From Global Stage to Deep Practice
Inside Novya’s Leadership Work at the Associations World Congress
This year’s Associations World Congress, held in the Algarve, Portugal, may have been far away from Belgium, but the 2026 edition of this prestigious event offered a glimpse of exactly the kind of leadership work that is coming to the Novya Leadership Lab retreat in Ghent this November.
The Associations World Congress (AWC) is the global congress for association leaders, run by the Association of Association Executives and bringing together senior executives, Secretary Generals and association professionals from across regions and sectors. In that landscape, Novya was invited to lead a full morning with global association leaders.
Lisa Kretschmann, Novya Leadership Lab director, and Benita Lipps, founder and CEO of Novya, were asked to design and deliver Session 14, “Navigating Complexity” – a full morning of work on leadership for association executives. That detail matters. Being trusted with several hours of programme time, rather than a 45‑minute slot, is a strong signal of credibility and demand. It meant the Novya experts had space to go deeper than the usual conference talk: to move beyond concepts and into the reality of how leaders actually make decisions, communicate and support their teams under pressure.
In the room were leaders from different parts of the world, each carrying their own version of complexity: shifting policy environments, membership diversification, new digital expectations, governance reforms in progress. The session gave them a chance to put that complexity on the table and work with it. The focus was not on generic best practice, but on how each participant leads in their specific context.
Over the morning, Benita and Lisa guided the group through a blend of short inputs, structured reflection and peer exchange. Participants mapped the challenges they are facing, identified the leadership patterns that help or hinder them, and experimented with new ways of framing decisions and conversations. Instead of leaving with a stack of slides, they left with clearer priorities and concrete ideas to try back home.
The feedback in the room was simple and consistent: this was the kind of leadership work many had been craving for in their professional development. The recurring comment was that the time had felt too short – that a morning was enough to open up important questions, but not enough to fully pursue them.
From AWC to a deeper leadership journey
That response is exactly where the connection to the Novya Leadership Lab comes in. What participants experienced in the Algarve was essentially the “front door” of the Lab: a concentrated taste of the kind of reflective, practical and context-aware leadership work that the programme develops over days, not hours.
In the AWC session, leaders were introduced to some of the core themes that sit at the heart of the Leadership Lab:
- How to maintain a clear sense of self and purpose while navigating multiple, often conflicting expectations.
- How to communicate in ways that build trust when stakes and emotions run high.
- How to adapt current practices to a structured, deliberate way of working.
The Novya Leadership Lab’s upcoming three-day residential retreat in November will take those themes and give them the time and space they really require. Where AWC offered Novya a single morning, the Leadership Lab retreat is designed as an experience that allows association leaders to step out of their daily routine, work more deeply on themselves and their organisations, and build a stronger peer community
Authority earned on a global stage
For association leaders considering whether the Leadership Lab is the right place to invest their time, Novya’s role at AWC offers a clear signal. Being invited to lead a full morning at the Associations World Congress – one of the key international stages for association professionals – is recognition from the sector that this approach to leadership is relevant, credible and needed.
It shows that the questions the Lab tackles are not limited to Brussels-based organisations. They resonate with leaders from very different geographies and membership models. It also shows that the way those questions are handled – with a mix of sharp thinking, practical tools and a strong human focus – can hold the attention and trust of a global audience for several hours.
In short, the AWC session demonstrated that when association leaders are given space to work honestly on how they navigate complexity, they take that opportunity seriously. They engage. They share. And they ask for more.
The retreat behind AWC’s most talked-about morning
Internally, one phrase has emerged as a natural way to describe the relationship between AWC and the Leadership Lab: the November retreat is “the longer version” of what happened in the Algarve. The morning at AWC opened the door; the retreat invites leaders to walk through it.
Where the congress format necessarily compresses everything into a single sitting, the retreat allows for:
- Extended time to explore authentic leadership, team dynamics and agile transformation in depth.
- Individual coaching that helps turn insight into action in each participant’s own organisational context.
- A small, carefully selected group of peers with whom trust can grow over several days, not just over coffee breaks.
For leaders who were in the room at AWC and wanted more, the November Leadership Lab retreat is that “more”: the place where the conversation continues and deepens. For those hearing about this work for the first time, it is an opportunity to experience the same quality of thinking and facilitation – without having to wait for the next global congress or travel across continents.
Looking ahead to November
As associations and nonprofits plan the next cycle of their work, leadership capacity will be one of the decisive factors in how well they navigate what is coming. The Associations World Congress has already signalled that the questions tackled by the Novya Leadership Lab matter on a global stage.
The November retreat brings that work back into a focused, intimate setting. It offers association leaders the chance to step away from back-to-back commitments, connect with peers who understand their world, and invest in the kind of leadership that can guide their organisations through the complexities of the future.
If the AWC session showed anything, it is that when leaders are given serious time to work on themselves and their practice, they make the most of it. The Novya Leadership Lab retreat is designed to give them that time – and to turn it into lasting impact for their teams, boards and members.
