Diane Edwards Director, Professional Services Unit, Mona School of Business and Management, was presented with the coveted John Maxwell Live2Lead Leadership Award during a recently held lavish ceremony at Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston.
The award selection committee said it was a fitting acknowledgement of a leader who consistently demonstrates the Maxwell DNA values criteria and has provided unquestionable leadership to top notch local and international organizations for over 30 years.
Her success as head of JAMPRO is a true indication of what can be achieved through great leadership, hard work, dedication and a winning attitude. Diane is viewed as a true role model for Jamaican leaders from all aspects of life.
During her award acceptance speech she shared some valuable insights with a room full of business leaders who were in attendance.
“Being nominated for this award is very exciting and yet humbling. I don’t seek these kinds of awards so the fact that it was offered, it was humbling to be recognize for something I love doing. Leadership is about helping other people to be their best selves and life their best life. It is about how we take problems and mold them into answers and bring people along the journey.” Edwards said.
We have a crisis of values. Our lives these days are all about money, I do it for the likes not for the love and this denigrates who we are as people. The opportunity we have now is to be our best selves while we are here on earth. We don’t know what the next dimension will bring, so lets be our best selves while we are here” she lamented.
Diane Edwards close her remarks with a word of advice to aspiring leaders
“You must know and understand your people, try to break down the hierarchical structures we have in Jamaica that inhibit us from achieving our full potential. We need to embrace everyone that have a hand in our achievement. The guy who cuts the lawn is just as important as the guy who entertains the boss at dinner. We need to break down these societal barriers and be more inclusive in how we operate.”
Attitude is something Jamaicans understand. We have a lot of attitude, we are bold and audacious and live big! A leader needs to have the right attitude which attracts people to you. The right attitude is about being unstoppable!”
Leaders are faced with challenges every day. Infact, Diane is no stranger to leading through challenges. When asked about her next leadership she said:
“I love a challenge and now I have taken on a challenge of growing a consultancy at Mona School of Business. I am very excited about the journey ahead!
Live2Lead Conference is a global leadership conference conceptualized by John C Maxwell the #1leadership guru in the world according to Inc Magazine. Maxwell is New York Times best-selling author of over 100+ leadership books with over 35million copies sold. His organization has trained over eight million leaders in every country.
The Live2Lead event was hosted in Jamaica on October 7, 2023 for the fourth time by training and development experts Creative Brands & Concepts Limited. The conference featured renowned local speakers including Official Live2Lead Host and Executive Director Maxwell Leadership, Erica McKenzie, Director of Public Prosecution, Paula Llewlyn, Productivity Expert, Tamar Nelson and Live2Lead2022 Awardee and Chairman Manpower & Maintenance, Audrey Hinchcliffe. The international presenters were Forbes Council Expert Panelist, Dr. Susan Murray, AI expert Leslie Lee Fook, Shark Tank Mentor and Multi-Millionaire Fashion Designer, Kendra Scott, Wall Street Journal best seller Ryan Leak, Best Selling Author and Harvard Researcher, Marcus Buckingham and world renowned leadership expert, John C Maxwell rounded out the 2023 line up.