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

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

by Frances Hesselbein, Jim Collins
Released February 2011
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780470905739

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Book description

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 forMy 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

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Foreword
  3. INTRODUCTION: BEING CALLED FORWARD
    1. The Beginning of My Journey
    2. Learn by Doing
  4. I. ROOTS
    1. 1. STORIES OF FAMILY, LESSONS OF LOVE
      1. 1.1. Lessons of Love and Family
      2. 1.2. My Father
      3. 1.3. My Husband
    2. 2. EMBRACE THE DEFINING MOMENT
      1. 2.1. Take Care of Others
      2. 2.2. Respect for All
      3. 2.3. Fighting Discrimination
      4. 2.4. A Part of My Life and Work
      5. 2.5. Preaching Won't Do the Job
    3. 3. DEFINING YOURSELF WITH THE POWER OF NO
      1. 3.1. The Power of No
      2. 3.2. The White House Is Calling
      3. 3.3. The Power of No for Organizations
  5. II. MY LEADERSHIP JOURNEY
    1. 4. MY MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
      1. 4.1. The Girls and the Team Approach
      2. 4.2. Carry a Big Basket
      3. 4.3. The Door That Opened Over Lunch
      4. 4.4. What It Means to Belong
      5. 4.5. What It Means to Belong
    2. 5. NEW YORK CALLS
      1. 5.1. Choose Your Battles
      2. 5.2. Inclusion
      3. 5.3. Releasing the Human Spirit
    3. 6. CHALLENGING THE GOSPEL
      1. 6.1. Circular Management
      2. 6.2. Transforming a Large and Complex Organization
      3. 6.3. Managing the Transformation
    4. 7. BECOMING A CHANGE AGENT
      1. 7.1. Life-Size Learning
      2. 7.2. Get Feedback
      3. 7.3. Respect Feelings
      4. 7.4. Timing Is Everything
        1. 4.1.1. Lessons Learned
    5. 8. FINDING OUT WHO YOU ARE
      1. 8.1. Staying Cool
      2. 8.2. Prepare for the Unknown
    6. 9. MY JOURNEY WITH PETER DRUCKER
      1. 9.1. Keeping the Faith
      2. 9.2. Redefining the Social Sector
      3. 9.3. Peter's Qualities
      4. 9.4. Peter Drucker's Interview with Frances Hesselbein at the Girl Scout Edith Macy Conference Center, September 1988
    7. 10. THE INDISPENSABLE PARTNERSHIP—GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT, BOARD AND STAFF
      1. 10.1. The Power of Partnership
      2. 10.2. The Philosophy of No Surprises
      3. 10.3. Critical Questions
      4. 10.4. Planning, Policy, and Review
      5. 10.5. Exemplary Board–CEO Partnerships
    8. 11. STRENGTHENING THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SOCIAL SECTOR
      1. 11.1. Establishing the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management
      2. 11.2. A Magnet for Talent
      3. 11.3. Challenges and Accomplishments
    9. 12. ADVENTURES AROUND THE WORLD
      1. 12.1. Love, Faith, and Peace to Us All
      2. 12.2. The Ocean of the Future
      3. 12.3. Seeing Yourself in Perspective
  6. III. CONCERNS AND CELEBRATIONS
    1. 13. TO SERVE IS TO LIVE
      1. 13.1. Pillars of Democracy
        1. 13.1.1. Our Schools
        2. 13.1.2. The U.S. Army
      2. 13.2. How Do We Begin?
      3. 13.3. Rock Climbers
    2. 14. SEEING AND LISTENING
      1. 14.1. The Art of Listening
        1. 14.1.1. Being Heard
        2. 14.1.2. Whispers of Our Lives
      2. 14.2. Seeing Things Whole
        1. 14.2.1. From Hierarchy to Wholeness
        2. 14.2.2. Seeing Life Whole
      3. 14.3. The Big Picture
    3. 15. LEADERS OF THE FUTURE
      1. 15.1. The Crucible Generation
      2. 15.2. Express Yourself
      3. 15.3. Mentoring
      4. 15.4. Faces in the Crowd
      5. 15.5. Light a Fire
    4. 16. CONCLUSION: SHINE A LIGHT
      1. 16.1. Jim Collins Interviews Frances Hesselbein at the Living Leadership Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, October 20, 2004
  7. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Product information

  • Title: My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way
  • Author(s): Frances Hesselbein, Jim Collins
  • Release date: February 2011
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780470905739