Over the past three years, Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq has maintained a targeted focus on strengthening the municipality’s mid-level managers. By the end of 2026, approximately 193 managers are expected to have completed the Aqutsineq leadership development program—thereby more than meeting the original goal.
Aqutsineq was launched in November 2023 at the request of the executive board and the municipal council. The goal was ambitious: By the end of 2026, 97 percent of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq’s middle managers were to have completed a leadership development program. At the start of the program, this corresponded to approximately 165 middle managers.
Once the final scheduled sessions in 2026 have been completed, approximately 193 managers are expected to have completed the Aqutsineq program.
This means that the municipality has not only achieved its original goal but has also been able to offer the training program to new leaders as leadership positions have been filled.
Leadership Development Throughout the Municipality
From the very beginning, it has been important that leadership development not take place only in Nuuk. Leaders in all of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq’s towns have therefore been offered the Aqutsineq program.
In 2026, the program was also implemented for the leaders in Ittoqqortoormiit, thus completing the leadership development initiative throughout the municipality.
This week, a class in Paamiut is coming to an end, while the last class of the year will be held in Nuuk this fall.
A special investment in our welfare sectors
An important part of these efforts has been to invest in managers in the areas where the municipality provides essential welfare services to residents on a daily basis. This includes, among others, managers in the daycare sector and in elder care.
Here, the immediate supervisor plays an important role in employees’ work lives. That is why supervisors need effective and practical tools to, among other things, create attractive workplaces, develop employees, and enhance well-being and collaboration.
At the same time, it is an investment in the municipality’s efforts to retain and recruit staff. Skilled leaders who are well-equipped for their roles are essential to both retaining the employees we already have and making our workplaces attractive to new employees.
This is particularly important in the areas of daycare and elder care, where stable staff and good leadership have a direct impact on the daily lives and quality of care experienced by children, older adults, and their families.
Leadership affects the entire workplace
Aqutsineq is therefore not just about giving individual leaders new tools. Good leadership has an impact on employees’ day-to-day work, collaboration in the workplace, and, ultimately, the services the municipality provides to its residents.
Throughout the program, middle managers will have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, reflect on their own leadership roles, and acquire tools they can apply directly in their day-to-day work.
The program was conducted in Greenlandic. This was a deliberate choice made to ensure high professional quality while also creating the best possible environment for dialogue, reflection, and learning among the participants.
An investment in the organization—and in the citizens
With approximately 193 leadership training programs completed by the end of 2026, Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq has taken a major step forward in its efforts to create a strong, shared foundation for leadership throughout the municipality.
Although the current goal has thus been achieved, the work on leadership development does not stop here. The organization is changing, new leaders are joining, and effective leadership requires ongoing development.
Aqutsineq is, first and foremost, an investment in people: in the leaders who will spearhead the workplaces, in the employees who deserve a good workplace, and ultimately in the residents who depend on the municipality’s programs and services every day.
