communication department

By Tara Ebrahimi, Editor, Tieline

With over 200 STC members in attendance, Leadership Day 2008 was an important day for STC leaders to come together. Linda Oestreich, STC president at the time, opened the meeting by introducing the current STC officers and Board of Directors, and then going on to introduce the Keynote Speaker.

This year's Keynote Speaker, John Castagna, opened Leadership Day 2008 with his interesting and relevant presentation, "Enabling a Productive World Community in a Single Membership Organization." He began the presentation with a discussion on the "power of we" and urged attendees to find direction through collaboration and total participation.

Castagna, harkening to the significance of communication, made several references to famous communicators, including Mahatma Gandhi and Desmond Tutu. He pointed out Tutu's references to "ubuntu"-the essence of being a human-and showed the relevance of this concept within an organization because of people's need to share, as well as belong. This should be a driving factor in the collaboration between leaders and volunteers in STC.

During his presentation, Castagna discussed STC's need for transformational leadership as a means to revitalize the organization. Part of this new leadership is the necessity to create a shared vision and mobilize as one entity. His reference to the Stockdale Paradox-the need to confront brutal facts, but always keep faith that you will prevail-was relevant to the Society in that change is global and inevitable; it can be risky and difficult, but necessary. It allows an organization to remain significant and dynamic.

Mr. Castagna spoke about many of the issues facing the Society, including the professional diversity. In his opinion though, this is a powerful and useful force, not a hindrance, because it allows for opportunities to showcase individuals and subgroups, and it connects people across other diverse spectra.

With the quote "Unity is forged, not forced," Castagna wrapped up his presentation by emphasizing the importance of accurate communication between "partners, not members." He urged Society leaders to identify their Hedgehog Concept-the one thing STC does best, the quality that is distinctive to STC as an organization-and focus on that as a means of unifying and driving the Society.

The day continued with a panel Q&A session about serving in a leadership role within STC, followed by presentations by four STC members on how they used their leadership skills in attracting volunteers to serve in a community role. Stuart Culshaw, president of the France Chapter, considered this "the most inspiring session of the day."

Then, Jackie Damrau discussed the function of the LCR as the support mechanism for all communities within the Society. Jenna Moore, first-time conference attendee and President of the Carolina Chapter, said that the presentation on the LCR was one of the "most helpful parts of the day. It was useful to see what they're doing, the resources that are available, and how to get in touch with them."

There were several other presentations, including a legal update by the STC attorney, a presentation by the Society treasurer on the implications of the change in the fiscal year, as well as a panel on SIG's ability to maintain a volunteer base in a virtual world.

The day wrapped up with a brief speech by Mark Clifford, first vice president and president-elect, who provided insight into where STC is headed this next year. Leadership Day 2008 concluded with the presentation of awards to the Communities of Merit, Excellence, and Distinction, as well as the LCR Volunteer of the Year award, the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award, and four mentor certificates to LCR mentors.

With motivational presentations and discussions, as well as useful tips and advice, Leadership Day 2008 was a nice way to kick off the Annual Conference. Mr. Culshaw said of the day: "[It] was probably the most rewarding day for me from the whole conference."

Only eleven months until Leadership Day 2009!