[rank_math_breadcrumb]

Frances Hesselbein | The Legacy Project - RIP

About

Former founder and CEO of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute, founded as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management and renamed in 2012 to honor Hesselbein’s legacy and ongoing contributions. Frances passed away in 2022.

Hesselbein served as the organization’s founding president and chief executive officer from 1990 to 2000 and most recently served as chair of the board from 2000-2010. She held these positions following a distinguished tenure as CEO of the Girls Scouts of the United States of America from 1976 to 1990. As a “pioneer for women, diversity and inclusion,”

Hesselbein was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. A distinguished author and board member for several nonprofit and corporate boards, she serves as editor-in-chief of the award-winning journal Leader to Leader and is the coeditor of twenty-seven books in twenty-nine languages.

She has written numerous articles and books on effective leadership, including the best seller, The Leader of the Future, Hesselbein on Leadership, and her most recent publication More Hesselbein on Leadership.

Frances Hesselbein | The Legacy Project

Frances Hesselbein Key Talent | Respect for all people.

Principles I Live By | Leaders of the future manage for the mission, manage for diversity, and manage for innovation, or they are part of the past.

Critical Skills I Develop | Listening. It’s called appreciation, it’s called anticipation — and it’s called leadership. Focusing on task (the work we do), not gender. Moving beyond the old assumptions, practices, and language that can be barriers to equal access. One barrier is placing women in a special category of gender – “women leaders.”

The Best Advice I’ve Received | Respect for all people.

Lessons I Have Learnt | This could be anything from very simple small lessons, too much larger bigger lessons.
Always be on time. I grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, where 5:30 means 5:30. The first time I met Peter Drucker, it was because we both showed up on time. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Resources I Use To Stay Inspired | Peter Drucker’s collection of leadership wisdom; the many contemporary books and films on management and leadership sent to me by today’s leadership practitioners; and the Millennial generation — young people ages 18 to 29, the greatest generation since the 1930’s and 40s.

On Inspiring Others | Engage great leaders, thinkers, from all three sectors in all aspects of our organization’s leadership and management challenges and opportunities. Practice “Ask, don’t tell.”

I Am Inspired By | My grandmother. When I was 8 years old, she taught me, “Respect for all people.” She remains my role model to this day. Abraham Lincoln. In a time when our country was torn apart he found the message and the language to bring the country back together. General Lloyd J. Austin III. General Austin, with whom I have worked since 2007 when he invited me to speak to the officers of 18th Airborne. He is now Commander, U.S. Central Command.

His quiet and respectful demeanor, combined with his love and devotion for our country, his deep respect for all people makes him one of the best communicators I have ever met. 9. What Legacy would you like to leave? “To serve is to live,” is my message, my legacy for leaders of the future. Part of that legacy is a passionate respect for all people and a total commitment to sustaining the democracy.

Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and click here to find more Motivational Speakers

Interview Questions

[everest_form id="26923"]

View further interviews.

The Legacy Project

Rachel Goble grew up in an interconnected and multicultural world. Whether traveling to Central America with her family to survey land for the founding of a non-profit or trudging through the Sierra Nevada mountains as her parents sought to awaken Christians to our role as creation’s caretakers, Rachel learned early that the world’s peoples and […]

The Legacy Project

After an executive sales and strategy role for a large information technology company based in Germany, Brian returned to South Africa and founded TowerStone, driven by his desire to inspire others to seek greater meaning in their lives and help them to purposefully live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful, filled with love at […]

The Legacy Project

Dave Foord serves as the Chief Investment Officer and Director of Foord Asset Management (Pty) Limited. Dave Foord founded Foord Asset Management in October 1981 when he was 28-years old together with Liston Meintjies. This month marks the companies 33rd birthday. My Definition Of Success | Success to me means having the independence to be […]

The Legacy Project

Ryan Carson is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Treehouse, a online interactive education platform that teaches students how to make websites or mobile applications. The company is revolutionizing the tech-education space as it continues to grow with over 70 000 active students . The Essence of Tree-house | It’s an online technology school.  So […]

The Legacy Project

Prof Jonathan Jansen is the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State. He is also the Honorary Professor of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand and Visiting Fellow at the National Research Foundation. Jansen also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director for Advtech Limited and is the Chairman at the School […]

The Legacy Project

Exploring the online realm via his areas of interest namely wine and education, Sam Paddock has developed Get Smarter with his brother Rob Paddock. Aiming to improve lives through better education, the brothers lead a dynamic team showing groundbreaking results. As a key note speaker, Sam also educates via his personal blog and here, shares […]

The Legacy Project

Jean de Villiers was named Springbok captain for 2012 before the series victory over England in June, which made him South Africa’s 54th Test skipper. He is one of the most experienced Springboks ever and a natural leader, having led Western Province and the Stormers during his provincial career. De Villiers is deceptively quick, has […]

The Legacy Project

Oscar Monama is a director of Strategy and Marketing for I Am Emerge Pty Ltd which he co-owns. It is a creative agency that creates value for money through creative concepts, derived from observing trends in consumer living and society, while immersing clients brands within consumer’s daily life activities in order to effectively fulfill business […]

Disclaimer
The profiles and images embedded on these pages are from various interviews conducted by The Legacy Project.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME