One of the greatest privileges of my life has been to work for eleven years with Frances Hesselbein as managing editor of Leader to Leader, the journal Frances founded in 1996 and was the longtime editor-in-chief until her death at 107 last December 11.
Her legacy will live on through Leader to Leader, the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum, her considerable body of work, her collaborations with Peter Drucker, and in the many thousands of hearts and minds of people she reached over so many years.
One important thing she had in common with Drucker was that people intensely wanted to be in her presence and learn whatever they could. As I wrote in a January 17, 2011 blog post about her about-to-be published book My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way: “As with Peter, she has been a longtime, worldwide agent of inspiration and transformation. The two also represent something else: contributing mightily to the world long beyond traditional retirement age. My Life in Leadership is a great vehicle for sharing in her learning, lessons and experience.”
I’ve curated 37 resources below to provide the most complete range possible on Frances’ life and work, written before and after her death.
Archives & Manuscripts @ Pitt: Frances Hesselbein
ATD: In Memoriam: Frances Hesselbein
Box of Crayons/Michael Bungay Stanier: To Serve is to Live, with Frances Hesselbein
The Center for Leadership Studies: Three Lessons From Frances Hesselbein
Jim Collins: Hesselbein on Leadership
Corporate Learning Network/Elizabeth Edersheim: The Woman Drucker Said Was the Best CEO in America
Jim Dittmar: “All Work is Love Made Visible”
Drucker Archives/The Claremont Colleges: Interview with Frances Hesselbein
David Epstein: Happy 106th Bday to the Greatest CEO You’ve Never Heard Of
Facing the Wind with Shannon Huffman Polson: A mission, a purpose, a life: Hesselbein, Drucker and The Grit Institute
Forbes/Kathy Caprino: Celebrated Leader Frances Hesselbein On What Great Leadership Is And Is Not
Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum/University of Pittsburgh: In Memory of Frances Hesselbein
Girl Scout History Project: Frances Hesselbein, Girl Scout Legend
GirlScouts.org: In Memoriam: Frances Hesselbein, Former Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA
Global Dialogue Center: Leadership by Example Tribute to Frances Hesselbein
Marshall Goldsmith: What is Your Leadership Battle Cry?
Harvard Business School Working Knowledge/James Heskett: How Would the Leadership Style of Girl Scouts’ Frances Hesselbein Fare Today?
Sally Helgesen: Frances Hesselbein, 1915-2022: An Homage to my Hero
Frances Hesselbein: My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way
Indiana University Tobias Leadership Center: Frances Hesselbein Oral History Interviews
The International Journal of Servant Leadership/Mary McFarland: The Spirit Within: An Interview with Frances Hesselbein
Investor’s Business Daily: Quiet Revolutionary Frances Hesselbein Makes Leadership Her Mission
Leader to Leader: To Serve Is to Live: Celebrating the Life and Leadership of Frances Hesselbein, 1915-2022
Lehigh Valley News: Remembering Frances Hesselbein: Girl Scout leader, pioneer
Rita McGrath: Remembering Frances Hesselbein
NBC TODAY: Frances Hesselbein, revolutionary Girl Scouts leader, dies at 107
The New York Times: Frances Hesselbein, Progressive Leader of the Girl Scouts, Dies at 107
Psychology Today/Ronald E. Riggio: Remembering America’s Best CEO
Bruce Rosenstein: Frances Hesselbein on Peter Drucker’s Five Most Important Questions
Joshua Spodek: RIP, Frances Hesselbein, one of my great inspirations
Michael Lee Stallard: Frances Hesselbein: A Leader of Leaders, Who Cared For People First
Guy St. Clair: Frances Hesselbein: A Friend of the Heart, Forever
The Tribune-Democrat: ‘Johnstown prepared me’: Girl Scouts champion Hesselbein remembered as strong leader, dedicated community member
University of Pittsburgh Johnstown: Celebrating the Life of Frances Hesselbein
The Wall Street Journal: Frances Hesselbein, Nonprofit Leader Who Won Peter Drucker’s Admiration, Has Died at 107
The Washington Post: Frances Hesselbein, transformative leader of Girl Scouts, dies at 107
The West Point Center for Oral History: There are No Challenges, Only Opportunities