ILEA President’s Letter: How Do You Measure a Year in ILEA?

Thursday, July 18, 2019

By Sara Grauf, CSEP

525,600 minutes. 8,760 hours. 365 days. 52 weeks. 12 months. One year. I spent the last year learning what it means to be a mother, figuring out how to balance a career and a family, trying to support and guide a team at work through a pivotal time for our organization, and working with an incredibly talented and diverse board to ensure that this association serves our members to the best of our ability. (Somewhere in the mix, I attempted to actually cook a few meals and get in a workout or two, but, let’s be honest … they were few and far between.)

I learned a lot. I grew a lot. I gained a lot of perspective. Over the course of the past year, family, friends, business and volunteerism all came crashing together to remind me some of some very important lessons:

• Everyone needs a village — in life and in business. If/when that village is threatened, we are capable of finding strength and camaraderie we didn’t know existed. We are at our best when we share genuinely with others and when we are willing to ask for help.
• Seek out the quiet voices. Sometimes those who have the most to say are hesitant to do so, but we all benefit in the long run from a diversity of opinions, experiences and insights. Each of us have the ability to empower others to find their voice, and we all should feel confident using ours.
• There isn’t always a right answer. Sometimes there’s just the best option at the time given the information you have. Once a decision is made, trust it and make the best of it. And if you were wrong? Admit it, learn from it and try again.

And, lastly, I was reminded by our members, our volunteer leaders, our board and our HQ team what makes ILEA so special: ILEA is a safe space to learn, be inspired and be encouraged. It’s a place to find our voice and a place to help others find theirs. It’s a petri dish where we get to test new skills and styles of communication to make us better leaders back at work. It’s a community without labels: we aren’t suppliers or planners or hosted buyers; we just are. We welcome all, lift all and learn from all.

We have accomplished a lot in our local chapters and as a collective whole over the past 525,600 minutes. We used our 8,760 hours to make a lot of big decisions. We spent 365 days working with friends and colleagues to better ourselves, our businesses and our association. We had 52 weeks full of creative, inspiring and meaningful events. We shared 12 months of laughter, tears, conversation and friendship. We spent another year growing. That’s all worth celebrating.

I hope you will join me in Minneapolis for ILEA Live to celebrate who we are, what we stand for, the amazing work we do and the fact that we are fortunate to have another year to try it all again and continue growing … together.

With gratitude,

Sara

Sara Grauf, CSEP
ILEA President

Tags: ILEA Live , ILEA , influence , President's Letter