Frances Hesselbein

Frances Hesselbein – Life, Leadership, and Enduring Wisdom

Explore the life and legacy of Frances Hesselbein (1915–2022), the transformative leader of the Girl Scouts and a pioneering voice in nonprofit leadership. Discover her philosophy, major accomplishments, and most impactful quotes.

Introduction

Frances Hesselbein was a luminary in the fields of leadership and nonprofit management. Over her long life, she reshaped how we think about mission-driven organizations, inclusive leadership, and service. From humble beginnings in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, she rose to lead the Girl Scouts of the USA, and later led the Peter Drucker Foundation (now renamed in her honor). Her impact stretched across sectors, continents, and generations.

Though born November 1, 1915, Frances Hesselbein passed away on December 11, 2022 at age 107.

Early Life and Influences

Frances Hesselbein was born on November 1, 1915 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (though some sources list Easton, PA as her later place of residence).

Her early life was shaped by community values and modest beginnings. As a young adult, she attended classes at what is now the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Junior College in 1936.

A pivotal influence in her personal philosophy came from a childhood episode she recounted:

When she was a child, her grandmother told her a story about a Chinese laundryman, Mr. Yee, who returned two porcelain vases to her grandmother because she was the only person in town who addressed him respectfully ("Mr. Yee"). That moment, Hesselbein later said, taught her lessons about respect, dignity, and inclusion.

This anecdote became a touchstone for her lifelong commitment to respect, dignity, and inclusive leadership.

Rise in the Girl Scouts & Organizational Transformation

Volunteering Becomes a Calling

Hesselbein’s formal leadership journey began when she agreed to be a volunteer leader for Girl Scout Troop 17 in Johnstown—initially as a six-week fill-in, because they were at risk of losing the troop.

Over time, she took on more responsibility—rising through local Girl Scout council roles.

CEO of Girl Scouts (1976–1990)

In 1976, Hesselbein was appointed CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, a significant leap from her local experience.

Her tenure brought sweeping changes:

• She infused the Girl Scouts with greater diversity and inclusion, making sure that girls of different races, ethnicities, and backgrounds could see themselves in the organization.

• She reimagined Girl Scouts programming—removing traditional “domestic” handbooks, and instead introducing new content emphasizing math, science, leadership, and community engagement.

• Under her leadership, membership grew substantially, reaching 2.25 million girls, supported by a large network of volunteers (circa 780,000).

• She pushed the organization to think not just in terms of structure, but in terms of values, mission, and relevance in a changing world.

She stepped down in 1990 to focus her work on leadership globally, but the shifts she made during her 13-year tenure transformed the Girl Scouts into a more dynamic and diverse organization.

Leadership Institute & Later Career

From Drucker Foundation to the Hesselbein Institute

Immediately upon leaving the Girl Scouts, she became the founding leader of what was then the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management.

After Peter Drucker’s death, the Foundation was renamed in her honor (in 2012), becoming the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute (also called the Leadership Forum) to perpetuate her leadership model.

Her institute aims to strengthen leaders in the nonprofit/social sector, fostering values-based leadership, inclusion, mission clarity, and cross-sector collaboration.

She also served as or-in-Chief of the journal Leader to Leader, and co-edited many leadership volumes disseminated globally.

Other Roles & Honors

• She served on numerous nonprofit and corporate boards (e.g., Mutual of America, Bright China Social Fund).

• In 1998, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, recognizing her leadership, volunteerism, and service.

• She held the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at West Point (U.S. Military Academy), becoming the first woman and first non-graduate to serve in that role.

• In 2009, she helped establish the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh.

• She authored Hesselbein on Leadership (2002) and My Life in Leadership (2011), and co-edited a total of 27 books in 29 languages.

Legacy and Impact

Frances Hesselbein’s legacy lies not just in positions held, but in the leadership ethos she championed:

• She championed mission-driven, ethical leadership over mere technique or fame.

• She insisted that diversity and inclusion are not optional add-ons but central to organizational vitality.

• She emphasized service as the core of leadership — famously calling her motto “To Serve Is To Live.”

• Her influence shaped how nonprofits, military, and corporations approach leadership development, succession, and values.

• She inspired countless leaders worldwide to lead with character, not just competence.

• Her model promoted a less hierarchical, more networked, inclusive approach to decision-making.

Her influence endures via the institutions she built, the books and ideas she propagated, and the leaders she mentored.

Famous Quotes & Leadership Wisdom

Here are several memorable quotes attributed to Frances Hesselbein:

“Mission. Innovation. Diversity. Those words are my battle cry.”

“Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do.”

“When any little girl opens her handbook, she should be able to find herself in it.”

“To Serve Is To Live.”

“One of the greatest sources of energy is leadership done in a spirit of service.” (Attributed by Jim Collins)

On barriers:
“The quality and character of the leader determines performance and results … when we don’t see ourselves as categories, we are far more effective.”

These lines reflect her conviction that leadership is deeply moral, inclusive, and rooted in service.

Lessons from Frances Hesselbein

1. Lead from values, not from ego.
   Hesselbein consistently held that leaders must anchor their decisions in mission, integrity, and respect.

2. Inclusion is nonnegotiable.
   She believed that organizations succeed when all people see themselves included and represented.

3. Service is the heart of leadership.
   For her, leadership was not about status or control but about serving others and empowering them.

4. Change requires courage.
   She made bold shifts (e.g. revamping Girl Scouts curricula) in the face of resistance, trusting that mission trumps comfort.

5. Leaders are readers and learners.
   Her lifelong engagement with reading, mentoring, editing, and thought leadership evidences that she never stopped learning.

6. Leadership multiplies when invested in others.
   Her greatest legacy is not her own success, but the thousands of leaders she helped develop through her institute and writing.

Conclusion

Frances Hesselbein’s life is a testament to how one person, rooted in small-town values and deep respect for others, can scale influence across institutions and continents. She redefined leadership not as a title, but as a practice of service, inclusion, and mission. Her work transformed the Girl Scouts and birthed a global movement of values-based leadership.

Her legacy continues through her writings, the institutions she founded, and the many leaders she inspired. She shows us that to lead well is to live well — with intention, humility, and heart.