About Georgia Sorenson

Georgia Sorenson was a truly incredible champion for women’s leadership. As a scholar, a teacher, a leader, she demonstrated what can be achieved by someone who understands the power and practice of good leadership.

She was a leader who strongly believed that leadership was not simply a title—it was a way of thinking, of behaving. Sorenson was a woman who believed in women, and in the importance of good governance.

One must seriously consider the question: Would there be a field of leadership studies without Georgia Sorenson? Drawing upon historical lessons learned from the creation of the fields of sociology and psychology, Sorenson, with colleague James MacGregor Burns, developed a systematic plan more than 30 years ago to establish the field of leadership studies.

Recognizing the essential, foundational building blocks needed, Sorenson established or supported refereed scientific leadership journals; built a $2 million leadership library for scholars to find all essential and classic texts; co-founded a professional association (the ILA); co-edited the award-winning, four-volume Encyclopedia of Leadership (a disciplinary resource); chronicled the benchmarks for a consolidation of leadership theory (The Quest for a General Theory of Leadership); and helped establish or served on the board of numerous leadership institutes.

But, Sorenson’s interest in leadership has never been purely academic. From her work as a senior policy analyst in the Carter White house or as analyst for the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights to the themes in her recent book, The Power of Invisible Leadership: How a Compelling Common Purpose Inspires Exceptional Leadership, Sorenson’s commitment to leadership has always been aimed toward the larger question, leadership for what.