Our Approach to Leadership
On Leadership
For an overview of our leadership philosophy, read below. For a more in-depth look at our leadership methodology, click here to visit our Leadership Hub.
We believe leaders are made, not born
At Global Leadership Adventures, we believe that leaders are made and not born, and that leadership is a critical life skill that can be developed. Everyone can be a leader who rallies others around a vision or a goal.
We also think that individuals develop the foundation of their value-systems and their penchant for leadership during their formative adolescent years. This is why we founded an organization to nurture and develop young people. The GLA Experience will prepare participants for a lifetime of principled, ethical leadership.
Good vs. Great Leaders
A good leader is someone who positively affects change. A great leader maintains a global perspective, open-mind and caring outlook while impacting others. Unlike some summer leadership camps for high school students, GLA provides life-changing experiences that will cultivate these characteristics, inspiring students to be great leaders.
We admit that our goals are lofty. GLA is more than a high school, study abroad or volunteer abroad program. “The GLA Experience” is a catalyzing event for future global leaders to change the world.
More than Just Volunteering, Service-Learning
GLA aspires to be much more than just a way to volunteer abroad. Students say it’s a life-changing experience…parents tell us their kids come back transformed.
Our travel programs use a methodology called ‘service-learning’ which combines community service with different kinds of hands-on learning: learning about social and global issues and personal leadership.
In other words, it frames the service work within a larger context – against the backdrop of the local community, the country or the world.
We believe that community service is a way not only to gain a deeper understanding of another state, region or country, but it also allows the student to understand their place in the world and their ability to change it. Our unique program design produces what many students call a life-changing experience, not just a travel program.
leading in a globally connected world
Our Programs Team at GLA has recognized that with ever greater connectivity between people from all corners of the globe and all walks of life, being a leader today can mean much more than leading a small, in-person group or cohort.
Young leaders may be called on to amplify their voices using online platforms and new methods of communications. With these opportunities come both risk and reward.
GLA’s virtual programs, much like their travel program counterparts, are designed to embrace a philosophy that a “one size fits all” approach to leadership learning doesn’t make sense in the current day. Leaders can be quiet introverts, loud and proud extroverts, and just about anywhere in-between.
Programs such as our Global Impact Virtual Internship allow participants to carve their own path toward being the kind of future leader they want to be, with plenty of guidance, feedback and chances to engage with their peers and mentors along the way.
