My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way

Praise for My Life in Leadership

"Leadership is needed more than ever in these challenging times to create the future that we all want. Thank you so much Frances, for your very special gift of a life dedicated to service and continuous improvement! You inspire us all to be better leaders."
Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company

"Frances Hesselbein is a national treasure, an inspiration, and a shining light. This diminutive woman stands taller in the eyes of those who know her than any other living leader."
Jim Kouzes, award–winning coauthor of the best–selling The Leadership Challenge and The Truth About Leadership

"Frances Hesselbein is extraordinary. So it is no surprise that the story of her life is just as remarkable. A pioneer for women, for diversity, and for leadership that changes lives, Frances is a model for living one′s values. Like Frances herself, this book is a gift."
Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal best seller, The Speed of Trust

"Frances′s words ring with the wisdom of experience. On this journey there could be no better guide!"
Thomas J. Moran, chairman, president, and CEO, Mutual of America

"Frances is an American icon. Deeply influenced by the master of management, Peter F. Drucker, her whole life has been a sacrificial investment in leadership in all its forms."
Bob Buford, chairman, The Drucker Institute, and author, Halftime and Finishing Well

"Frances Hesselbein is one of the most visionary leaders I have met during my military career on or off the battlefield."
General Lloyd J. Austin III, United States Army

Foreword ( Jim Collins).

Introduction: Being Called Forward.

PART ONE: ROOTS.

1 Stories of Family, Lessons of Love.

2 Embrace the Defining Moment.

3 Defining Yourself with the Power of No.

PART TWO: MY LEADERSHIP JOURNEY.

4 My Management Education.

5 New York Calls.

6 Challenging the Gospel.

7 Becoming a Change Agent.

8 Finding Out Who You Are.

9 My Journey with Peter Drucker.

10 The Indispensable Partnership Governance and Management, Board and Staff.

11 Strengthening the Leadership of the Social Sector.

12 Adventures Around the World.

PART THREE: CONCERNS AND CELEBRATIONS.

13 To Serve Is to Live.

14 Seeing and Listening.

15 Leaders of the Future.

16 Conclusion: Shine a Light.

About the Author.

Index.

Frances Hesselbein is the president and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), and editor in chief of the award–winning quarterly journal Leader to Leader as well as coeditor of 27 books translated into 29 languages. Named the "Best Nonprofit Manager in America" by Fortune magazine, she serves on many nonprofit and corporate boards and has won numerous awards and honors including the highest civilian honor in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award recognized her exemplary leadership as CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA from 1976 to 1990, her role as the founding president of the Drucker Foundation, and her service as "a pioneer for women volunteerism, diversity, and opportunity."