The LIP’s aspiring leaders were inspired by a master community leader, Eddy De Gabriele on 24th February 2021.  Eddy is the Chair of Regional Development Australia (Illawarra) and by the end of his term in 2025 he will have lead the community and served in this capacity for 20 years.  And that’s just scratching the surface of Eddy’s leadership journey, which includes outstanding achievements with Edmen, Football South Coast and his current business endeavours.
 
Eddy shared his passionate thoughts on leadership with the LIP, in an engaging and stimulating presentation.  The factors of leadership, behaviours and ingredients for successful leadership were all discussed.  He also imparted the key to successful leadership with the cohort, being YOU! 
 
A favourite quote from Martin Luther King Jr was “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
 
One of the cohort mentioned afterwards that they were ‘still buzzing’. It’s fair to say that the LIP participants enjoyed the thought-provoking discussion on the differences between a boss and a leader and were thoroughly inspired by Eddy’s leadership journey and plethora of stories.  

On Wednesday, February 2, Leadership Illawarra welcomed the newest cohort members to the program for a introductory dinner event at The Lagoon Restaurant Wollongong. The 2021-22 cohort, made up of 27 enthused future leaders, gathered together and had the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and various partners and supporters who would be there to encourage them during their two-year journey in the Program. 

It wasn't just chatter and networking on the commencement of the Program, as participants were asked to deeply think about a variety of frameworks pertaining to the LIP foundations. The participants were asked to explore the 4 key concepts:
- Self-development 
- Citizenship 
- Networking
- Leadership Learning.

After brainstorming, the groups were able to devise valuable information about their expectations for LIP. Many participants believed growing leadership and communication experiences were pivotal for personal development compared with future prospects being primarily concerned with learning about establishing strong foundations and conscious boundaries in leadership.  

LIP aims to push the boundaries and create confidence in competence for the newest cohort.