Leading Today

Recently, in the pages of the New York Times, there have been full page advertisements promoting DIVERSITY: in K-12 education, Higher Education, and in Job opportunities.

"We believe that success begins with a staff as diverse as America itself. By tapping richly varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, we become ideally positioned to cover and speak to a global citizenry. Nurturing such a multiplicity of voices keeps us at the forefront of innovation and influence, maximizing our opportunities for growth."

Our goal at the Hesselbein Institute is to connect the public, private and social sectors with curated resources and relationships to serve, evolve and lead together—to provide tools which enable diversity and inclusion. Here are a few tips this October:

This is an exciting month for our Institute in tapping richly varied backgrounds, experience and perspectives with 2 important events: October 16 Annual Leader of the Future Award Dinner – honoring a diverse set of prestigious leaders at all levels, in every sector. October 18 Free Online Global Webinar – a gathering of global leaders from more than 20 countries and 40 states. We hope you will join us.

Frances Hesselbein
President and CEO
The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute

With more than 30 innovators and leaders—including former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell; fifteen year old scientist Jack Andraka; one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, Barbara Van Dahlen; and our own Frances Hesselbein—@TEDxMidAtlantic 2012 is the largest gathering of its kind to date. Learn More/Attend

If there is one attribute you want to work hard on developing it is this: CONFIDENCE READ MORE

Executives, HR directors and leadership coaches discover a comprehensive training on developing emotionally intelligent management skills.

PROFILE IN INNOVATION: I Am That Girl

Each month, we profile innovative sources—a person, organization, service or program—to inspire and inform our network.

"We have a lot of conversations about things that don't matter—what if once a week, we talked about things that did? Would you want to be a part of that?"

This was a question posed by Alexis Jones to her college sorority sisters, after reflecting on a role she had in “The Vagina Monologues," by Eve Ensler. "I was so angry and humbled that there were atrocities happening to women around the world that I knew nothing about and I realized I could spend a lifetime fighting to change it," says Jones.

Six girls immediately agreed, and in less than two months, Jones was hosting conversations "that mattered" with nearly 400 people. Recognizing the necessity to develop a larger platform that gave girls a voice, Jones and Emily Greener co-founded I Am That Girl (IATG), a global, on- and off-line community that integrates a message of empowerment and provides inspiring media that ignite conversations that matter.

RECOMMENDED READING: Fall Leadership Library Selections

Admired | 21 Ways to Double Your Value by Mark C. Thompson and Bonita S. Thompson

Imagine how it would feel to be fully valued for what you do best. Executive coaches and venture capitalists Mark and Bonita Thompson have found that your levels of engagement and enjoyment are directly related to whether or not you feel your goals are meaningful—in other words, research reveals that people are happiest and most motivated when the admiration they seek is for something that matters.

Both Mark and Bonita discovered their mission in life—to help people and their organizations realize their greatest potential value—at a young age. To discover what makes people valuable, respected, and admired, they conducted surveys and engaged with hundreds of the world’s most successful people face-to-face from Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs to the Dalai Lama. READ MORE ON BLOG

Your Best Just Got Better by Jason Womack

Do you have a colleague who is a spreadsheet genius? Or a tech wizard? Sit down and watch them work.

What time do you normally show up for a scheduled meeting? Learn the most efficient and appropriate time to arrive.

Give yourself the gift of your own attention.

Productivity expert, executive coach, and author Jason Womack invests his time, energy and focus assisting others with their productivity and business performance. His new book, Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More allows readers to recognize their own habits and routines – a significant aspect which leads to personal productivity and goal achievement.

Throughout the book—which links the inner workings of the psyche to our physical actions throughout the day—Womack provides a blueprint for setting goals, being consistent and taking action. READ MORE ON BLOG

"Everyone I've ever met who does interesting, creative work went through a period of years of making work they knew wasn't their best, it didn't have that special thing that we wanted it to have. The most important possible advice I can say to you if you're at that phase, or just entering that phase, is that it's normal."