Favorite Leadership Poems

Poems about leaders and leadership are what I would call visceral learning: they are about deep inward beliefs, feelings, and experiences. They speak to the power of “standing up in one’s own life” and encourage us through the profound collective power of our reflections. In this way they inform our own best vision of ourselves and our possibilities.

If you would like to submit a favorite leadership poem or collection of poems (no more than three) written by your favorite published poet/s, please email your material to me, including a brief description of who you are, what is particularly meaningful about the poem(s) you submit, and, a source link for each poem (e.g., Amazon). The source link is required for posting. (Send a photo of yourself, too, if you like). Poems will appear only once in the collection.

See Sandra Sault Poulson’s page as an example. Use my email address to send your materials. Leave your thoughts about these poems through the comment form on each person’s page.

If you would like to submit a poem or poems you have written yourself, please see submission guidelines here. The best original poems about leadership selected for this site are awarded $50.00. Winners of this award are:

April 2009: David D. Horowitz

Let’s make this a really beautiful collection!

And while you are here, please check out the wide variety of postings on leadership. Check out “Cross-Over Points,” my latest post, with questions for those searching for “Leadership Poems.”

[Update: Here’s an update for all of you who are looking for “leadership poems” on the web. There’s a new book out, which you can access here. Leading from Within, edited by Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner and published by Jossey-Bass, is a beautiful and evocative collection of poems selected by leaders in a wide array of fields. Their stories and descriptions of why the poems are important is inspiring and challenges each of us to bring our best leading self into the world. One of the stories is by my friend and colleague, Barb Hummel, a fabulous facilitator. I’m glad her work was celebrated in this way. See page 32 of the book.]