All Things Work

WHERE HIGH PERFORMERS BECOME HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEADERS

SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute

November 16-18, 2026 | Nashville, TN

Register Your Team
Leadership Development with Immediate Impact

Leadership Development with Immediate Impact

Organizations are facing growing leadership challenges, including uneven effectiveness and capability gaps that slow execution and weaken results.

Leaders are expected to operate with greater clarity, make critical decisions under pressure, and deliver outcomes that matter. That requires a different level of capability.

The SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute helps organizations meet this moment by equipping leaders with the capabilities needed to inspire teams, drive accountability, and deliver measurable results.

Through three days of immersive development, your business leaders and people managers will translate leadership frameworks into strategic impact. Teams who come and learn together return to the office upskilled, aligned, and ready to operate at the level modern organizations demand.

What Organizations Gain at The Institute

For nearly three decades, CHROs and talent leaders have relied on the SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute to accelerate the readiness of the leaders their organizations will depend on next.

Stronger Performance

82% of attendees say they and their teams are outperforming company averages.

Leadership capability directly influences business results, from productivity and retention to performance consistency. Teams that attend together are better positioned to connect what they learn to real organizational priorities and drive measurable impact.

Stronger Performance

Increased Engagement

75% of attendees say they are more engaged with their work.

When leaders have the tools needed to create environments where people can perform at their best, engagement follows. Attending The Institute guarantees alignment around the behaviors that build trust, clarity, and motivation across teams.

Increased Engagement

Stronger Leadership Pipelines

67% of attendees say they are more likely to stay with their company.

Organizations need leaders who are ready to step forward. The Institute develops high-potential talent from within, pairing loyalty and retention with the skills and insights required to lead at the next level. Sending multiple leaders ensures longevity for your leadership bench.

Stronger Leadership Pipelines

Continued Development Impact

89% of attendees say they take more time to define their strengths and talents as a leader.

When leaders participate together, the learning experience is multiplied long after The Institute. Teams reinforce concepts, apply insights collectively, and support one another in building capability, all culminating in scalable success.

Continued Development Impact
Register Your Team
"The Institute experience was exactly what we needed to bring into our organization to benefit our leaders and their sponsors."
Felisa A. Stockwell
Vice President, Global People & Culture, Dawn Foods

The Institute Difference: Data-Driven Development

Do you ever wonder about the ROI on conference attendance? Leaders attend, listen, network, and hopefully leave with a new idea or contact. It's nice, but it's not moving the needle. That's why the Linkage Leadership Institute is designed to deliver measurable results around critical core competencies. Participants engage through one of two leadership development models informed by SHRM Linkage's proprietary research and leadership data:
PURPOSEFUL LEADERSHIP

Purposeful Leadership

Equips leaders of all levels to align values, behaviors, and decisions in ways that strengthen culture and performance. This learning experience focuses on:

Driving team accountability and engagement

Practicing intentional, inclusive behaviors

Strengthening execution and outcomes

ADVANCING WOMEN LEADERS

Advancing Women Leaders

Empowers mid-to-senior level women leaders by building the clarity and confidence essential to ascend in leadership. This learning experience focuses on:

Increasing influence and awareness

Accelerating promotion readiness

Expanding leadership pipelines

Leaders arrive with personalized insights from a 360° leadership assessment, providing a clear view of how their leadership behaviors are experienced by colleagues and teams. Those insights serve as the foundation for deeper leadership exploration throughout the Institute — allowing leaders to examine how they lead today and develop the capability required to perform at the next level.

What You Will Experience

Leaders step into a demanding environment of high-caliber faculty dialogue, immersive leadership application, and rigorous peer exchange where the real pressures of enterprise leadership are explored.

Glean Insights

Align Expectations

Beginning with your chosen assessment and continuing with a custom team orientation, your leaders will be prepared for a data-driven development experience before arriving onsite.

Shift Mindsets

Shift Mindsets

Keynote sessions from business executives and thought leaders deliver fresh perspectives. Prior speakers have included Morgan Stanley's Carla Harris and Peloton's Ally Love.

Build Skills

Build Skills

Targeted breakouts are designed to explore and build specific competencies. Sessions are labeled and tailored to your assessment.

Reflect & Plan

Reflect & Plan

Learning teams are where the transformation happens. Create your action plan in an expert-led discussion group alongside like-minded peer leaders.

The SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute — Where Linkage Makes Leaders

Are you ready to align, equip, and empower your high-performing leaders? Register today and invest in the leaders who will shape your organization's future. Teams of 5+ receive scalable group pricing and benefits.

