What is your purpose? Insights from Linkage GILD^®

Why do you get up in the morning?

What a great question.

And, what does purpose have to do with leadership anyway? These and many other great questions are swirling around in my head as I try to capture what was an energizing and inspirational first day of our Global Institute for Leadership Development^® (GILD^®).

Phil Harkins, Chairman and Founder of Linkage and the architect of GILD, opened our session by asking “Why? Why are you here?” He urged us to explore our stories and to be open, vulnerable and lean in to the intensive experience ahead. He encouraged us to challenge one another through conversations in our learning teams, with our coaches and with those whom we connect with throughout the week.

He offered sage advice: Be vulnerable and take risks. We grow as leaders when we face and own our strengths and weaknesses. Be thankful for feedback. Colleagues and peers invest time and energy in our growth. Learn from this and take the opportunity to grow from it.

Author and researcher Richard Leider brought a powerful discussion about purpose to the room. With humor and levity, he dispelled some of the ambiguity about purpose and discussed what purpose is and what it isn’t, whether purpose finds you or you find your purpose, and why purpose is universal.

Conductor Roger Nierenberg leveraged his experience as a veteran leader of orchestras to apply his unconventional approach, The Music Paradigm, to illuminate opportunities and challenges faced by organizations experiencing rapid change. By sitting within an orchestra, and experiencing its own dynamics, we were able to observe and identify patterns and themes relevant to our roles as leaders.

Each day, I will share the ideas and insights that inspired our team. I invite you to join me and think about your own path of self-discovery as the events of the week unfold. Join the conversation and let us know what is resonating with you at #LinkageGILD.