and honestly how they realized their potential
and candidly shared their life stories, personal
struggles, failures, and triumphs.
The people we talked with ranged in age
from 23 to 93, with no fewer than 15 per decade.
They were chosen based on their reputations
for authenticity and effectiveness as
leaders, as well as our personal knowledge
of them. We also solicited recommendations
from other leaders and academics. The resulting
group includes women and men from a diverse
array of racial, religious, and socioeconomic
backgrounds and nationalities. Half of
them are CEOs, and the other half comprises
a range of profit and nonprofit leaders, midcareer
leaders, and young leaders just starting
on their journeys.
After interviewing these individuals, we believe
we understand why more than 1,000 studies
have not produced a profile of an ideal
leader. Analyzing 3,000 pages of transcripts,
our team was startled to see that these people
did not identify any universal characteristics,
traits, skills, or styles that led to their success.
Rather, their leadership emerged from their
life stories. Consciously and subconsciously,
they were constantly testing themselves through
real-world experiences and reframing their life
stories to understand who they were at their
core. In doing so, they discovered the purpose