Consequential Leadership by Pier Mac;Buford Bob;Palau Kevin;

Author:Pier, Mac;Buford, Bob;Palau, Kevin; [Pier, Mac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2012-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Girl Scouts changed their logo to reflect the value of every culture and redesigned materials to emphasize inclusion. The change went beyond a marketing campaign, however. It reached deep into programming. Hesselbein wanted to enhance the opportunity for girls to compete in an increasingly technological age,[21] so she had scholars guide a major curriculum revision. Under her leadership, new Girl Scout handbooks focused on math, science and technology.

During Hesselbein’s thirteen years at the head of Girl Scouts, the membership of minority girls and women tripled. This contributed to the growth of the Girl Scouts into a richly diverse, cohesive, inclusive organization.

Innovation. Inclusion was one factor in the revitalization of the Girl Scouts, and innovation was another. Hesselbein and her team abandoned the traditional, hierarchical structure and introduced a model of “circular management.” With 355 councils spread across the nation, a culture where everyone was respected and heard was essential. Listening skills became a necessity at every level of the organization. “When we open up the organization, dispersing the leadership, including people from across the enterprise,” says Hesselbein, “there is a new energy, a new synergy.” Within five years the Girls Scouts totally transformed the organization.[22]

One of the first things Hesselbein did as CEO of the Girl Scouts was to recruit John Creedon, the new CEO of MetLife. He helped her raise ten million dollars to build the Edith Macy Conference Center, a training center. In 1989, more than two thousand adult volunteers were trained in top-level seminars on service, marketing, financial planning, property management and other topics. Tens of thousands of others, from volunteer troop leaders to the executive directors of councils, went through local training programs.[23]

Honoring our military institutions. Family history and military involvement are the fabric of Hesselbein’s life. On Memorial Day, the day prior to our interview, Hesselbein made sure that flowers were planted on family grave sites, which she has been doing for decades as an act of remembrance for generations of soldiers.[24]

In 2009, she was invited to serve as the class of ’51 chair for the study of leadership at West Point. “I have come with an empty notebook,” she told the five colonels and the major, the team who would work with her. “I cannot have a plan until I know your expectations.” Part of her legacy is helping everyone—from military elites to entry-level clerks—believe that they are leaders.[25]

After two years in her position on the faculty at West Point, she said this in her farewell speech: “My son, my father, my brother, my husband—and our ancestors—back through history. . . . From the American Revolution on, from our family’s soldiers, I learned, ‘When called, we serve. To serve is to live.’”[26]

Hesselbein’s autobiographical book on leadership captures her core philosophy and practice. I summarized five of her most important leadership axioms, which she also spoke about in our interview.

We manage for the mission, we manage for innovation and we manage for diversity.[27] Hesselbein speaks forcefully on the topic of focus. She was invited by President Reagan to come to Washington, D.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.