Awards at the Global Conference

 

Each year the ILA is pleased to honor both those who have made significant lifetime achievements to the study and practice of leadership and those who are just beginning their career in the field of leadership. Awardees all play a special role at the conference, whether it is taking the plenary stage, participating in a spotlighted concurrent session, or being honored at a special event.

Don’t miss this year’s Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, 15 October, 5:30 PM at the conference hotel. Then check out the agenda to find special sessions with our award winners throughout the conference.

2025 ILA Board Chair Award Winner

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change, INSEAD

Don’t miss Kets de Vries’ featured session at the conference, “The Leadership Mystique.” Date & Time Forthcoming. 

Complete Session Description

The Leadership Mystique 

Many leaders today are not paragons of rational behavior. Their “shadow side”—comprising internal fears, disillusionments, or unresolved personal issues—hinders progress and transformation. Their behavior can be likened to riding a dead horse: despite all evidence, they cling to the hope that it will somehow rise and run again. When you’re riding a dead horse, the wisest course of action is to dismount.

The real challenge for leaders lies in finding the courage and energy to overcome their self-imposed limitations. Mental health is about having the ability to choose—and more importantly, to make wise choices. Unfortunately, this becomes moot when leaders lack self-awareness. Many are unaware of their own strengths and weaknesses, falling prey to hubris, which often leads to their downfall.

What further undermines organizational excellence is that many leaders fail to bring out the best in their people. Their teams often lack cohesion, functioning in isolated silos. Many workplace cultures resemble psychological gulags—environments where employees feel unsafe or stifled. As a result, very few organizations achieve what I call an authentizotic quality—workplaces where people feel truly alive and engaged.

Anyone seeking to build or lead a high-performance organization must understand the psychodynamics of leadership, team functioning, and organizational culture. Even the most resource-rich organizations—with ample funding, strong market presence, and cutting-edge technology—can falter if leadership fails. Great organizations recognize the critical role of talent and culture, understanding that sustainable success requires attention to both what is visible on the surface and what lies beneath.

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries is Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change at INSEAD, where he founded the Executive Master Program in Change Management and the Global Leadership Center. He brings unique interdisciplinary expertise combining economics, management, and psychoanalysis to explore individual and organizational dynamics. A pioneer in team coaching and organizational transformation, Kets de Vries has authored nearly 60 books and designed a number of 360-degree feedback instruments including the widely used Global Executive Leadership Mirror, Global Executive Leadership Inventory, Leadership Archetype Questionnaire, and the Organizational Culture Audit. 

He has published more than 400 academic papers, over 100 case studies, and hundreds of  mini-articles (blogs) for the Harvard Business Review, INSEAD Knowledge, and other digital outlets. His books and articles have been translated into more than 30 languages. Recognized among the world’s leading management thinkers by The Financial Times and The Economist, he has received numerous honors including the International Leadership Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Psychological Association’s Harry and Miriam Levinson Award. 

As founder-chairman of the Kets de Vries Institute, he consults globally with major corporations including McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Shell, and Nokia. When not working across 40+ countries, he enjoys exploring remote wilderness areas from Mongolia to the Arctic Circle.

2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

ILA’s Leadership Legacy Program honors individuals who have made a significant lifetime contribution to the field of leadership through their published works and influential support of leadership knowledge and practice. Each honoree is presented with ILA’s Lifetime Achievement Award and has their work celebrated at our annual global conference.

Mats Alvesson

Professor, University of Bath, Bayes Business School, City and St George’s, University of London, Lund University
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David L. Collinson

Distinguished Professor of Leadership & Organisation, The Department of Organisation, Work & Technology @ Lancaster University Management School, UK
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Professor Susan Vinnicombe CBE

Professor of Women and Leadership, Changing World of Work Group, Faculty of Business and Management, Cranfield University
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Fredric M. Jablin Doctoral Dissertation Award

The Jablin Award is presented at ILA’s Global Conference each year. The recipient is honored during an award ceremony and invited to present their dissertation research during a concurrent session. 

Applications are due on or before 15 June 2025.