Leadership Matters. Membership Matters. A message from AIM CEO David Pich

I will be spending my Christmas and New Year in Brisbane with my wife and two young daughters and I plan to be back at work at AIM immediately after the New Year - in the first week of January. In previous years I’ve taken a couple of extra weeks’ holiday in January, but this year is a little different. Let me explain;

The new year- 2016 - will see the launch of a new approach at AIM. Over the past three months myself, my leadership team and the entire AIM staff have been putting the finishing touches to the AIM Strategy for 2016 and beyond. The Strategy will be called Leadership Matters. It is designed to position AIM as the ‘voice of sound management and leadership’ in Australia. We believe that better managers and better leaders will lead to a better society. And we believe that good management and leadership practice has a far reaching impact - an impact far beyond the workplace. AIM’s Leadership Matters strategy has been designed to take this Vision and make it real!

So, what does this mean to you, the Members?

Simply, it means that you will see an increase in engagement and activity throughout 2016. This will begin almost immediately. In February 2016 AIM will run its very first Leadership Outlook Roadshow. This series of Member focused events will be delivered all over Australia and it will kick off the year for our Members by providing an update on the key issues and hot topics in the world of Leadership. AIM is the go to authority on matters of leadership, so it’s appropriate that we start the year with a prestigious roadshow like this.

At the same time, we will release a series of short conversations with Members. Called On the Couch, these videos are designed to explore some of the burning issues in the wide world of leadership. They will, of course, draw on the experience and knowledge of our Members. There is no group better qualified to get to the heart of leadership matters than our FAIMs, AFAIMs and AIMMs! The first Conversation with Members will tackle the tricky issue of management vs leadership. Look out for this in late January 2016.

Another area of significant change for 2016 is around AIM’s Signature Events. Of course, you know that AIM runs a series of very successful and very well attended events all over Australia throughout the year. Our International Women’s Day events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, for example, attract almost 3000 people. In addition, we run hugely successful events such as The Great Debate in Canberra and in Cairns, as well as the AIM Excellence Awards in all States and regions. These events, while extremely successful, have always felt to me to be a little ‘detached’ from the AIM Membership. No longer! Throughout 2016 you will see a different approach to AIM’s Signature Events. They will be designed primarily as engagement activities. This means that you can expect special pricing for Members at these events, along with priority seating and other activity that will place you the Members at the heart of the event. The reason for this of course is that AIM’s high profile, signature events are a great way for us to demonstrate the real power of being a part of the AIM family. We can do this best when AIM Members attend these events together. In 2016 we will make this much easier.

In December (I know it’s not 2016, but we were so excited about this that we decided to launch it even earlier!) you will receive the very first edition of Insight Edge. This new monthly Newsletter will focus on leadership matters from a research, policy and advocacy perspective. Insight Edge is AIM’s new monthly newsletter with a slightly ‘technical’ flavour. Of course, it will draw on the expertise and experience of you, the Members. Each month throughout 2016, Insight Edge will focus on a specific leadership topic and the aim is to provide Members with insight into this topic. The first topic in the very first Insight Edge is Self Management. Look out for this next Thursday, 10th December.

I have, of course, saved the best for last. In February 2016 we will release AIM’s Member Value Proposition. I am particularly excited about this for one very specific reason. Over my six months as the Chief Executive of AIM, the question that I have been asked most frequently by Members has been, ‘What is the value of being an AIM Member?’ I absolutely agree that this is a fundamental question. It’s a question that we must answer if we are going to grow our Membership and become that ‘voice of sound management and leadership’.

In February 2016 – to coincide with the new Leadership Outlook Series – we will launch the AIM Value Proposition. This will be called Membership Matters. It will illustrate – in detail – all the complimentary elements of your membership of AIM. You will be able to see exactly what being a Member means and what you can expect as a Member of this prestigious national organisation.

Next year is the 75th Anniversary of AIM. It is fitting and appropriate that, in this milestone year, AIM Members are placed at the very heart of the new AIM Strategy.

I’m very excited about the year ahead and about the Leadership Matters strategy. I’m most excited about what this strategy means for increased engagement with our Members.

Have a super Festive Season and I’ll see you in 2016.

Dave

P.S. AIM Staff will be working over the Christmas break, excluding the public holidays. We will send further details at a later date of who will be available over this period. In the meantime, if you have any queries about this time, contact membership@aim.com.au