Welcome to GILD 2013

It’s 90 degrees outside in Palm Desert where the 2013 Global Institute for Leadership Development^™ kicked off yesterday with the opening keynote. Linkage founder and CEO Phil Harkins’s inspiring talk warmed up the room inside as he reminded us that, while we are all asked to be leaders for different reasons, the answer to the question “Why lead?” is the same for everyone. As his long-time mentor had noted: “You don’t lead because of you; you lead because of the team.” But, he noted that GILD is, in fact, all about you. He reminded us that this is not a conference, but an Institute, which means that it’s a place to go deep. We will continue to bring you highlights of the Institute throughout the week, sharing insights from the incredible roster of faculty members.

For everyone here at GILD, we hope you take full advantage of the learning team meetings and coaching–and have fun in the process.

GILD veterans: do you have any words of wisdom to help participants get the most from this experience? Please share them in the comments below.