FRANCES HESSELBEIN: METICULOUS PREPARATION FOR A PUBLIC ROLE

AbstractThe author, who has been cited in Forbes as the world’s premier expert on women’s leadership, writes about her longstanding friendship and history with Frances Hesselbein, beginning in 1989, toward the end of Frances’ 13 years as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. “She had upended the hierarchy that the Girl Scouts had adopted from the military upon its founding,” the author writes, “putting herself in the center rather than at the top, and drawing concentric circles around an inner core.” Nearly 30 years later, the author interviewed her for a profile in Strategy + Business magazine, in which Frances noted: “When you’re a leader, people watch your every move and listen to every word you say. They can over‐interpret because they feel dependent upon your opinion. So you need to honor that, and weigh your words.”