Showcasing leadership through case studies: America’s Best Leaders

As a senior fellow on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2002-2003 I helped the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) launch a leadership role modeling program called America’s Best Leaders.

I continued my involvement as a member of CPL’s advisory board after departing the school’s faculty.

The purpose of the program was to create opportunities for teaching and learning about leadership by profiling people with admirable leadership qualities and track records in fields ranging from education, medicine and science to arts, philanthropy, sports, business and other fields. Committees were created to review a very wide range of prospects. As a group we agreed upon leadership qualities to be employed in the selection process and then selected a handful of particularly compelling stories for publication in US News, The Washington Post and elsewhere. The program was a great opportunity to explore important elements of great leadership and to create case studies for teaching and learning with students and the public more broadly.

Below is a video from the America’s Best Leaders showcase: