Conference Focuses on Moral Leadership

Abraham Lincoln. Peter Drucker. Bill Gates. These iconic leaders continue to make a profound and pivotal impact on American thought and culture.

“Lead Where You Stand: Lessons for Leaders from Lincoln, Drucker and Bill Gates,” a three-day conference at Westmont College, will offer key insights into an enduring challenge: How do we develop the capacity to respond in timely, principled ways to the multifaceted challenges of effective leadership?

Ronald White, Douglas McKenna and Gayle Beebe—a Lincoln scholar, a corporate management executive, and a college president—will lead the sessions scheduled for May 27-29.

Bestselling author Ronald C. White will share insights into Abraham Lincoln, who rose above his circumstances, put principles ahead of his own situation, and led the nation through the Civil War. White will explain what leaders today can learn from Lincoln and how they can apply these lessons to their own organizations. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy at Princeton.

Douglas McKenna, CEO and executive director of the Center for Organizational Leadership, will discuss the C4 Leadership Framework he developed during 16 years leading executive development at Microsoft. The framework focuses on the interacting dynamics of four key principles: composure, conviction, connection and courage. He will teach practical skills for developing these qualities and offer participants a fresh approach to tackling their toughest challenges. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Minnesota.

Gayle D. Beebe, president of Westmont and author of “The Shaping of an Effective Leader,” will speak about the leadership lessons he learned during his MBA program with Peter Drucker and the ways Drucker has influenced his 15 years as a college president. “We’re providing an opportunity for leaders to step outside their daily routines and away from the rapid pace of life to do some serious work and reflection on their leadership,” he says. “Far too often we allow the constant grind of our leadership to erode the practices and disciplines that refresh and nourish us in fulfilling our responsibilities.” Beebe earned his Doctor of Philosophy and MBA at Claremont Graduate University.

Interviews with a group of five leaders from several spheres of society complement the core sessions. Each one will share personal experiences with the way moral and ethical challenges played a critical role in executing effective leadership: Robert Emmons, former CEO of Smart and Final; Kathy Ireland, founder of Kathy Ireland Worldwide with annual sales in excess of $2 billion; John Ortberg, award-winning author and senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California; Jack Sinclair, recently retired after leading Walmart’s Grocery Division with more than 4,000 U.S. grocery stores and 100,000 employees; and Peter Thorrington, current Westmont board chair and past COO of UTi, the global logistics company.

The conference costs $249 per person ($199 per person for groups of three or more), which includes all conference materials, meals and a luncheon with Ronald C. White on May 29. Westmont offers two all-inclusive packages that include all conference materials, meals, the luncheon with Ronald C. White May 29, and lodging at Westmont for two nights. The cost is $449 for a standard room and $549 for a deluxe room. Attending only the luncheon with Ronald C. White on May 29, “The Moral and Ethical Leadership of Abraham Lincoln,” costs $100 per person.

For more information about the conference and to register, see www.westmont.edu/lead.