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

• Written by the coauthor of the bestselling book The Secret—over 440,000 copies sold and translated into twenty-eight languages
• Identifies five specific leadership character traits required for maximum influence and impact and shows how to cultivate them
• Uses the appealing and accessible fable format Miller has employed so successfully in his previous books

What makes for a truly successful leader? Certainly leaders need people skills, execution skills, a deep knowledge of industry trends, the ability to articulate a vision, and other aptitudes and talents—but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What’s below the water line? What’s inside the best leaders to set them apart? It is a matter of the heart. Mark Miller contends that what sets leaders apart is their leadership character. In his latest enlightening and entertaining business fable, he describes the five unique traits exhibited by exceptional leaders.

The Heart of Leadership begins with ambitious, young Blake Brown being passed over for a desperately wanted promotion, despite achieving all the goals set out for him. When he asks why, he is told simply, “Leaders are different.” It’s up to him to figure out what that means. So he turns to his mentor, Debbie Brewster. But Debbie wants Blake to earn this knowledge, so she sends him on a quest to meet with five of his late father’s colleagues, each of whom holds a piece of the puzzle.

Each of the character traits revealed to Blake builds on and reinforces the others. The insights he gains along the way are accompanied by practical ideas to strengthen his leadership character—and our own. Finally, Debbie helps him see the complete picture and take what he’s learned to develop a plan of action for moving forward in his career.

As Blake puts the pieces together, he discovers that the skills of a leader rarely hold him or her back; skills are too easy to learn. Without demonstrated leadership character, however, a skill set will never be enough. Most often, when a leader fails to reach his or her full potential, it is an issue of the heart. This is Blake’s ultimate revelation.

This book shows us that leadership needn’t be the purview of the few—it is within reach for millions around the world. This book is a road map for those who desire to make a difference in the lives of others and inspire others to do the same.

About the Author

Mark Miller began writing about a decade ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard on The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. Since then, his books have sold almost 600,000 copies worldwide. Miller encourages leaders through his posts on GreatLeadersServe.org. It’s rated as one of the top leadership blogs in the world and has garnered almost 2 million page views since its inception less than two years ago.

Miller also sells chicken. He started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member back in 1977. He joined the corporate staff in 1978, working in the warehouse and mailroom. Today he serves as the vice president for organizational effectiveness.