What truly drives a leader?

The role of leadership is crucial to every occupation-whether you're in business, or government, whether you're a parent or a teacher, and whether you're at the early stages of your career, or are at a crossroads after decades of success.

Linkage CEO Phil Harkins and ARC Financial Corp cofounder Phil Swift have enjoyed decades of experience in leading and working with other leaders. Along the way they became aware that many leaders find themselves in search of their personal purpose for leading.

This search led them on a new journey--traveling around the world to interview corporate executives, presidents and prime ministers, educators, an important spiritual leader, and other leaders in a wide array of fields, including

Mary Robinson, first female president of Ireland

Henri Landwirth, holocaust survivor, hotel mogul, philanthropist

Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union and 1990 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Rafiah Salim, International Center for Leadership in Finance, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, U.N.

Rajaa Khuzai,former Member of the Iraqi Governing Council

Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan

Erin Gruwell, Freedom Writers founder and education innovator

Harkins and Swift asked each of these leaders the fundamental question “Why Lead?” The answers were startling in their wide range and also the commonality of a recurring theme. Essentially, great leaders, at some point in time, all experience a transformational shift that motivates them to move to the next level by thinking and operating outside the box of personal power and material gain. In Search of Leadership reveals the essential qualities and life lessons of leaders who have made this shift. The authors found that all great leaders eventually realize the need to serve not only their organization but society and the world at large. By doing so, they give profound new meaning to what they do and why.