Human beings have created so much that is wondrous, powerful, and beautiful. Over the centuries we have learned to fly, communicate instantly across huge distances, heal diseases, and see across the universe. Yet vestiges and legacies of tribalism, fear, and hostility remain and repeatedly flare, threatening to engulf us. We exist on the edge of innovation and destruction, the edge of what we dread versus what we dream. The varied global responses to the ongoing pandemic have brought these edges into sharp relief.

Edges of natural systems and societies naturally stimulate growth and inventiveness as their inhabitants navigate their way through the borderlands, something we are seeing now with the #BuildBackBetter movement and others.

We invite you to join us for this live online virtual conference as we explore leadership, the ways that we lead, and what we expect from leaders. As we have seen and experienced in 2020, leadership can seem, at times, like an empty word. Leaders can accumulate power, aggrandize themselves, and make others suffer as they advance their own interests over those of others. Leaders can also inspire people to act individually and collectively in ways that are kind and that nourish one another and our planet. As leaders and as colleagues committed to leadership research, development, education, and practice, we can influence how leaders move us toward (or away from) a healthy planet and a better world.

We invite you to bring your experience and knowledge as we discuss: