Welcome to Leading Edge - AIM's exclusive newsletter for Members
Ready … set …go! AIM is back and we’re bigger, stronger and more focused on leadership than ever. Welcome to 2016. I’d like to wish all our Members from all over Australia - and beyond - a very happy New Year.
This year promises to be one of the most significant in AIM’s long and distinguished history. It’s a history that began 75 years ago in 1941 with the formation (in Victoria) of the first organisation that represented, educated and developed Australia’s managers. Over the next 75 years, the Australian Institute of Management grew, expanded, morphed and developed. In many ways AIM reflected the changing landscape of management and leadership across the nation as it focused more and more on the provision of formal education and training services in the major cities and throughout regional Australia.
The global financial crisis, and subsequent downturn in the mining sector, saw AIM’s business model come under significant pressure and this eventually resulted in the merging of AIM’s State-based offices into a single, national entity and the establishment of a dedicated education and training business (now called AIM Education & Training).
These two changes have created a huge opportunity for AIM, and it’s an opportunity that we intend to grasp and use as a springboard into the future. As we begin 2016, AIM is ready!
In one sense, the future is a return to the past. AIM is (once again) the ‘go to body for professional managers and leaders in Australia’. We believe – as we always have – that sound management and leadership practice is absolutely crucial. It is crucial at a macro level to economic growth and prosperity and it is crucial at an individual level in terms of wellness, mental health and personal growth. In short, leadership matters.
In fact, this – Leadership Matters – is AIM’s strategy for the next three years. The strategy has been approved by the AIM Board of Directors, and its implementation starts now. At the core of the strategy is this simple message to Australian managers and leaders – if you believe that leadership matters you should join AIM. AIM’s strategy is set!
Of course, the words and strategy are great, but what does this mean for you, the Members?
In short, it means action, and action means engagement. By now you should have received your invitation to AIM’s first Member event of the new year – Leadership Outlook 2016. This promises to be a real cracker of an event with a great speaker who will be looking into the crystal ball and predicting some of the key themes that will dominate the leadership landscape in 2016 and beyond.
Leadership Outlook 2016 is just the beginning of what you can expect from your Membership body in 2016. We will be rolling out a series of initiatives and programs throughout the year. From thought-leadership roundtables (in March) to mass networking events (in August). From a monthly thought-leadership newsletter (Insight Edge) to Leadership Direct, a new, content rich, on-line resource centre for managers and leaders (to be launched in early February).
Of course, due to the limited space in this column, I haven’t mentioned the new AIM Leadership Excellence Awards, In Camera Sessions, International Women’s Day and The Essence of Leadership (TeL) Talks that we have planned for 2016. You can read about this and other activities in the new-look AIM Magazine – called Leadership Matters – in February.
Suffice to say that AIM is ready and the Strategy is set. It’s now time for us to get moving. AIM is GO!
Dave