How They Were Picked
"America's Best Leaders" is a collaboration between U.S.News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The honorees were selected by a committee of government, community, and private-sector leaders convened by the center. U.S. News does not have a vote.
The panel accepted nominations from a wide range of sources and compiled research on each one. The committee defined a leader simply as a person who "motivates people to work collaboratively to accomplish great things." It selected 20 winners, including some teams, from a field of more than 200. The panelists rated the nominees from to 1 to 5 based on how well they met the following criteria:
Sets Direction (25%)
By building a shared sense of purpose
By setting out to make a positive social impact
By implementing innovative strategies
Achieves Results (50%)
Of significant breadth or depth
That have a positive social impact
That are sustainable
That exceed expectations
Cultivates a Culture of Growth (25%)
By communicating and embodying positive core values
By inspiring others to lead
The panel decided that some of a nominee's primary accomplishments should have occurred within the past 18 months, and that whenever possible, a nominee should still be in his or her position at the time of selection or have left it within the past six months.
The panel also felt that while a leader's work can be global in scope, it should be based in America and that Americans should make up at least part of the leader's audience.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Co-chairs
Warren Bennis Distinguished professor of business administration, University of Southern California
David Gergen Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard University
MEMBERS
Kenneth Adelman Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
John Alexander President, Center for Creative Leadership
Bruce Avolio Director, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska
Barbara Barrett President, Triple Creek Guest Ranch
Richard Darman Partner, the Carlyle Group; chairman of the board, AES Corp.
Beth Dozoretz Vice chair, Center for Public Leadership Advisory Board
Kenneth Duberstein Chairman and CEO, the Duberstein Group
Paul Fireman Former CEO, Reebok
Walter Fluker Executive director, the Leadership Center, Morehouse College
Bill George Former chair and CEO, Medtronic; professor of management practice, Harvard Business School
Alan Gleitsman (deceased) President and CEO, the Gleitsman Foundation
Ronald Heifetz King Hussein Bin Talal lecturer in public leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Francis Hesselbein Chair, board of governors, Leader to Leader
Ira Jackson Dean, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
Spencer Johnson Author, Spencer Johnson Partners
Rosabeth Moss Kanter Ernest L. Arbuckle professor of business administration, Harvard Business School
Barbara Kellerman James MacGregor Burns lecturer in public leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Rakesh Khurana Associate professor in business administration, Harvard Business School
Rod Kramer William R. Kimball professor of business administration, Stanford University
Tony Mayo Director, Leadership Initiative, Harvard Business School
Georgette Mosbacher CEO, Borghese Worldwide
Larry Moses President, the Wexner Foundation Betsy Myers Executive director, Center for Public Leadership
Nitin Nohria Richard P. Chapman professor of business administration, Harvard University
Kenneth Ruscio President, Washington and Lee University Donna Shalala President, University of Miami
David Shaw Managing partner, Black Point Group
Bill Shore Founder, Share Our Strength
Tom Tierney Chairman and cofounder, the Bridgespan Group
Michael Useem Director, Center for Leadership and Change Management, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
Ruth Wageman Associate professor, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
Maggie Williams Partner, Griffin Williams LLC
This story appears in the October 30, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.