2017 Global Leadership Summit Day 1 Recap

Every year, I attend The Global Leadership Summit simulcast. It’s my favorite leadership conference to attend. To help me reflect on what I’ve learned and to help you, I always post a recap of my key takeaways from each day. Here is my recap from Day 1 of the 2017 Global Leadership Summit:

2017 Global Leadership Summit

Session 1: Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek

• Everyone wins when a leader gets better!
• Armed with enough humility, leaders can learn from anyone!
• Every leader can point to when and who was the first person that told them they were a leader.
• Who do you owe most for bringing out leadership in you at a young age?
• We are where we are today in our leadership journey because one person had one conversation with us.
• You can change a young person’s life by planting seeds in the lives of younger leaders.
• How do we lead in an era of divisiveness and disrespect? The solution has to begin with me.
• Respect everyone always. Every human being is made in the image of God and has intrinsic value. We don’t get to choose who we respect.
•  What kind of new story could God write for my life in the next season? He’s written some good ones in the past.
•  Might it be possible that God is writing an ending to your current season? Endings matter too.
•  The world needs your leadership. We can’t afford to lose any more fantastic leaders.
• At a certain point, mere financial success ought to become boring to you. God has a bigger plan for your life and business.
• What do you call the billionaire who has blown through 3 marriages? A success. Why? This world still judges by success as money and not a high functioning marriage and family and kids that love you and love each other.
  Leader to Bill at a young age, “Some day this rocket ride that you’re taking is going to come to an end and if your wife isn’t with you and your kids aren’t around, you’re going to hate what’s left of your life.

Session #2: Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

• We need to identify leaders as early as possible and help develop them!
• What we see ourselves becoming is often what we become and we can’t become what we don’t see.
• When you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask which seat. -Eric Schmidt
• Most organizations fail for reasons everyone knows, but nobody actually talks about. Be direct.
• Focus on results, not face time.
• Resilience is the ability to overcome hardship. It’s a muscle you build.
• More people experience post traumatic growth than post dramatic stress.
• Friendship is so important. We have to show up for each other and do something specific to help them.
• Happiness is how we spend our days. It’s the small things.
• If a leader wants to get better, how do we do that? Real feedback. Get people to tell you the truth.

Session #3: Marcus Lemonus, The Profit

• Leadership is about reinventing yourself.
• Business is about vulnerability and creating a connection.
• Our success is all based on your ability to be vulnerable. Being transparent.
• When you unlock someone’s heart and earn their trust, you can do anything together!
• Business owners, you are blessed by the opportunity to mold people.
• Money is important, but if that’s your purpose, you’ll leave this world very unhappy.

Session #4: Fredrik Haren

• Your job as a leader is to make your people more creative.
• Definition of an idea: One person takes two formally known things and combines them in a new way.
• Listen to why people think something is a good idea instead of laughing at them!

Session #5: Bryan Stevenson, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative

• We’ve got to get in proximity with people who we’re trying to help.
• Effective leadership is going to the people. Going to the bad areas. Going to the places nobody else wants to go to.
• Leadership requires that the people we serve feel and know that we are with them.
• Leadership requires that we do not run away from problems regardless of how difficult they are.
• You’re either hopeful, or you’re part of the problem.
• We’ve got to choose to do uncomfortable things.
• Effective leadership isn’t how you treat the rich and powerful, it’s how you treat the poor and needy.
• Your grades aren’t a measure of your capacity to lead, your income isn’t a measure of your capacity to lead.
• As a leader, you’re a representative of the things you care about. Be a good one.

Session #6: Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church

• If we had it to do all over again, what would we do all over again? What really worked?
• If you don’t know why it’s working when it’s working you won’t know how to fix it when it’s broken.
• If you have the only hot dog stand in town, your hot dogs don’t have to be that good.
• Better = It does what it’s supposed to do better than the competition!
• Somebody somewhere is messing with the rules to the prevailing model.
• Our best hope and our responsibility as leaders are to create organizational culture positioned to recognize rather than resist uniquely better.
• The next generation product and idea almost never come from the previous generation.
• Be a student, not a critic.
• Listen to outsiders, listen to outsiders, listen to outsiders. Outsiders aren’t bound by our assumptions.
• Being the leader and leading are two entirely different things.
• Nothing is gained if you don’t know what your young leaders are dreaming about!
• Your greatest contribution you make in the world, may not be something you do, but someone you raise.

Did you attend the Summit? If so, what were your key takeaways? Comment below.

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