The Heart of Leadership ─ Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow

This short, easy-to-read fable reveals the five habits that underlie leadership character and that determine leaders’ success – and teaches leaders how to develop these habits.

Like Mark Miller’s previous books, this one follows the life, learning, and influence of Debbie Bruster. Here she finds herself mentoring Blake Brown, the son of her former mentor. Rather than answer Blake’s questions about leadership directly, Debbie introduces him to other leaders, each of whom shares a unique perspective on what really makes a leader successful. As Blake puts the pieces together, he discovers his problem is not one of skills but of character, that leadership is more about the heart of the leader than the head or hands. In fact, Miller summarized these traits with the acronym HEART: Hunger for Wisdom, Expect the Best, Accept Responsibility, Respond with Courage, and Think Others First. With the help of his new friends and mentors, Blake is able to build a plan to transform his heart.

The good news for all of us: leadership is not just the purview of the few – it is within reach for millions of aspiring leaders around the world. This book is the road map they need to get their lives and careers on track.

Mark Miller is vice president for organizational effectiveness at Chick-fil-A, Inc. He began his Chick-fil-A career as an hourly team member in 1977 and joined the corporate staff in 1978. He previously served in leadership roles in Corporate Communications, Field Operations, Quality and Customer Satisfaction, and Training and Development. He is also the author of The Secret of Teams and the coauthor of The Secret and Great Leaders Grow.