The leadership paradigm has been upended. No longer does leadership flow from the top floors down. Todays leaders must be equally adept at listening to those they seek to lead, developing trusting relationships, understanding other points of view, and being aware of their own limitations.In candid and insightful interviews,Listening to Leaders gathers established and rising leaders from the world of business, politics, education, nonprofits, and the military to discuss the values, vision, and practical lessons needed to lead organizations today. Prominent interviewees include President George W. Bush, author and historian Jon Meacham, School Superintendent Ann Clark, Secretary of State James A. Baker III, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, and Commerce Secretary and CEO Carlos Gutierrez.Organized into four parts to highlight key concepts of successful leadership todayVision and Values; Empathy . . . AKA, Remember, Its Not About You; Humility and Self Awareness; and Listening, Trusting, and RelatingListening to Leaders provides a guidebook for current and future leaders in moving organizations, teams, groups, and even nations toward a common purpose.

William McKenzie is editorial director of the George W. Bush Institute, where he also serves as editor ofThe Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute. He previously spent 22 years writing editorials and a column for theDallas Morning News, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.