What is The Leadership Conference all about..?
Once every 6 months YMCA CEOs and Strategic Leaders gather together to recharge their batteries, learn new perspectives, and make lasting friends.
We combine this with visiting a local YMCA and finding out everything about their work, people, and day to day life. This time we are excited to be visiting YMCA North Staffordshire!
Our 4-Nations distinctive - Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland - makes our kinship unique, driving a rare kind of innovation that makes The Leadership Conference something truly special.
Who attends The Leadership Conference..?
The CEN
Steering Group Members
The CEN
The Chief Executive's Network (CEN) was established over 20 years ago as a way of connecting YMCA CEO-level leaders.
Today it connects people across Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales and every YMCA CEO-level leader in those nations is an automatic member (one fine example of which can be seen above).
The SLN
Steering Group Members
The CEN
The Strategic Leader's Network (SLN) came out of the CEN with the aim of inspiring and supporting the wide range of Leaders who also make YMCA life possible.
As the name suggests, Strategic Leaders often look beyond the day-to-day to help their YMCAs survive and thrive amidst the steady pace of change.
Thank you Josh for being happy to represent the SLN with your photo!
Steering Group Members
Steering Group Members
Steering Group Members
Both the CEN and the SLN are overseen by independent volunteer Steering Groups which aim to be representative of their members, including geographically.
Each of these networks also has a Chair who gets heavily involved in the delivery of The Leadership Conference every 6 months, as well as supporting YMCA leaders in myriad ways.
What's with the new name and logo..?
For many years the conference was just called 'CEN', reflecting its CEO-centric nature.
However, after the success of including Strategic Leaders (who now comprise half of attendees) it was felt that a new name was needed. We've settled on 'The Leadership Conference' (or TLC) which underlines the focus the conference has on all senior leaders within the YMCA today, and its desire to support and empower them.
As for the logo, this went through numerous designs before we settled on something that -
- Had some hint of a Celtic knot, reflecting the shared history of the four nations;
- Represented the recognised national colours of each of the four nations;
- Incorporated triangles as a nod to the historic red triangle in YMCA logos of old;
- Looked like four people facing inwards holding hands, like an act of fellowship, as happens when folk sing Auld Lang Syne, for instance.
We hope you like it. The logo will most commonly appear alongside the logos of the three National Councils we work in partnership with, and which underscore the essential YMCA nature of the conference.