Every year, thousands of young people from across the United States and the world convene in Washington D.C. and New York City for the annual International Young Leaders Assembly (IYLA).

IYLA at the United Nations

Co-convened by Global Peace Foundation and Global Young Leaders Academy (GYLA), the 2018 IYLA took place on August 6-15, featuring partners dedicated to moral and innovative leadership, including IBM. Gina Tesla, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at IBM, shared her experience as an executive at IBM and as a former Peace Corps volunteer at the IYLA in a training program for the youth delegates at the IYLA Global Summit at the United Nations.

Gina shared four pieces of advice:

• Adhere to your values while doing what you love: Find what you are passionate about, and connect it to your morals. But do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Stretch yourself to try new things.

• Learn to listen: If you can master listening, you will improve immensely as a leader.

• Always keep learning: As we learn and gather feedback, we continue to grow as leaders. Take a risk and fail forward.

• Build your network: Creating and maintaining personal and professional partnerships broadens your perspective and enhances your leadership capability.

Striving to uphold a standard of social responsibility and sustainability in their 108-year-long approach to leadership,IBM’s continued partnership to the IYLA program over the years has made impressions on young leaders from around the world.

Milca Kusonika from the UK described the leadership training as “an asset to our society and any leader out there –not just in the corporate world, but in politics and other spheres too.”

Read more on the International Young Leaders Assembly from IBM