---
title: "GLS 2020 moments of inspiration · Sunergos"
description: "The GLS Estonia leadership conference takes place in less than two weeks, on 13–14 November. I had the chance to see this year’s GLS speakers back in August, when GLS was held in Chicago. Here are a few who personally…"
url: https://www.sunergos.ee/en/blog/gls-2020-moments-of-inspiration/
language: en
---

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Article · Inspiration

# GLS 2020 moments of inspiration

Haide Antson

Founder, partner · 3 November 2020 · 3 min read

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The GLS Estonia leadership conference takes place in less than two weeks, on 13–14 November. I had the chance to see this year’s GLS speakers back in August, when GLS was held in Chicago. Here are a few who personally spoke to me most.

**Michael Todd**, a very versatile and colourful speaker, was without doubt one of my biggest favourites at this conference.

Michael speaks in an extremely moving and inspiring way about the rhythm and pace of living and leading. His very concrete recommendations are interwoven with his own personal story and experience. On stage, with an impressive drum performance, he also makes it clear how important rhythm and harmony are for something beautiful to come out of it.

He talks about an inner sense of success, joy and wellbeing, and that all of this is possible once we have found our right rhythm, which brings the inner peace we need. He helps the listener recognise the signs that the rhythm is too fast and shares concrete tips for finding your own right rhythm. The clear message that stays with you: _slow down!_

**Vanessa van Edwards** studies human behaviour and talks about what makes people trust and respect leaders. She speaks passionately, with many practical examples, about the impact of words and of the conscious use of hands and tone of voice. She paints a vivid picture of the very powerful effect of words.

Drawing on research, she points out that good leaders are both competent and warm and caring. For example, they focus more on what is going well and what works, and their language is mostly positive, conveying warmth and inspiring enthusiasm. In addition, what they say conveys a clear sense of purpose every day.

Vanessa points out that good leaders build trust by using their hands more, as hands are among the strongest conveyors of trust. She also shares concrete tips on how to use your voice to consciously increase your positive impact on people.

What also really resonated with me was that, to inspire others, a leader must first assume the best of people, and then it can also show in the words they use.

**Marcus Buckingham**, as a researcher, is once again sharing his fresh research results and discoveries. This time he talks about how to build emotional _resilience_ both in yourself and in your teams. As befits a researcher, he breaks the topic down into sub-criteria that help predict resilience at work. He also shares a structured questionnaire that lets anyone explore the topic more closely for themselves. The topic is so fresh that it hasn’t even made it between the covers of a book yet.

At the end of his fairly complex talk, he also gives a couple of simple recommendations. For example, he suggests filling at least 20% of your week with activities you truly love and that bring you joy.

**I would also like to highlight two more distinctive speakers:**

**Lysa TerKeurst**, who, through a personal and moving story, brings up the topic of forgiveness, which may at first even seem unexpected in the context of a leadership conference. I am grateful to her for opening up this important topic alone. Through her own painful story, she talks about forgiveness as a decision and a process.

The interview with **Kaká**, the Brazilian football legend, is gripping and conveys deep values. For me it was interesting to see his decisiveness when dealing with the media. He has made very conscious choices about the topics that matter to him, which he has boldly fought for, and has, among other things, been ready to be criticised. He also talks captivatingly about his experiences with different coaches and with leadership styles based on both love and fear. There is no doubt about where his heart lies.

**You can find more information about the conference on the [GLS Estonia website](https://gls.ee/).**

![Haide Antson](https://www.sunergos.ee/images/team/haide-antson.jpg)

About the author

Haide Antson

A development partner and trainer who has supported the growth of organisations, teams and leaders for over 20 years. In recent years her focus has been mental health: stress management, emotional resilience and burnout prevention.

[Write to the author](mailto:haide@sunergos.ee?subject=GLS%202020%20moments%20of%20inspiration)

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