With the support of the Customs Co-operation Fund - India, the WCO organized the Leadership and Management Development (LMD) workshop for 25 senior managers of the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) at Port Louis, Mauritius, from 27th March to 7th April 2023. The objective of the ten-day workshop was to support the managers of MRA in strengthening their leadership and management skills and, ultimately, the leadership culture of the Administration. The LMD is the second core component of the WCO LMD programme that supports senior managers in Customs Administration in developing modern leadership skills, attitudes and behaviours. The workshop was delivered on the philosophy of knowing yourself, managing yourself, really understanding others and positively impacting others.

Through a mix of presentations, dialogues, deep personal reflection and exercises, various concepts and theories of modern leadership and management were discussed. One of the biggest takeaways for the participants was that true leadership involved enabling and nurturing capacity and greatness throughout the organisation, thereby creating leaders at all levels. Participants especially enjoyed and benefited from the various exercises designed to increase mindfulness and self-awareness on the personal level, and to strength team building, people management and better negotiation on the organisational level.

In an emotional feedback session, one participant stated, “the workshop has given us life lessons and has helped us in becoming better human beings.” Another participant indicated that “he was grateful for the tools to better understand himself and to deal with real-life issues as they arise.” They further requested a similar training for their colleagues who did not have the opportunity of attending the workshop.

The workshop was closed by the Principal of the MRA Training Academy, on behalf of the management of MRA, who thanked the Government of India through CCF – India and the WCO for facilitating the workshop.

For more information on the WCO Leadership and Management Development Programme, please contact Capacity.Building@wcoomd.org