Leading With Love: Erin Clark Inspires Students at First Dare Mighty Things — Together! Summit

At the first-ever Dare Mighty Things — Together! Summit on Friday, more than 400 students gathered to hear Erin Clark, co-author of Leading Through, challenge traditional notions of leadership and invite the audience to embrace a more human-centered, collective approach.

Reflecting on a recent summit on reinvention, Clark emphasized that every era of transformation begins with a “moment of truth,” a choice between remaining in darkness and chaos or stepping into new possibilities. Her book, co-authored with her father and brother, seeks to “reinvent leadership” not by creating something entirely new, but by rediscovering and reclaiming what has been lost: the truth that effective leadership is rooted in human connection.

Clark contrasted the prevailing paradigm of “power over,” where leadership is tied to hierarchy, position and control, with the framework of "leading through." This model recognizes that leadership is not confined to titles or authority; instead, it emerges when people unleash power with and through one another. At its core, she explained, leadership is deeply personal.

“When humans are involved, it is always personal,” Clark said, challenging the familiar adage that business is somehow separate from humanity.

The framework of Leading Through incorporates metaphors of soul, heart and mind to restore humanity to organizations and leadership. Clark also described four essential elements of human thriving — love, inspiration, vitality and connection  — arguing that leaders must create environments where these can flourish for others in order to experience them themselves.

Her central invitation was disarmingly simple yet profound: to ask in every interaction, “Do they know that I care?” By holding ourselves accountable to that question, she said, we begin the real work of leadership.

“The only way through is to lead with love,” Clark said, underscoring that daring mighty things is not an individual pursuit but something we must do together.

Following Clark’s keynote, Kristyn Allred, associate dean for student affairs at The Huntsman School of Business, led a dynamic panel discussion with student leaders. The conversation extended Clark’s message into practical examples of how students are already stepping into leadership roles on campus and how they can continue to “dare mighty things together” in their own spheres of influence.