Global Leadership Summit a chance to improve yourself, your community

Every year, without fail, I’m struck by something I learn at the Global Leadership Summit.

It might come from a leadership expert like John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni or Marcus Buckingham, the StrengthsFinder expert speaking this year.

It could come from a businessperson like former Ford executive Alan Mulally, a military leader like Colin Powell, a philanthropist like Melinda Gates or a faith leader like Bill Hybels, the pastor whose Chicago-based Willow Creek Association hosts the summit.

Maybe it will be from someone who doesn’t normally cross my path, like Gary Haugen, CEO of the International Rescue Mission, which helps victims of violence, slavery and oppression around the world.

This year, Haugen will be among more than a dozen speakers at the Global Leadership Summit, simulcast to 600 sites nationwide – including Century II in Wichita – on Aug. 10 and 11.

He will be joined by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg; senior Google adviser Laszlo Bock; comedian Michael Jr.; a character development specialist; a criminal justice advocate; a Nigerian pastor; and others working in the fields of business, faith, advocacy and leadership.

The diversity of talent has always attracted me to the summit. There’s another reason, though, that I find the summit beneficial and rejuvenating: It brings together people in our community seeking to improve both themselves and the world around them.

As president of Friends University, I face many leadership challenges. Some of them may sound familiar, whether you work in business, education, medicine or elsewhere: managing change. Focusing on the customer. Shifting your institutional culture. The list goes on.

Leadership and managing change are, as Hybels says, about going “from here to there” and moving a group of people alongside you in carrying out a vision.

That description and the summit itself apply to personal as well as professional growth. The lessons you learn make you more effective in your family, church, volunteer organization, city or town.

Many in Wichita have observed, as Hybels did during a recent visit, that there’s been a shift in energy in this community – that something good is going on. Maintaining that momentum requires leadership, and building the bench strength of leadership requires efforts like the Global Leadership Summit.

Last year, the summit site in Wichita moved to Century II and attendance nearly doubled to 1,329. This year, we are on track to grow significantly again.

Friends University will send about 60 staff members and six to eight students to the summit. We’re making the commitment of time and people so we can gain the tools to confront the challenges facing us each day in higher education. We’re working to change our culture and to add value for our students – our customers.

When I went to my first summit two decades ago, I used vacation time and paid my own way because I knew I needed to grow as a leader. That belief has only intensified in the years since.

I don’t know what will hit home on Aug. 10 and 11, but I know something will. I will walk away thinking, “This is it. This is what I need to be working on.”

And without a doubt, I will come home recharged.

To register for the summit or to learn more, visit www.leadwichita.org.

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Global Leadership Summit a chance to improve yourself, your community."