Leading from Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead - Hardcover

by Sam M. Intrator (Author), Megan Scribner (Author)

Leading from Within is a wonderful collection of ninety-three poems from well-loved poets, each of which is accompanied by a brief personal commentary from a leader explaining the significance and meaning of the poem in his or her life and work. The contributors represent a wide range of professions including Vanguard Group founder John Bogle, MoveOn.org cofounder Joan Blades, several members of Congress, Christian activist Brian McLaren, business guru Peter Senge, and many other leaders from business, medicine, education, nonprofits, law, politics and government, and religion. In their reflections, these leaders explore how they have been inspired by poets such as T.S. Eliot, Mary Oliver, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Robert Frost, Rumi, May Sarton, Wallace Stevens, Wendell Berry, and Rainer Maria Rilke.

"Leading from Within is perhaps the most soulful treatment of leadership ever composed. Leadership is first an inner quest, and there is absolutely no better place to explore your inner territory than in the pages of this book. This is an evocative work of art; do yourself an immense favor, and engage with these amazing and diverse leaders and their poems."
--Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy

"Leading from Within makes brilliant use of the world's great poets to inspire us to lead with our hearts as well as our heads. It calls to the deeper purpose and meaning within all of us to use our gifts to serve others."
--Bill George, author, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership

"This is a superb collection of poems and deeply personal reflections from a wide range of real leaders. It is a gift to all of us who believe in bringing our hearts to our work." --Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

"The entries in this wonderful anthology are a joy to read and all the more interesting because of their special meaning to the leaders who recommended them. It is a book that every nonprofit leader should place among those they draw upon for inspiration every day."
--Diana Aviv, president and CEO, Independent Sector

"Leading from Within offers a candid view straight into the heart and soul of leaders striving to do good and effective work in the world. The poems and commentaries remind us that leadership is always deeply personal and chock-full of dilemmas that must be addressed by creativity, passion, imagination, and courage."
--Jeff Swartz, president and CEO, Timberland

Front Jacket

"Like fraternal twins, each pair of facing pages introduces you to magically close companions--an inspired practitioner and a poet who lit the leader's fuse or touched his or her soul. Each touched a deep place in the leader within me."
--Dan Mulhern, author, Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life

"Do you want to be a more effective, courageous leader? Then read this book. [You may] realize that you must lead with your heart as well as your mind to inspire people to willingly follow."
--Peter Roy, former president, Whole Foods Market, and coauthor, The Book of Hard Choices

Leadership is more than principles or practices--it requires heart, courage, and wisdom, qualities that can be inspired and informed by poetry.

In this beautiful collection of 93 poems, accompanied by a brief personal commentary, leaders reflect on how poetry helps them make sense of the challenges and possibilities in their work. The contributors represent a wide range of professions including Vanguard Group founder John Bogle, MoveOn.org cofounder Joan Blades, several members of Congress, Christian activist Brian McLaren, business guru Peter Senge, and leaders from business, medicine, education, nonprofits, law, politics, and religion. The poems include works by well-loved poets such as T.S. Eliot, Mary Oliver, William Stafford, Rumi, Langston Hughes, May Sarton, Pablo Neruda, Rainier Maria Rilke, Robert Frost, and Wendell Berry. As they did for teachers in their best-selling book Teaching with Fire, Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner inspire and nourish the hearts and souls of leaders of all kinds in Leading from Within.

Back Jacket

Praise for Leading from Within

"Leading from Within is perhaps the most soulful treatment of leadership ever composed. Leadership is first an inner quest, and there is absolutely no better place to explore your inner territory than in the pages of this book. This is an evocative work of art; do yourself an immense favor, and engage with these amazing and diverse leaders and their poems."
--Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy

"Leading from Within makes brilliant use of the world's great poets to inspire us to lead with our hearts as well as our heads. It calls to the deeper purpose and meaning within all of us to use our gifts to serve others."
--Bill George, author, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership

"This is a superb collection of poems and deeply personal reflections from a wide range of real leaders. It is a gift to all of us who believe in bringing our hearts to our work."
--Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

"The entries in this wonderful anthology are a joy to read and all the more interesting because of their special meaning to the leaders who recommended them. It is a book that every nonprofit leader should place among those they draw upon for inspiration every day."
--Diana Aviv, president and CEO, Independent Sector

"Leading from Within offers a candid view straight into the heart and soul of leaders striving to do good and effective work in the world. The poems and commentaries remind us that leadership is always deeply personal and chock-full of dilemmas that must be addressed by creativity, passion, imagination, and courage."
--Jeff Swartz, president and CEO, Timberland

Royalties from this book support leadership programs offered through the Center for Courage & Renewal.

Author Biography

Sam M. Intrator is a professor at Smith College and founder of the Smith College Urban Education Initiative. A Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, he is the author/editor of five books, including Tuned In and Fired Up, Teaching with Fire, and Stories of the Courage to Teach.

Megan Scribner is an editor who also documents and evaluates programs for nonprofits. She is the coeditor of Teaching with Fire and coauthor with Parker J. Palmer of The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection and Renewal, Tenth Anniversary Edition.