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A Tribute to Frances Hesselbein

by Debbe Kennedy

Her work alone is a beacon of leadership excellence. Watching her is all about seeing a living leadership role model to learn from and follow. Meeting her is an experience you don't forget.

For over 20 years, I watched Frances Hesselbein in the distance through articles and videos. There were few women role models at the time. I first found her, when I was a newly promoted IBM manager in Anchorage, Alaska serving with an "all men" leadership team in the late '70s. She looked much more comfortable in her role as an executive than I felt in mine as a new manager. She was real with people. There was a sincerity and genuineness that came across from her---no pretense, no need to "act" professional. She was professional. She represented all I wanted to be as a leader... and she was also elegant in the way she went about it---I didn't forget her example.

As unbelievable as it may sound, nearly 20 years later, quite by chance, an opportunity came about to meet her and work with her on a project. Imagine meeting someone that had helped you shape your own leadership style after all those years ofadmiration. It seemed almost surreal to me at the time. Since then, I've learned so much from her. As my tribute to her, I share three stories with you from personal experience that have valuable leadership lessons in them.

1. Leaders, at their best, are unpretentious, warm and friendly. At a conference a couple years ago, I arrived customarily very early before people were gathering for the session. A prominent university president from a prestigious school was coming to speak. Prior to his arrival, there must have been an entourage of seven or eight people who showed up to set up his presentation. At the last minute as the lights went down, I saw him escorted in from the side. He was ready. He presented. When he finished speaking, he was escorted out the side door during a light round of applause. He left never knowing who was there to meet him.

What a contrast when Frances Hesselbein appeared on the last day. It was about 6:45 a.m. One other attendee, crazy like me, arrived early also. Just as we were sitting down at a table in the front, Frances walked in. Unattended. No entourage. Her smile warmed the room and her greeting was something like, "Good morning! I'm so glad to see you. I'll join you for tea." She checked the podium out. I watched her eye the lights and the room set-up to make sure she could see her audience of "friends". She sat down with us and asked questions about what we had learned. She listened intently. She took notes. She asked us what messages we thought the group most needed. She took more notes. She invited us to ask questions after her talk, just in case she had forgotten anything we thought was important.

She captured the hearts of everyone that day and taught us a great deal about leadership. She received a standing ovation. She stayed to personally meet them all.

2. Every person is important. Frances Hesselbein is well known for the internationally acclaimed Drucker Foundation Future Series:The Leader of the Future, The Organization of the Future, and The Community of the Future. With co-editors, she brought together leaders from public, private, and non-profit sectors to share the latest thinking on the future in this series of books that serves the world as we all prepare for our important work in the 21st Century.

Shortly after The Organization of the Future was published, Frances came to speak to 100 senior women leaders at a Leadership California Conference. Everyone attending received a copy of the new book. When she finished her remarks, she amazed a lot of people. She stepped from the stage, finding a comfortable place to sit down. Then she invited each person to sit down with her. She talked with them about their work for a few minutes, then wrote a personal message in each one of those 100 books.

When they came to take her way to lunch, with still a long line of women waiting, her reply held her message. "I can eat later," she said, "This is far more important."

3. Being accessible and ready to help is an exceptional leadership quality. I'll never forget the first time I personally talked with Frances Hesselbein. I was working on a project for a client and we needed help from someone with her influence. My client asked me to call her. Having worked with other high level executives like Frances Hesselbein, I assumed it would involve working my way through layers of people and scheduling time with an appointment secretary. I phoned her office in New York. I announced myself and asked to speak with her. "Just a minute, please," said the friendly voice. In an instance, Frances Hesselbein answered the phone. She talked to me with great interest and treated me like a valued friend. I told her what we needed. Her reply: "Let me make a phone call or two. Debbe, I think we're going to do something wonderful." I will call you shortly. Within an hour, her call came. Problem solved.

These are just a few small leadership treasures that Frances Hesselbein has given me. Every time I meet someone who knows of her or has personally been touched by her light, they, too, are filled with gifts of her influence. Most of all, she shows the world that leadership, at its best, is about person-to-person relationship...It's real. It's bold. It's caring. It's ready for whatever challenges are revealed.

We honor you, Frances Hesselbein!

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