Report on the 2004 Leadership Summit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (January 21-24)

By Keith Low, President-Elect.

Arriving in Albuquerque late Wednesday afternoon, I had just enough time to catch the tail-end of the SLA board of directors meeting. Right away, I knew that this edition of the Leadership Summit would be memorable when the "doing business as SLA" issue (emphatically presented as NOT a name change) was presented to the board (and subsequently to the chapter cabinet). Not surprisingly, there was plenty of discussion! Wednesday concluded with a group dinner at a popular local restaurant famous for its blue corn tortillas. We joined fellow out-of-town delegates for what proved to be the first of several meals featuring chili sauce, tortillas and beans.

The Leadership Development Institute (LDI) began the next morning with keynote speaker Anne Rhoades, a founding executive of JetBlue. A leading discount air carrier in the United States, JetBlue is renowned for its high level of customer service, its innovative management and its employee relations. By sticking to its values through even the most difficult times, JetBlue continues to be recognized as the best domestic airline (Conde Nast Traveller, 2003 reader's choice) while still managing to be profitable.

Barb Spiegelman presented the next session of the LDI: "Communicating to get what you want." She outlined the four basic communication styles (intuitor, thinker, feeler, sensor). Effective communication takes place when your presentation style matches the communication style of your intended audience. For example, "thinkers" are analytical, logical, reason-based, effective organizers and often skeptical (e.g. engineers). Thinkers appreciate communiqués which are linear, use bullets, emphasize procedure and are orderly. "Feelers," on the other hand, are empathetic listeners and are attuned to the unspoken/political; they prefer the use of images, slogans, informality, and emphasis on morale- and team-building.

During the Thursday lunch session, we heard presentations from the various candidates for the SLA board of directors (including WCC's own Patricia Cia). It was a great opportunity to put faces (and voices) to the names of our candidates. More importantly, we were able to see how passionate all the candidates were about the profession and our association.

The sessions on Thursday afternoon concerned programming at the chapter level, covering the who's, what's, where's, how's and how much! We were also given a preview of the newly redesigned SLA website and of the Communities of Practice tools. Thursday concluded with a reception at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (more beans and chili!) where we had a chance to meet and mingle around the bonfire.

Fiesta on the Rio Grande, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Pictured are Geneviève Lemire (Treasurer, SLA Eastern Canada Chapter), Claudette Cloutier and Keith Low. Photo provided by Claudette Cloutier.

The sessions of Friday morning addressed leadership and recruitment issues: how do we attract new members, fresh volunteers and enthusiastic leaders and, crucially, how do we hold onto them? Marjorie Hlava gave a very useful presentation on the mechanics of running a meeting, answering many of our questions about parliamentary procedure.

The business portion of Friday's activities concluded with the Chapter Cabinet meeting, where fellow chapter Presidents and President-Elects discussed Association business, including but not limited to: new chapter governing documents (i.e. bylaws); alternative membership structures and dues; and the Association doing business as "SLA." A brief joint meeting of the Chapters and Divisions followed.

By Friday evening, we were ready for a break. A few of us were treated to a tour of Intel's gargantuan manufacturing facilities in Albuquerque and then to an off-road excursion on the mesa just outside the town limits. What a treat to be able to see the stars in the clear desert sky!

I began Saturday by attending the SLA board of directors meeting. After the Board meeting concluded, I finally had time for an extended talk with Claudette Cloutier. We walked over to the "old town" and over lunch, discussed WCC issues and strategies. You'll see the fruits of our brainstorming in the coming months and years! Saturday concluded with an informal dinner with almost all of the Canadian delegates to the summit in attendance. It was a great opportunity to network with representatives from the Toronto and Eastern Canada chapters. And there wasn't a bean or chili pepper in sight!

Keith Low is a corporate librarian at Teck Cominco and is President-Elect for SLA WCC 2004 - 2005.