The Power of Invisible Leadership: How a Compelling Common Purpose Inspires Exceptional Leadership

A powerful force draws people to leadership in countless businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and social movements―we call it invisible leadership. Invisible leadership embodies situations in which dedication to a compelling and deeply held common purpose is the motivating force for leadership. Common purpose is more than a mission statement. It is a profound sense of common destiny, a life course or calling, aligned with a mission that resonates profoundly with our values and our sense of ourselves and others.

This readable, research-based book shows readers how invisible leadership exists in the space between leaders and followers, artists and subjects, and purposes and people. Rather than reinforcing the idea that leadership is embodied in celebrity leaders or in gifted and charismatic individuals, the well known and highly admired authors of this insightful new book identify "charisma of purpose" as the motivating force for invisible leadership. A brief discussion of how invisible leadership impacts businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and social movements guides the reader toward an understanding of the antecedents and possibilities of this way of thinking.

Dr. Gill Robinson Hickman is professor emerita in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond. An inaugural faculty member of the Jepson School, she participated in its institution building and course development and has held positions as dean, professor of Public Administration, and Human Resource director. She has published several books and numerous articles/book chapters in the field of leadership studies. Her experience has led to invitations as presenter at the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP), Shanghai, China; the Leadership in Central Europe Conference at Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic; and a panel member at international conferences in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Canada. She was a faculty presenter at the prestigious Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria and at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa where she presented a conceptual framework for leadership and transformation for regional governments in South Africa.

Dr. Georgia Sorenson envisioned and launched the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland―the first academic program devoted to public leadership―more than twenty years ago. Currently she is Visiting Professor of Leadership Studies at the Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland..She has served as a board member of the Leadership Learning Community, the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance, the Academy for Educational Development’s New Voices, the Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute, Learning to Lead, and many other leadership organizations in the United States and abroad. Sorenson is the author of several books, including Dead Center: Clinton-Gore Leadership and the Perils of Moderation with James MacGregor Burns, published in 1999 by Scribner. Sorenson is co-editor, with George R. Goethals and James MacGregor Burns, of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Leadership, published by SAGE in 2004. She has published in professional journals, such as the Harvard Educational Review, Signs, and Psychology of Women Quarterly, and is a frequent contributor and commentator on leadership and social issues in the popular media. Sorenson’s experience has led to numerous international consultancies and teaching appointments. She was adjunct professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea, serves as professor and advisor to China’s National School of Administration, and was on the international board of the Tokyo Jogakkan College in Japan. Previously she served on the advisory board of the Thierry Graduate School of Leadership. Before launching her career in academia, Sorenson was a senior policy analyst for employment issues in the Carter White House and later worked as a consultant to the Executive Office of the President. During her White House tenure, she served on the White House Productivity Council and on Vice-President Mondale’s Youth Employment Council. She continues to be politically active and has served as a speechwriter or consultant to three presidential campaigns.