International Leadership Association

Congratulations to the recipients of this year's SAGE Most Publishable Leadership Education Paper Award winners: Momo Waguri (International College of Arts and Sciences, Fukuoka Women’s Univesity) & Rie Okamura (Department of Diversity Studies, Saitama University Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences)!

Join Momo and Rie at as they present:

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 & 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲
📅 Friday, 30 October, 2026
⏰ 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM
https://bit.ly/47vRBMO

The ILA is pleased to partner with SAGE Publishing on the Most Publishable Leadership Education Paper Award. The award is given each year to the best presentation submission to the Leadership Education stream.

What does leadership look like when trust in institutions is fragile?

On 12 October, join us for a complimentary conversation with Ellen Pratt-Harris, Executive Director of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Liberia, and Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Together, they’ll explore what it takes to rebuild institutions, empower communities, and create lasting change in complex environments where there are rarely easy answers.

Moderator: Uduak Amimo, Founder of Asanama Leadership.

Sponsored by Global Voices, an initiative of ILA’s Leadership Development Member Community.

Reserve your seat: https://bit.ly/3UXcjT7

Sponsor Spotlight: Network of Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership – Gold Sponsor

The Network of Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership brings together five distinguished Chairs at universities across Canada, representing the country’s diverse regions — from Atlantic Canada and Québec to Ontario, the Prairies, and British Columbia.

We are especially grateful to the Network of Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership for sponsoring our Friday plenary session:

Democracy, Trust, and Leadership Beyond Borders
📅 Friday, 30 October | 5:30–6:45 PM

Members of the Network will also share their work at during this session:

What Comes (or Goes) First: Truth, Trust, or Democracy?
📅 Thursday, 29 October | 2:45–3:45 PM

Join us in Toronto for conversations exploring trust, democracy, and leadership in an increasingly interconnected world. https://ilaglobalconference.org/registration/

Congratulations to Scott J. Allen on 350 episodes of 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔, ILA's official podcast!

Since 2020, Scott has asked scholars, executives, and leadership practitioners the same question: What does the real work of leadership look like?

In Episode 350, Dr. Mike Lickers, Kanien'kehá:ka educator from Six Nations of the Grand River, and Dr. Toby Newstead of the University of Tasmania discuss Indigenous wisdom in leadership development including a governance model where clan mothers select chiefs, mentor them, and can remove them if needed.

🎧 Listen now: https://bit.ly/4hX1bhR

Catch Toby and Scott at where Scott will be recording a special live episode with Barbara Kellerman on Thursday evening.

Rewind to this Grassroots Leadership & the Arts for Social Change column exploring decolonization and reconciliation through participatory theatre.

The article highlights Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborators at Royal Roads University and their “Walk With Me” experiential practice, developed in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

Introduced by column editor Susan J. Erenrich.

Read the article now: https://bit.ly/4rQEtLJ (ILA member login required)

Not a member yet? Join the ILA today: https://bit.ly/4gbg6BW

Congratulations to Kamya Yadav, Charles R. Kaye Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, on receiving this year’s Fredric M. Jablin Doctoral Dissertation Award!

Join Kamya at as she presents:

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?
📅 Friday, October 30, 2026
⏰ 4:15–5:15 PM
https://bit.ly/3VNEl0c

The ILA is proud to partner with the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond on this award, recognizing a scholar whose doctoral dissertation research — across any topic or discipline —demonstrates substantial insights and implications for the study of leadership.

September 30th marks Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day – Every Child Matters. On this day, we honour Survivors, their families, Indigenous communities, and the children who never returned home.

At this year's ILA Global Conference, our Indigenous and First Peoples Leadership stream explores leadership grounded in culture, relationships, land, community, and identity, as well as perspectives on sovereignty, self-determination, collective wellbeing, and regenerative futures. https://bit.ly/49mmOU8

We’re grateful to Stream Leads Erin Dixon (Gizhagatte) and Lana Leslie for helping bring these important conversations to the conference.

Sponsor Spotlight: Kansas Leadership Center - Third Floor Research (Bronze Sponsor)

Third Floor Research is an applied research partnership between the Kansas Leadership Center and Kansas State University’s Staley School of Leadership Studies. It contributes to a global understanding of leadership, adaptation and change management.

Their research explores the impact of leadership development at the individual, organizational, challenge, and cultural levels, as well as the impact of community engagement initiatives.

A big thank you to Kansas Leadership Center - Third Floor Research for sponsoring this year's International Student Case competition at !

Learn more about Kansas Leadership Center - Third Floor Research: https://bit.ly/3TXU7IH

Join us in Toronto: https://bit.ly/3XIFKaP

What if the roots of dark leadership begin long before someone becomes a leader?

In this blog post, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, Kelly Rogers (Assistant Professor of Leadership at the University of Birmingham) explores how childhood experiences, identity, career experiences, and organizational pressures can shape the darker side of leadership.

Read the blog and reflect on what leadership development may be missing: https://bit.ly/4iVqPEQ