My seven years on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), from 2003 to 2010, definitely taught me interesting things, including how to get a group of people to deliver when you had no control over their jobs. As co-chair of the Network-based Mobility Management (NETLMM) working group, I led one of the rather contentious working groups at the IETF. We managed to deliver relevant standards and actually brought closure to the working group so we could move on. Overall, my experience with IETF has positively contributed to my skills in leadership, consensus building, design thoroughness and seeing the big picture. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with incredibly talented people from diverse organizations and to really understand how the Internet came to be what it is today.

And yet, several years ago, when I was nominated for the Internet Architecture Board, I decided it was not for me…