Leadership with Heart

At Global Leadership Adventures, developing today's and tomorrow's leaders is so key to the mission of our service-learning programs that it's a third of our name!

But what is leadership, and why is it so important to infuse it with heart? Heart is where everything comes together—our will, values, intuition and vision for a better, more equitable world. It's the source of our integrity and purpose, and it requires courage and vulnerability to lead from the heart. It's what energizes us, carries us through adversity, and drives us to win. Your head might tell you that the world is too big a place to change, but your heart will keep you going as you take on one small project at a time.

We asked some of GLA's most effective leaders around the world—partners and directors who have listened to communities unheard, tackled injustices and inspired our students year after year to do the same—and asked that they share some of their advice for being a leader with heart.

For the next seven days leading up to Valentine's Day, we'll be highlighting more tips for and examples of leadership with heart that we've uncovered over our years of traveling, getting to know local leaders and communities and cultivating leadership in our students. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date!

Have you seen great examples of leading with the heart while traveling with GLA? If you're an alumni of any of our programs and have a story to share or leader to shout-out, post it to social media with the hashtags #leadwithyourheart and #myGLA, or send your story to marketing@experiencegla.com.

Happy Valentine's Week! Let's let love inspire our leadership all year.