Frances Hesselbein

Frances Hesselbein
Born(1915-11-01)November 1, 1915[1]
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 2022(2022-12-11) (aged 107)
Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh Johnstown Junior College
Occupation(s)Writer, management consultant
SpouseJohn Hesselbein
AwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom

Frances Hesselbein (November 1, 1915 – December 11, 2022) was an American businesswoman and writer. She served as the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, from 1976 to 1990, and the president and CEO of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum, at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership.[2][3][4]

Career

Hesselbein took classes at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Junior College in 1936.[5]

Between 1965 and 1976, she rose from volunteer troop leader to CEO and held the position of CEO for thirteen years until 1990.[2] During her tenure, the Girl Scouts attained a membership of 2.25 million girls with a workforce of 780,000, mainly volunteers.[6][3]

In 1990, Hesselbein left the Girl Scouts to run the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly known as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management).[2] After Drucker's death in 2005, the foundation was renamed after Hesselbein in 2012; it is now known as the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute.[3]

In 2009, she helped to found the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh.[7][8][4]

Hesselbein is the co-editor of 27 books published in 29 languages and the author of Hesselbein on Leadership and My Life in Leadership.[7][8][failed verification]

Hesselbein served on the boards of the Mutual of America Life Insurance Company, the Bright China Social Fund, California Institute of Advanced Management, and the Teachers College, Columbia University Presidents Advisory Council.[4]

Awards

In 1998, Hesselbein was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with the Girl Scouts of the USA.[9] She turned 100 years old in November 2015.[10][4]

Hesselbein was denoted a Pitt Legacy Laureate of the University of Pittsburgh in 2000.[11][5] She has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees.[5]

Personal life

Frances Hesselbein was married to John Hesselbein. She died at her home in Easton, Pennsylvania, on December 11, 2022, at the age of 107.[12]

Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program

In 2006, the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) created the Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program to support high school students and to honor Hesselbein and her situational leadership.[13] The program aims to teach high school students leadership, communication, and team-building skills by sending them on a week-long trip to either the United States Military Academy in the fall or to the United States Air Force Academy in the spring.[14]

Publications

Author

  • Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, My Life in Leadership, 2011
  • Hesselbein, Frances, and General Eric K. Shinseki, United States Army, Ret. Be, Know, Do: Leadership the Army Way, 2004
  • Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, Hesselbein on Leadership, 2002

Editor

  • Hesselbein, Frances and Marshall Goldsmith, eds. The Organization of the Future 2: Visions, Strategies, and Insights on Managing in a New Era, 2009.

References

  1. ^ "Pioneering woman, 101, credits success to lessons from 'community that cares'". Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Leahey, Colleen (9 November 2011). "Learning from Peter Drucker and the Girl Scouts". Fortune. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Unger, Amy (11 August 2017). "Frances Hesselbein: A Lifetime of Leadership". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c "Frances Hesselbein". University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown. Retrieved 9 April 2019.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, Hesselbein on Leadership, 2002
  7. ^ a b "Frances Hesselbein". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b Gill, Cindy (Winter 2010). "To Serve is To Live". Pitt Magazine. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  9. ^ Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, My Life in Leadership, 2011
  10. ^ Jodi Duckett (11 December 2015). "Birthday party for 'world leader' Frances Hesselbein of Easton". The Morning Call. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  11. ^ "The Legacy Laureates – Excellence across a broad range". Pitt Campaign Chronicle. University of Pittsburgh. 23 October 2000. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Frances Hesselbein, a Pitt visionary and one of the world's 'greatest leaders,' has died at 107". University of Pittsburgh. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  13. ^ "FRANCES HESSELBEIN STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM" (PDF). militarychild.org. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  14. ^ "FRANCES HESSELBEIN STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM" (PDF). militarychild.org. Retrieved 18 April 2024.