FIDI Focus catches up with two of the attendees at the recent Leaders in International Moving (LiM) seminars, held in Melchsee-Frutt and Axalp, Switzerland
The Leaders in International Moving (LiM) forum is an annual event that cannot be missed. It helps moving and relocation leaders to build their strategic competences while giving them new knowledge and practical solutions to pressing industry challenges. These sessions are intense and enjoyable, widening delegates’ horizons.
Bridget Ritchie, Vice-President, Global Business Development – Corporate Accounts at Arpin Group, and Markus Luthe, Managing Director at Hasenkamp Relocation Services, attended, respectively, the LiM events in Melchsee-Frutt in January 2020 and Axalp last year.
Luthe says he signed up for the LiM to swap ideas and experiences with other leaders from the industry, while Ritchie went after a glowing recommendation from a colleague who had attended a previous LiM. She says: ‘My colleague said it was a great workshop, providing tools and sharing information among the class leaders and industry peers about leadership, solving challenges and creating ideas.’
In addition to leadership skills and discussions about strategy, the focus of LiM2020 was the importance of health, fitness and nutrition in your business. ‘They all affect your mind and body and, so, impact your focus, decision-making, attention and energy in life and business, day to day,’ says Ritchie.
Luthe, meanwhile, attended a LiM that was focused on the challenges of leadership and change management, an experience that taught him ‘what I need to change as a leader, short-term and long-term goals, the best onboarding concepts, reviewing team structure, and keeping teams informed’.
‘I learned so much from LiM2020,’ says Ritchie. ‘I learned about tools to use throughout the day to keep myself focused and boost my energy, so that I can be a better, more focused leader. I was given ideas and tools to better address issues I face in the day-to-day management of not only my time, but that of my team and my strategic vision. By listening to others and the challenges they face, I learned how many share the same issues, and that when we work together as a global network, we can become more successful.’
Luthe says a spirit of openness is essential to get the most from your LiM experience – even though you may be learning alongside competitors. ‘In an open exchange with other managers, you learn to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses, and compare the ideas of others with yours,’ he says. ‘But this only works if the group speaks openly and honestly.
‘The experiences of other managers, positive and negative, is the best way for you to develop new ideas and strategies for yourself. You see what works in change management, but also what doesn’t.’
Ritchie adds: ‘The LiM programme reinvigorates you as a leader; it reminds you of your macro goals and provides you with the traits all good leaders have, by putting a lens on yourself. I’m excited about implementing the actions of my annual plan, and making little changes in my approach to my days, and seeing the positive outcomes. I’m equally excited about sharing my learnings from the week with my team, and making recommendations to them.
‘I would absolutely recommend the LiM programme to other FIDI Affiliates – for all these reasons, as well as the fact that you create new industry connections, and friends. It’s very rewarding to learn, share, laugh and make these connections.’
