You know that feeling of dread you get when you’ve planned a big party, and you start to worry that no one is coming? That’s a feeling we get every year when planning our Re:Imagine Leadership Summit. This year was no exception. But, I’m happy to report that we packed the room to a sold out house!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, amazing speakers, honored guests, talented volunteers, and culinary artists, the day included many valuable takeaways. I’ve gathered these from our team members and clients alike to share with you.

1. Danielle Aguas, Director of Marketing for Center for Executive Excellence, kicked off the day with a story about the lessons she’s learned from buying a home with systemic root issues. Her leadership lesson? “Don’t fall into a book-of-the-month club training cycle for your team. Instead, find training that’s going to help you identify root causes. Otherwise, you’ll never truly address the issues that lie below the surface.”

2. From Dr. Tony Baron, our Co-Founder and Scholar-in-Residence, “Leadership is about relationships. Leaders who transcend best practices understand that every human being has the need to love and to be loved. People who are the most disturbed are the ones who are most isolated. Don’t isolate yourself as a leader. Don’t surround yourself with your own kind.” Be together. Not the same.

3. Kevin Kirkland, People Manager for Stone Brewing, shared, “Since we started taking our core values seriously in 2015, we’ve seen a direct impact on our employee engagement survey: 60% favorable in 2015, 75% favorable in 2016, and 86% favorable in 2017.”

4. Cheryl Kilmer, Founder and CEO of TERI, Inc., shared an inspirational message. “Since the age of 17, I’ve dedicated my life to changing the way the world sees the special needs community. If you think about it, who among us can say that we have not experienced one or more aspects of the disorder spectrum – including depression, anxiety, ADD, or a learning disability?” Watch this video to learn more about this groundbreaking nonprofit and its Campus of Life project.

5. From Strengths Coach and Trainer Matthew Veling, “When I want to turn away from corporate greed and a maniacal focus on power, I am reminded by the words of Max Stackhouse who said, ‘Business leaders are increasingly the stewards of civilization.’ It’s our responsibility as business leaders to use our power to make more than profit, but to make a positive impact on the world through the opportunity that comes with power.”

6. Gina Frasca, Director of Safety, Risk and Sustainability at California State University, San Marcos, reported, “When I experienced a major turnover of my team in 2015, we turned to Gallup StrengthsFinder training and coaching to help us learn to appreciate and leverage the strengths of our team members. Last year, the team reported 100% employee satisfaction, and our internal customer satisfaction ranked No. 1 among all six of our university peers.”

7. Michael Coffey, our Senior Executive Consultant, shared the following equation: Strategy X Organizational Development X Learning & Development = Organizational Effectiveness. “You’ll notice,” said Coffey, “that it’s a multiplication equation. That means, if any of the 3 terms are equal to 0, the result of the equation is 0.” How would your organization score?

Thanks to our generous sponsors, passionate attendees, and powerhouse team, the 3rd Annual Re:Imagine Leadership Summit was a success. What’s next? Two things: we’re donating profits from the Summit to TERI’s Campus of Life campaign, and we’re rolling up our sleeves to welcome you next year!

Question: What do you do each year to invest in your growth as a leader?

Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations. To learn more, subscribe to receive CEE News!