Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders Are Made

Former White House adviser to four US presidents, David Gergen, offers an "inspiring and useful" guide to the art of leadership in his book Hearts Touched with Fire. He explores the journeys of iconic leaders past and present to uncover the fundamental elements of effective leadership, which start from within and involve self-awareness and self-mastery. Gergen reveals the time-tested secrets of dynamic leadership, calling for lives dedicated to service and leadership.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2023
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

This instant New York Times bestseller is an "inspiring and useful" (The Washington Post) guide to the art of leadership from David Gergen—former White House adviser to four US presidents, CNN analyst, and founder of the Harvard Center for Public Leadership.

As nations careen from one crisis to the next, there is a growing cry for fresh leadership. Those in charge have relatedly fallen short, and trust in institutions has plummeted. So, what does great leadership look like? And how are great leaders made?

David Gergen, a leader in the public arena for more than half a century, draws from his experiences as a White House adviser to four presidents, his decades as a trusted voice on national issues, and years of teaching and mentoring young people to offer a stirring playbook for the next generation of change-makers.

To uncover the fundamental elements of effective leadership, Gergen traverses the journeys of iconic leaders past and present, from pathbreakers like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, John McCain, and Harvey Milk to historic icons like Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, to contemporary game changers like Greta Thunberg, the Parkland students, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Leadership is a journey that starts from within, Gergen writes. A leader must become self-aware and then achieve self-mastery. You cannot lead others until you can lead yourself. As you start to leap into the world, you begin your outer journey, overcoming setbacks, persuading others, empowering them, and navigating crises—armed with a sense of history, humor, passion, and purpose.

By linking lessons of the past with the ever-changing practice of leadership today, Gergen reveals the time-tested secrets of dynamic leadership. A "clarion call for.

Weight: 270g
Dimension: 140 x 214 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781982170585