Ten years ago a group of leadership scholars and practitioners met in Los Angeles to envision a way to perpetuate the cross fertilization of leadership knowledge and practices. The International Leadership Association (ILA) was born. The association has now grown to 1,700 members strong around the world.

ILA exists to:
*  Strengthen ties between those who study and those who practice leadership
* Serve as a forum where people can share ideas, research and practices about leadership;
* Foster effective and ethical leadership in individuals, groups, organizations, and governments in the global community; and
* Generate and disseminate interdisciplinary research and develop new knowledge and practices.

From Nov. 12-15th, up to 800 leaders met for the 10th ILA Annual Global Conference at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, to consider "Global Leadership: Portraits of the Past, Visions for the Future." ILA 2008 featured 100+ simultaneous sessions on leadership research, programs and trends. I was fortunate to be attend the conference and hang out in the bookstore, between sessions. The leading lights of leadership scholarship were on hand, including James McGregor Burns, Warren Bennis, Jay Conger, Frances Hesselbein, David Cooperrider, Barbara Kellerman, Manfred Kets de Vries, and Mansour Javaian.

Since its inception, ILA has been a key annual event for the faculty I work with at Regent University. The School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship (GLE) conducted multiple sessions and help led member interest groups. As part of the panel that Dr. Corne Bekker hosts, I critically assessed models of Integral Leadership, and weighed their intersection with the evolution of management, leadership, and organizational theory.

Los Angeles is a great city, in its diversity, its entertainment and its connections to the world. I lived there from 1978 to 1992. In these days when the transition of power is happening in the U.S., it is appropriate that we consider the past, present and future of global leadership, from a distinct American and authentic perspective.