By Joseph Ballantine, ILM Product Manager
Building connections that shape the future
In leadership, few forces are as influential or as underestimated as the power of a strong network. This year, International Leadership Week (ILW) celebrates The Power of Your Network, shining a spotlight on the relationships that shape leadership success. From collaboration and mentoring to community and connection, ILW 2026 explores how networks help leaders grow, adapt, and create lasting impact.
At ILM, we know that leadership and management skills naturally create networks. When leaders communicate effectively, coach others, foster trust, and role model collaborative behaviours, they don’t just build teams - they build communities. Strong leaders create other leaders, and that ripple effect is felt across organisations, industries, and society.
Building and sustaining powerful networks
Enduring networks are built on purpose, curiosity, and generosity. Leaders who invest in meaningful connections, within their teams and across wider ecosystems, gain access to diverse perspectives, richer insights, and new opportunities for innovation. ILM’s approach to leadership development emphasises these human skills: active listening, emotional intelligence, and the ability to build rapport across boundaries. These capabilities help create networks that add real value rather than transactional relationships.
Connected leadership and collective wisdom
Today’s challenges are increasingly complex, and no leader can solve them alone. Connected leadership, where influence flows in multiple directions, creates the conditions for collective wisdom to thrive. When leaders encourage idea sharing, open dialogue, and cross functional collaboration, they unlock smarter decision making. ILW 2026 champions the shift from “hero leadership” to “networked leadership”: a model where power is shared, not hoarded; where success is co-created, not owned.
Legacy through networks
A leader’s legacy is rarely defined by individual achievements, but by the people they empower along the way. Networks amplify that legacy. When leaders coach, mentor, and support others, they create long term impact that outlives any single project or role. ILM qualifications and apprenticeships help leaders develop these coaching behaviours - skills that elevate cultures, improve retention, and strengthen organisational capability for years to come.
The power of coaching culture
Coaching sits at the heart of effective leadership networks. A coaching culture promotes openness, curiosity, and growth - qualities that strengthen relationships and build trust. When coaching becomes integrated into everyday leadership practice, networks deepen across teams and hierarchies, creating a more agile, connected workforce.
This was demonstrated powerfully in Toyota’s journey to develop coaching capability across its UK business, working with ILM to build a sustainable, internal coaching community. Through ILM coaching qualifications, Toyota created a network of skilled coaches who enhanced performance, improved communication, and embedded a culture of continuous development - showing firsthand how strong coaching networks transform organisations.
Read the full story: How Toyota developed coaching capability and impact with ILM
Diverse networks drive innovation
Diverse, inclusive networks expose leaders to new ways of thinking and enable genuinely innovative solutions. ILW 2026 encourages leaders to expand beyond familiar circles and embrace global connections, because future success depends on broadening perspectives and learning from difference.
The future of networking
As digital and hybrid ways of working continue to shape the leadership landscape, the ability to build meaningful connections, online and offline, will become an essential skill. Leaders will need to navigate virtual networks with confidence, foster digital trust, and maintain human connection in increasingly technology enabled workplaces.
Find out more about ILW 2026 here
