From there, elective courses offer the opportunity to add or substitute learning experiences that deepen and extend that change even further.
MCE Needs & Skills-Based Assessment.
An assessment confirms what leaders need most: a progressive, expert-curated pathway.
Tailor your Leadership Pathway to fit
Leaders enter at the level that matches their experience and progress - DEVELOP, BUILD, INFLUENCE, or TRANSFORM.
From there, choose how much flexibility you want:
BLENDED| Replace select CORE courses with electives to target specific skill gaps.
EXTENDED | Keep all CORE courses and add electives to go deeper.
MCE Forward Ready Leadership Pathways
Core > Custom > Extended.
Progress with purpose
FRLP DEVELOP | Minimum 6 courses + choice of 8 electives. Build foundational skills at your own pace.
FRLP BUILD | Minimum 8 courses + choice of 7 electives. Deepen capability with added flexibility.
FRLP INFLUENCE | 6 core courses, non-negotiable. Built for mid-to-senior transitions where alignment and scale matter more than personalization.
FRLP TRANSFORM | Four immersive full-day modules + a proprietary 360-Degree Feedback Assessment and Coaching Process. Built for senior leaders shaping organizational direction.
Ready to build practical leadership capability?
Explore the curated course set.
Celebrate your growth and decide what's next
Each participant earns an MCE Certificate of Completion upon finishing their target courses and pathway. Leaders who complete additional electives can also earn individual certificates in focused areas.
Growth doesn't stop at completion. As your team evolves, revisit your Needs & Skills-Based Analysis to identify what's next. Whether that's progressing to the next FRLP level, or reassessing your workforce to build a new pathway around emerging priorities.
Completion is a milestone, not a finish line.
Revisit your Needs & Skills-Based Analysis to progress to the next FRLP or uncover new priorities as your team grows.
Municipalities Moving Forward
A selection of municipalities that have taken training within the past two years with MCE. From half-days, full day workshops, FRLP's, speaker engagements, and more.
7 FRL’s (Now FRLP)
Emotional Intelligence
Team Building
Setting Meaningful Goals
Leadership Fundamentals
Decision Making & Problem-Solving
Flexible Work Arrangements
5 FRL’s (Now FRLP)
Dealing with Difficult Customers
Turnaround Interview
Leading with Impactful Conversations
Coaching & Mentoring
Leading the New Workforce
Halton
Turnaround Interview, FRL Seats (Now FRLP)
Peel
Operations Leadership
9 FRL E's & 1’s (Now FRLP)
Project Management
Team Building
Turnaround Interview
Emotional Intelligence
Coaching
Amazing Customer Service
Hamilton
Multiple workshops, half/full day sessions, FRL’s (Now FRLP's), Emergency Services, Special & Alumni Events - training since 2004
Burlington
4 FRL’s (Now FRLP's), Project Management
Brantford
9 FRL's (Now FRLP's), Digital Wellness
Cambridge
Turnaround Interview
Port Colbourne
Union Management Relations
St. Catharines
Time Management, Turnaround Interview, Amazing Customer Service, Principles-Based Labour Relations, Reducing Burnout in the Workplace, Advanced Union Management Relations, 2 FRL’s (Now FRLP's)
6 'Aspire' programs
FRLA (now FRLP Transform)
5 FRL’s (Now FRLP)
Dealing with Difficult Customers
Turnaround Interview
Leading with Impactful Conversations
Coaching & Mentoring
Leading the New Workforce
Negotiating the Collective Agreement
4 FRL’s (Now FRLP)
FRLA (Now FRLP Transform)
Turnaround Interview
South West Oxford
4 FRL’s (Now FRLP) & FRLP DEVELOP
FRL (Now FRLP) Open Seats
Six Nations of the Grand River
Building a Quality Team, Emotional Intelligence, 18+ Open Seat FRL’s (Now FRLP's), Full/Half Day Workshops - over 15 years of training activity
FRLA (Now FRLP TRANSFORM)
Emotional Intelligence
Team Building
Leadership Fundamentals & Supplementals
Bracebridge
Gravenhurst
Caledon
Georgian Bay
Innisfil
Orangeville
Oro-Medonte
Parry Sound
Pelham
Penetanguishene
Tillsonburg
Tay
Tiny
Wellington
West Lincoln
Wilmont
FAQ's on FRLP's
A good place to look for those questions that come up as you consider FRLP's.
Every pathway starts with a Needs & Skills-Based Analysis.
This assessment looks at where your leaders are today with regard to their experience, current role, and the challenges they're facing, and points to the FRLP level that fits: DEVELOP, BUILD, INFLUENCE, or TRANSFORM.
Ideal for emerging leaders and supervisors looking to build the essential mindset, self-awareness, and capable skills to lead with confidence and clarity.
The skills needed to be a Capable Leader who leads with confidence.
BUILD Pathway
Ideal for mid-level managers seeking to strengthen their leadership consistency & effectively handle increasingly complex team and business challenges.
Become the Consistent Leader that strengthens leadership capability.
INFLUENCE Pathway
Experienced leaders ready to elevate their impact, expand influence across the organization, and create value by developing and leading high-performing teams.
The Creator that elevates leadership impact.
TRANSFORM Pathway
Senior executives and organizational leaders with the vision for orchestrating transformative change, aligning strategy with culture, and building a sustainable legacy of performance and innovation.
The Visionary Leader, who orchestrates large-scale change through transformative leadership.
Core courses form the negotiable foundation of pathways DEVELOP & BUILD, curated by our instructional design experts and sequenced to build progressively.
Electives let you go further: add them to deepen specific skills (EXTENDED), or substitute them for CORE courses to target a particular gap (CUSTOM).
FRLP INFLUENCE consists of 6 CORE, non-negotiable courses, and FRLP TRANSFORM is completely customized.
Both are options. Follow the recommended pathway as-is for a complete, sequenced experience, or 'flex some flexibility', swapping in electives where your team's needs point elsewhere.
The Needs & Skills-Based Analysis can help identify where that flexibility makes the most sense.
Participants earn an MCE Certificate of Completion for their level, plus Specialty Certificates for any elective coursework completed.
Completion isn't the end, as many leaders use it as a checkpoint to reassess and either progress to the next FRLP level or revisit their team's evolving needs.
Each course in the pathway is delivered as a full day of training (8 hours), giving leaders room to work through concepts in depth rather than a compressed lunch-and-learn format.
Some courses include minor pre-work, such as a short pre-assessment, so participants arrive with a baseline understanding and the in-person time can focus on application rather than introduction.
Total time to complete a pathway depends on the level and delivery option chosen. DEVELOP's minimum 6 courses, for example, represents a different time investment than BUILD's minimum 8, and CUSTOM or EXTENDED electives will adjust that further.
Your Needs & Skills-Based Analysis will help map out a realistic timeline for your team.
Yes. This is exactly what the CUSTOM delivery option and elective substitutions are built for.
The County of Brant recently added project management to their Forward Ready Leadership Pathway DEVELOP to address specific needs.
Forward Ready Leadership Pathways for our municipal clients are built for Ontario public-sector realities, not adapted from generic corporate training.
Repeat cohorts from many of our municipal clients allow us to keep informed about specific client needs as well as keep a pulse on municipal activity.
Supporting our Human Resources Professionals
