Creating global connections – my weekend at IABC Leadership Institute

By Andrew Kaszowski, President-Elect, IABC LondonSometimes, in the hustle and bustle of activity and commitments in London, we can forget the “I” in IABC (which, by the way, is “International.”) Fred Devries, Director of Finance, and I had a brilliant reminder of the powerful benefit of the international support built into IABC this past weekend, when we had the opportunity to attend Leadership Institute.Leadership Institute is a boot camp, if you will, for developing leaders among the IABC community. It’s a wonderful investment of the IABC community to build the potential, skill, confidence and sheer leadership ability of its chapter leaders – all to increase the strength of the association as a whole. At this most recent Leadership Institute, more than 150 delegates from around the world gathered together to learn and share.I had the unique opportunity – all the more thrilling as a first-time delegate – to speak at a breakout workshop session about IABC London’s success in amping up our Professional Development activities. The room was packed, and I felt especially proud to share all the details of IABC London’s efforts and results with this global audience, with the view that chapters around the world might benefit from our knowledge.And that is the spirit of Leadership Institute – and the power of IABC’s global network. We are sharing knowledge with each other in the shared vision of boosting each other’s potential to excel at what we do: whether it’s leading our local chapters, or leading in our careers. Of any association I have been involved in, the spirit of sharing that’s at the core of IABC is second to none… and it makes us all stronger.I left Leadership Institute with a renewed confidence not only in my career and leadership abilities, but with a deeper connection to the global community of communicators. This has increased my confidence and the knowledge that we are all backed up by our peers around the world. A message I received on LinkedIn from a new connection I made at the conference highlights this: “Andrew, always remember in your year as chapter president, that we all have your back. We’re in this together and everyone wants you to thrive.” Global connections… global support. That’s the power of IABC’s international community.