Top 9 Leadership Conferences to Attend Before 2017 Ends

Crazy as it seems, the end of the year is quickly approaching! Before you miss the opportunity, check out some of the many leadership conferences coming up. Refuel your leadership learning tank by signing up for these nine events that are sure to help you in your leadership journey.

1. The Greenleaf Servant Leadership Conference 2017
Nov. 2-4
Grapevine, Texas
Around 400 servant leaders will gather at Gaylord Texan Resort this fall for Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership’s 25th annual event. The program will focus on three key questions leaders might ask themselves:

- Where am I on my servant leadership journey?
- How do I know servant leadership makes a difference?
- How do I contribute to a more loving and just society?

Speakers include authors Amy Blankson, Dr. Kent Keith and John Beede, Southwest Airlines’ Cheryl Hughey and more. 

2. Leadercast Women
Oct. 5
Atlanta
This inaugural event will be held live at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, and will also be broadcasted to host sites around the world. The theme is Powered by Purpose and nine female leaders—including Dr. Bernice A. King, vocal coach Mama Jan Smith, former sports agent Molly Fletcher and SoulPancake’s Executive Producer Shabnam Mogharabi—will take the stage to share their inspiring stories and insights that will help both women and men in their journeys to becoming leaders worth following. 

3. The Fast Company Innovation Festival
Oct. 23-27
New York City
Taking place at several locations throughout New York City, this annual, five-day event put on by Fast Company will attract 10,000 attendees to take part in more than 150 content tracks in leadership, creativity, fashion, design and more. The theme is Leading With Optimism and speakers include Jessica Alba, Andy Cohen, Derek Jeter, Bonin Bough and many others.

4. EY Strategic Growth Forum
Nov. 15-18
Palm Springs, Calif.
More than 2,000 CEOs will gather for Ernst & Young’s annual event focused on strategic growth. The invitation-only tickets are available by request, and speakers include actress Viola Davis, The Kraft Group’s Robert K. Kraft, Peyton Manning, Shaquille O’Neal and more.

5. HCI Learning and Leadership Development Conference
Sept. 18-20
Chicago
Human Capital Institute invites human resources professionals, coaching leaders and chief learning officers to attend its 2017 leadership conference taking place at Chicago Marriott Downtown. Attendees will hear from speakers from Harvard Business School, SAP, Google, Equifax, Cigna and the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania on key leadership topics like change management, organizational culture and developing others.

6. Inc. Women’s Summit
Sept. 25
New York City
This one-day event will attract some of the world’s top entrepreneurs to the beautiful and historic Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Speakers include Spanx Founder Sara Blakely, author Angela Benton, BlueMercury CEO Marla Malcolm Beck, Rent the Runway Co-Founder Jenny Fleiss and several others.

7. Forbes Under 30 Summit
Oct. 1-4
Boston
This year’s Forbes Under 30 Summit will bring 7,000 young entrepreneurs and leaders to Boston to hear from nearly 200 speakers. In addition to its six content tracks, the summit will also include a music festival, a food festival and a bar crawl through Fenway Park.

8. World Business Forum
Nov. 16-17
New York City
Held at Lincoln Center in New York City, this annual summit will bring more than 2,000 business leaders from 500-plus companies across the globe. This year’s theme is Humanification, which puts focus on the people that make up businesses and helping them reach their potential. Speakers include Michael Phelps, Harvard’s Michael Porter, and authors Anthony Bourdain and Rachel Botsman, to name a few.

9. Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit
Nov. 13-14
Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Aiming to build a community of the next generation of women, this annual conference will give rising executives, entrepreneurs and leaders in business, government, education, philanthropy and the arts an opportunity to learn from one another. Speakers have yet to be announced, but last year’s lineup included executives from top companies like Apple, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Nike, Target, Twitter and Wal-Mart.