Reflection Learnings JCI UK Past National President 2020 James Lambert

Reflection Learnings JCI UK Past National President 2020 James Lambert

Posted By admin |09 Jun 2021
Reflection Learnings JCI UK Past National President 2020 James Lambert

Following my year as JCI UK National President in 2020 I am taking the opportunity to look back over my time in the organisation and share some things that I have learnt along the way.

People join JCI for different reasons – but stay members for different reasons.

I joined JCI following a relocation for work and in order to meet new people, particularly in business. I didn’t initially join for the Community Projects; Personal Development nor the International connections. Over my 8 years of membership I have enjoyed many great experiences in each of these areas and can honestly say that through getting involved in projects and events I have made life long friends.

Who can be a Leader

Prior to joining JCI I never saw myself as a leader and certainly didn’t expect that I would become National President! What I have learnt is that it is best to start small by gaining experience on a project taking responsibility for a particular area then progress to overseeing a whole project. A great next step to pushing the comfort zone is to get involved in the local JCI Council team running the organisation and events to attract, retain and inspire current and future members. 

One leadership opportunity that stands out to me is when I took on the role of Conference Director for our flagship National Convention in November 2017. As a qualified accountant there aren’t many chances to organise events and I got to work with and learn from some great people who supported me along the way.


Ask for help

It is always better to reach out and ask for help when struggling. There are so many knowledgeable members in the organisation who have different strengths and my working collaboratively everyone can learn and develop. There is also a huge network of past members that are more than happy to help.

Top Tip

If I had to share one piece of advice for anyone thinking about joining or getting more out of your membership it would be to take every opportunity to get involved with JCI that you can as you will learn and develop; grow friendships and be able to utilise the lessons learnt in the future…perhaps becoming National President yourself one day!