Register Your Team
Expand Performance Through Partnership

Expand Performance Through Partnership

Amplify the impact of your investment with tailored preparation, deeper engagement, exclusive access to insights and thought leaders, and a seat on the SHRM Linkage client advisory board. Linkage Leadership Institute Partners earn a seat at the table with organizations who are leading the way in leadership development.

Explore Partnership Options

FAQs

The SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute is the premier leadership development experience equipping high-performing leaders with the capabilities needed to inspire teams, drive accountability, and deliver measurable results.

Participants are guided by insights from a 360° leadership assessment and learning is backed by Linkage's experience developing more than 100,000 leaders. Those insights serve as the foundation for deeper leadership exploration throughout the experience.

Leaders may choose which leadership model and learning track to engage in based on personal and professional goals:

  • Purposeful Leadership focuses on aligning teams, inspiring action, and strengthening performance by exploring the commitments of inclusive, intentional leaders.
  • Advancing Women Leaders emphasizes increasing influence, building confidence, and elevating leadership readiness by equipping leaders with skills to address unique realities.

With 360° assessment insights in-hand, leaders step into an immersive learning environment with high-caliber faculty dialogue, immersive leadership application, and rigorous peer exchange where the real pressures of enterprise leadership are explored.

The Institute offers two flexible formats: in-person in Nashville, TN, or 100% virtual. Regardless of how you choose to engage, expect to gain actionable strategies that will advance leadership capability through data-driven development, engaging keynotes, and more. Customize the experience with options designed to fit your needs and goals:

  • All-Access (In-Person): The classic three-day immersive experience. Step away from the office and dedicate meaningful time to advancing your leadership potential. This is ideal for leaders seeking the most comprehensive and high-impact development journey.
  • Virtual: Experience the main stage keynotes from anywhere, plus engage in two breakout sessions tailored to virtual participants. A strong option for those who are unable to travel.

If you have questions or need help deciding which experience is best for you and your team, please contact us at linkage-customerservice@shrm.org.

Unlike a conference, the content of The Institute is designed to build on the assessment, leadership model, and associated leadership competencies throughout the experience. Your participation in in-the-moment sessions is critically important to maximizing development impact.

We highly recommend participating live, even if joining virtually. This is especially true for the virtual breakout sessions. However, you will be given extended access to the recorded content, which includes keynotes, some breakout sessions, and other special sessions, for 90 days after the start of the event.

The SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute 2026 will be hosted and broadcast in Central Time.

To send a cohort of attendees and maximize leadership development impact in your organization, please fill out this form. A SHRM Linkage expert will be in touch to discuss program details and options for customizing The Institute experience for your leaders.

All Things Work (ATW) 2026 is a coordinated environment designed to deliver role-specific development experiences that advance:

  • Leadership development and bench strength through the SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute
  • Inclusion strategy and culture performance through SHRM BLUEPRINT for I&D
  • HR technical mastery and risk competence through the SHRM Skills Accelerator

The SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute is one component of ATW 2026. While the ATW experience is structured to build holistic capabilities for organizations, the three distinct events are ticketed individually.

Organizations sending five or more attendees can access enterprise pricing and planning support. Speak to a representative to curate your team's experience at ATW.

Partnering with the SHRM Linkage Leadership Institute offers organizations an expanded experience with intentional preparation, tailored engagement, and additional guidance from SHRM Linkage experts before, during, and after the event. Partnership benefits include:

  • Passes* to The Institute for a cohort of leaders in your organization, either in-person or virtual
  • Personalized preparation session to set goals for your team
  • Custom orientation webinar for your organization's leaders
  • Advanced, aggregate insights from your leaders' 360-degree assessments
  • Private Q&A session with a keynote speaker
  • Premium onsite branding
  • 1-2 seats* on the SHRM Linkage client advisory board, an exclusive opportunity to engage with peer companies committed to leadership best practices

Registering your team for The Institute unlocks the experience, but partnership amplifies the potential. Click here to learn more about partnership tier options.

*Number of passes/seats included dependent on partnership tier.

Tell Me
More

Get the latest news and updates on Linkage Leadership Institute, inquire about group rates, or get information on how to become a speaker, exhibitor, or sponsor!

Learn More
By submitting this form, you are agreeing to receive communications from SHRM about this product and other related products and services. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking 'Unsubscribe' at the bottom of any email you receive. By submitting this form you are acknowledging that you have read and agree to the SHRM Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.