Book description
Gold Medal Winner, Memoir and Biography, 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards
Tracing her development as a leader, Frances Hesselbein reveals her
remarkable personal story and the principles that have served and
guided her well throughout her extraordinary life. Written in an
intimate and compelling voice, this book delivers key leadership
lessons applicable to leaders in every walk of life.
My Life in Leadership offers a look at what shaped Frances
Hesselbein personally and as a leader, from her youth in the hills
western Pennsylvania to her professional journey with the Girl Scouts
of the USA where she went from troop leader to transformational CEO,
to how Peter Drucker handpicked her to found and lead the Drucker
Foundation, and how she later transitioned the Foundation to the
Leader to Leader Institute. With excitement and humility, she relives
the key moments that have shaped her life of leadership including the
day she received the country's highest civilian award, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. This remarkable book also includes
stories about her world travels to deliver her message of leadership
and her notable experiences with as well as what she has learned from
some of the most distinguished leaders of our time including Peter
Drucker, John Gardner, Max DePree, Presidents Clinton and Reagan,
General Eric Shinseki, Jim Collins, Warren Bennis and Marshall Goldsmith.
As inspirational as it is practical, My Life in Leadership is
filled with Frances Hesselbein's universal leadership lessons that
will serve any leader, of any age, in any sector.
Frances Hesselbein is the founding president and CEO of the
Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation),
editor-in-chief of the award-winning journal Leader to Leader
as well as co-editor of 26 Leader to Leader translated into 28
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 United
States of America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. The award recognized her exemplary leadership as Chief
Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the U. S.A. from 1976-1990, her
role as the founding President of the Drucker Foundation, and her
service as “a pioneer for women, diversity, and inclusion.”
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 bestselling The Leadership
Challenge and The Truth About Leadership
“Frances' words ring with the wisdom of experience. On this journey
there could be no better guide!"
-Thomas J. Moran, Chairman,
President & CEO, Mutual of America
“Frances is an American Icon. Deeply influenced by the Master of
Management, Peter Drucker, her whole life has been a sacrificial
investment in Leadership in all its forms”
-Bob Buford, Chairman,
The Drucker Institute, 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."
-Lloyd J. Austin III, General, United States Army
“Through her life story you will touch the marrow of a unique
contributor to humanity. This book's appeal will transcend time and
captivate the hearts of leaders around the globe.”
-Margaret
Daniels Tyler, Senior Program Officer, U. S. Programs, Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation
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."
