tigblogs

Jen's Journal

Silver Bay Leadership Forum Award

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I am honoured to share a reflection on my experience at the 2008 Silver Bay Leadership Forum in Silver Bay, New York where they are celebrating their 90th Anniversary of a conference that explores the current and emerging state of leadership.

IMG_0469 Last night I was one of three recipients of the Inaugural Leadership Forum Awards. As stated in the program “each of this year’s honoured recipients has been selected for his/her demonstrated ability to take bold action, provide solutions to complex leadership dilemmas, and generate tremendous followership. These leaders have also exhibited the rare ability to cross streams and address issues through commercial, governmental, social and economic channels”. We were recognized for our work in solving ‘wicked’ problems and as you might imagine, it was a very humbling and uplifting experience for me.

In accepting the award, we were each asked to make a few remarks and share our perspectives on leadership. I kicked off my comments on how leadership emerges based on your state of mind. I asked the room two questions. The first – ‘how many of you believe that every problem has a solution’? A collection of people put up their hands. I then asked ‘how many of you believe that NOT every problem has a solution’. An even larger group of people raised their hands. I then went on to share a visual diagram that came to mind while travelling to Silver Bay and reflecting on my perspective of leadership. IMG_0493

In the past, my perspective on leadership was somewhat simplistic and singular. Today, I see leadership in the context of trying to solve some of the world’s most complex and interconnected challenges. It is a moving and evolving target that requires constant re-alignment and mobility. In response to my questions that I posed to the room, I shared my realization that problems are interconnected – and YES – there are solutions, though we often need to invent and co-create them.

While preparing for my remarks on leadership on the plane, in addition to my diagram, I also prepared a series of reflections on what I have learned about leadership over the years:


For me, leadership has been about...

- Being aware of problems and taking an active role in being part of creating solutions
- Being called upon to reflect and represent collective and shared experiences
- Asking critical questions in order to better understand realties
- Energizing processes through taking interest, showing appreciation and participating
- Making connections between diverging ideas and different people with diverse backgrounds
- Reflecting on lessons of the past and making decisions that move towards a brighter future
- Having perspective with the ability to both focus in on a situation as well as see a bigger picture
- Taking responsibility for my actions and intentions
- Believing in ideas and possibilities
- Convening conversations across differences and differences
- Resolving conflict through deep listening, understanding and building trust
- Transforming ideas into actions and new realities
- Dancing with life and celebrating beauty in the midst of it all


IMG_0470

While at Silver Bay, in addition to connecting with official conference delegates from various corporations and non-profit organizations, I also enjoyed spending time with the children of the delegates. They were truly delightful and took great interest in TakingITGlobal and my experiences with leadership. I enjoyed responding to their questions and learning from their own experiences. A highlight was also being able to go Kayaking & make a necklace at the Craft Shop!


IMG00021


Tags:
You must be logged in to add tags.

Jennifer Corriero's Profile


Latest Posts


Annual Meeting of the...
Tidbits from The Art...
Zilch is a great read...
Interconnected...
Excited to connect...

Monthly Archive


November 2000
February 2001
April 2001
June 2001
July 2001
August 2001
September 2001
November 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
June 2003
December 2003
February 2004
September 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
April 2005
June 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
February 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
September 2006
October 2006
December 2006
January 2007
April 2007
May 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
June 2008
July 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
May 2009
July 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
September 2010
December 2010
October 2011

My Group Blogs


iEARN Youth Summit &...
TakingITGlobal News
TIG front page redesign

Change Language




Tags Archive


art complexity dignity diversity employment generalhydroponic hydroponicgardening hydroponicgardens hydroponicnutrients indoorhydroponics indoorplantgrowing iste jordan leadership leadershipaward middleeast mytig newyork ngos planetwork pradical sendflowers silverbay stereotypes trip_report undpingo unitednations womantowoman worldblu


287889 views
Important Disclaimer