2020 saw a year of turmoil and challenges for leaders around the world. We saw leaders that flourished and led their communities out of an unsteady period due to a deadly pandemic. However we also saw leaders that were incapable of doing so with whole communities, countries and economies going sideways.

As an organisation JCI has taken upon itself to be the organisation empowering young leaders to create positive change. JCI Malta, being one of JCI’s international branches, has this same responsibility. That being that through the work it does, it hones young people between the ages of 18 and 40 into proper future leaders, be it as managers and CEOs, be it as local or European political leaders or be it through taking action and making the smallest of changes within their communities.

Taking all of this into account, in 2021, JCI Malta aims to focus its efforts on creating better future leaders and giving them the necessary tools to become future-proof. We need leaders that are agile, ready to listen, ready to work and capable of taking action that brings about positive change. We need leaders that are capable of keeping up with this new normal and new way of life and taking the necessary actions in the benefit of their society, country, continent and the world at large. That is why, JCI Malta has taken it upon itself to create Leaders for Change in 2021. We will do this by also letting the JCI Rise campaign inspire and guide us in what we do.

JCI carries a powerful history developed over more than 100 years. At the core of this history are young people taking responsibility for and ownership of the future, and taking action to manifest this vision. This is the tradition we will carry into the future while courageously leaving behind that which distracts from this vision. To meet the rapidly changing needs of young people, we must be willing to change.

In 2021, together with my team of hardworking individuals, we will make JCI Malta the go to organisation for any aspiring leader, with a slight focus on future policy makers as well as business and community leaders. The country, and the world is in a desperate need for phenomenal leaders that are not afraid to stand up and take action in order to better their communities. JCI Malta will work on creating a new wave of authentic leaders that are not only empathic towards their teams and communities, but who understand their responsibilities and take measured actions without hesitation.

In the essay titled The Authenticity Paradox, published in the Authentic Leadership essay compilation by the Harvard Business Review Press, Herminia Ibarra said that “to begin thinking like leaders, we must first act: plunge ourselves into new projects and activities, interact with very different kinds of people, and experiment with new ways of getting things done. Especially in times of transition and uncertainty, thinking and introspection should follow experience – not vice versa. Action changes who we are and what we believe is worth doing.”

Such a statement has never been felt as real as it is felt nowadays. With an ever changing world, where uncertainty reigns more than normality does, we need leaders that are ready and willing to plunge themselves into something new, experiment, and find better and sustainable alternatives to our way of living. This is why, in 2021, JCI Malta has tasked itself with creating phenomenal #LeadersForChange.

Will you take on the challenge?