In April, Frances Hesselbein concluded her tenure as the Class of ’51 Chair for the Study Leadership at West Point Military Academy. During her two-year appointment, she educated hundreds of cadets on the merits of effective leadership, strengthened her love for and her ties with the US army and began a practice of bringing guest thought-leaders to her regular discussion sessions on campus; one such thought leader was author and leadership expert Jim Collins.
West Point just announced that Collins has been appointed the fourth Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership.
Previous Chair appointees include: the Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University men’s basketball coach and Frances Hesselbein.
Collins has a long-standing relationship with Leader to Leader Institute which began with his involvement with the Girl Scout of the United States. He has written two articles for the Leader to Leader journal titled “ Aligning Actions and Values ” and “Peter Drucker’s Legacy” in addition to the forward for Frances Hesselbein’s My Life In Leadership: the Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way . He has also recorded Leadership Dialogue videos and attended past Leader to Leader Institute conferences.
Collins has written five books based on over ten years of focused research, including Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t and, most recently, How the Mighty Fall: and Why Some Companies Never Give In . He has worked closely with corporations in the private sector as well as notable organizations in the social sector including John Hopkins Medical School, the Leadership Network of Churches and the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents. While he began his career as a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Collins’ experience, research and methods now benefit thousands of influential leaders globally. His wisdom and experiences will no doubt be of great benefit to the West Point learning model.
For more information, contact Caitlin Orbanek at caitlin@leadertoleader.org