As the clock ticked closer to 5 p.m. on the first Thursday of 2025, AWiBers and guests poured through the gates of Hilton in waves, buzzing with anticipation. More than 200 eager participants gathered, all united by a single exciting mission: to uncover the concept “The Leader in YOU” in the highly interactive World Café style experience. After some time of making connections, participants were guided to the main hall. This was no ordinary event—it was a vibrant celebration of ideas where each participant’s voice was heard.

As the audience took their seats they were captivated and informed by a video titled ‘AWiB in 2024’ showing a reflection of all AWiBs programs, events and activities in the past year. The facilitators, Aster Asfaw, AWiB 2024 Board Member & Lidya Yohannes, AWiBs Membership Programs Manager kicked off the event by celebrating the success of the #500Criticalmass campaign. The excitement peaked as the lottery was drawn where eight lucky new members who joined during the campaign received their prizes!

Lidya then introduced the event’s Emerge sponsors: Wudassie Diagnostics, Komari Beverages, and Enat Bank. AWiBers with businesses were also invited to the stage to promote their products and services. AWiBs newly launched software designed to exclusively serve members was then introduced.

The hall was arranged with several tables each seating a circle of ten participants, and one host to guide the discussion, take notes and voice the ideas raised by the group. After each question, participants joined a different table, forming new groups and networking with different people. There were three questions to discuss throughout the evening.

The first question was “Who is a leader? What are the main differences between a boss & a leader?” As the facilitators collected the ideas raised in each table, it was easy to see that many of the ideas had a similar theme. Below are some of the ideas raised:

• A Leader is visionary, openminded, charismatic, creative, understanding, people-focused, respectful, empathetic, active listener, last to speak, transformational, inspiring, mentors and coaches, change and solution-oriented, a risk-taker, has influencing power, nurtures others’ potentials, exemplary, and RESPONSIBLE.
• Leadership is not positional and the quote “A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way” – J. Maxwell.
• A boss follows rules and regulations without questioning them, gives commands in one way communication style, micromanages, doesn’t listen, is the first to talk, doesn’t involve team when making decisions, punishes, is task oriented, blames others and doesn’t take any accountability. A boss has the “My way or the high way” attitude.
• Among the discussion one unique idea raised was “Both are important and can be learned”.

The second question was “Who do you consider to be a leadership role model, and what qualities or actions of theirs inspire you as a leader?”. Participants shuffled their seats and began their discussion. Several iconic people as well as people among the crowd were highlighted by the participants, along with their traits that inspired them.

• Etege Taitu for her integrity, decisiveness, being a pioneer.
• Mandela for his courage and kindness 
• Lulseged Teferi of Dashen Bank for his ability to create a sense of belonging, focus on goals, and take risks.
• Aster Asfaw for her ability to bring team spirit, threat everyone equally, and creativity in solving problems
• Frealem Shibabaw for her initiatives especially the school feeding program
• Nahu Senay Girma for her integrity, commitment to empowering women, confidence, courage, and boldness in living her vision.
• Hikmet Abdella for her wisdom and ability to handle different situations and people using different approaches
• Nadia Weber for her listening skills and being a game changer
• The 15 women who founded Enat Bank for being visionaries
• All mothers for guiding their families, managing different needs and personalities, building trust, and solving problems with wisdom.
• Meried Bekele, Shialeka Haile G/Selassie, Dr. Liya Tadesse, Barack Obama, Dr. Selam Aklilu, Simegn Kuma, Catherine Hamlin, W/ro Selome Tadese, Ato. Daniel Abebe of Dashen Bank, Dr. Henok Haile, President Sahlework Zewdie and Sister Zebider were also mentioned by the participants

The third question was “AWiB’s Motto is “Responsible Leadership”. Is this motto aligned with our actions? How can we better serve?”. Once again, participants shuffled their seats to join different tables, sharing smiles and feeling energized from the stimulating discussions.

All the responses to the first question were “Yes, AWiB represents the moto Responsible Leadership”. Some of the reasons mentioned were that AWiB a platform where members go through their self-discovery journey to lead their lived purposefully and responsibly. They mentioned that AWiB’s vision is communicated well and members feel connected. It was also noted that AWiB has a powerful and diversified network that is accessible.

SHE was characterized as well planned, organized and consistent. It was mentioned that AWiB takes a holistic approach to growth, provides a platform for self-reflection and discovery, with a welcoming with team spirit and sisterhood atmosphere. AWiB was noted as exemplary, transparent and all about finding YOU.

Several of the following ideas were raised for the second question in order for AWiB to serve its members better:

• Offer a mentorship program, especially for new AWiBers
• Organize programs for men and increase their attendance on the programs open to the public
• Work on awareness creation through marketing, social media, and visibility campaigns targeting the overall community
• Work on clearing misperceptions and show the true work to everyone
• Offer virtual sessions as well as virtual directory to better access fellow AWiBers
• Offer segmented payment systems and programs
• Offer better access to FCBC members through mentorship
• Provide additional incentives that encourage renewal of membership
• Organize a retreat for the AWiB community
• Host more World Café Style events
• Open branches in different parts of the country
• Establish membership in all universities
• Continue the Meri program and encourage members to collaborate on bringing funds
• Improve the quality of Saturday sessions and have more sessions on Sundays

By 9 PM, many participants had been amazed at how fast the time flew by. AWiB received valuable feedback from its members. The evening ended on a high note with everyone feeling heard and connected.

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