Ready to Lead
We equip the rising generation for impact.
Founded in 2012, Leader.org sponsored the implementation of FranklinCovey’s Leader in Me in nearly 1,000 underserved public inner-city and rural schools, profoundly impacting the lives and future of over 1 million children and youth in the United States and the Middle East.
The Leader in Me has now reached
8,000+ schools
in 70+ countries
Our Story
In 1999, the new principal of A.B. Combs Elementary, an underperforming school in the USA, was told by her district superintendent they would need to reinvent themselves or have their program shut down.
She was given one week to come up with a unique new school theme and a plan. The principal immediately started interviewing teachers, parents, and business leaders in the communities for input.
First, she asked business leaders:
“What skills and traits do you need most in those you are hiring that you are NOT seeing in the young people coming out of our school system?”
Their answers were very consistent. Generally, they were concerned about how unprepared many young people are to compete, contribute, and innovate in the global economy.
Second, she reflected on the training she had recently received by Dr. Stephen R. Covey in a seminar based on the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book which has sold over 40 million copies and was named “the most influential business book of the 20th Century.”
The principal noticed compelling alignment between the qualities the business owners needed most and the leadership principles taught by Dr. Covey:
During the last break in the seminar, the principal gathered the courage to go backstage to ask Dr. Covey, “Do you believe children—young children—can learn the principles you are teaching?”
He thought for a moment, smiled, and responded, “I don’t know why not. Let me know if you do something with it.”
She gathered the teachers and staff in her school and shared a summary of the feedback from business leaders and parents. Then she outlined Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. They, too, saw the alignment.
Teachers also observed that Covey’s work and the feedback from parents and business leaders were validated by research on social-emotional learning—specifically, that Emotional Intelligence (EQ), which is made up of personal competence and social competence, is a better predictor of both academic and life success than IQ.
All their findings pointed to one thing: leadership. In other words, what if the main purpose of our school was to develop leaders? Leaders of high competence and high character. Not just future leaders, but leaders now.
This vision energized and unified the whole school. The principal presented their plan to the district superintendent. He was surprised and inspired by the freshness and boldness of their thinking and plan. He told them, “Okay. You’ve got one year to turn around the school. And you get no additional funding or staff. Good luck!”
So they got to work.
The principal pulled together enough money to train all teachers and staff in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.- The teachers started creating lesson plans that integrated the leadership habits into everything they were teaching in math, reading, writing, science, history, music, etc.
- They organized a lighthouse team of teachers to lead the ongoing implementation of their plan, evaluate results, and recommend improvements.
- They created a reinforcing environment of signs and quotes and posters in the classrooms and halls to remind and inspire the students of the habits.
- They created leadership notebooks for each student to write down personal and academic goals, track their performance and results, and evaluate and adapt their goals.
They created leadership roles for each student based on their interests and talents.
- greeting and welcoming to the classroom
- safety (no bullying)
- daily announcements
- music and art
- reading
- assistant teaching in the classroom
- public speaking
- school tours for visitors
- service
- international understanding
- tutoring and mentoring younger students
- making the schoolyard beautiful
Soon they experienced a true transformation.
And in 2006, they were honored as the #1 magnet school in America.
- Student confidence increased.
- Discipline problems and bullying decreased significantly.
- Students took ownership of their learning in the classroom.
- At home, students would do their homework before playing.
- Students started cleaning their rooms and helping with chores around the house without being asked.
- Students taught the leadership habits they were learning to their younger and older siblings and parents.
- They solved arguments at home and on the playground.
- Students organized and led service projects to help those in need in the community.
- Academic scores increased, with the percentage of students passing grade-level tests going from only 66% of students passing grade-level tests to 94% and then 97%.
- Parent and teacher engagement increased.
- Students started planning and setting goals for future education and careers.
Educators from around the world started visiting their school. With the guidance and support of A.B. Combs, schools started implementing the same leadership model in their schools, with very similar results. Many started asking for their help to implement the same model in their schools. Requests for help came flooding in.
Eventually, the principal went to Dr. Covey’s company, FranklinCovey, and said, “Thank you for letting us use your intellectual property, but this is overwhelming us. We are a school, not a global training organization. It is your moral imperative to take what we have done and create a system that would enable any school in the world to implement it.”
FranklinCovey decided to do it. A talented team of experts, created the training, materials, website community, and book called The Leader in Me, and launched the offering for schools in 2008.
Training of teachers would take place over several years, enabling teachers to become models of the leadership habits while nurturing them in the children.
Teachers and staff used every academic lesson, personal or school challenge, and family or community need to bring the habits and principles alive in the children.
In 2012, Boyd Craig, Dr. Covey’s closest business and writing partner of 20+ years, left FranklinCovey to create Leader.org, a nonprofit organization, to partner with FranklinCovey in expanding Leader in Me’s reach to over millions of underserved children and youth.
Leadership Team
E. Boyd Craig | Chairman & CEO
For nearly a quarter century, Boyd Craig served as partner to the late Stephen R. Covey, renowned leadership authority and author of the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He ran Dr. Covey’s global leadership consulting business and collaborated with him in the writing and publishing of a dozen books on leadership. Boyd was one of the architects and leaders of Franklin Covey’s education practice and served as vice president of higher education. In 2012, Boyd left Franklin Covey and founded Leader.org to convene a network of philanthropic investors to empower the educators of the world’s children in poverty with the mindset, character, and skills to lead, prosper, and impact society.
Dave Carlston | Chief Operations Officer
Prior to building Leader.org with Boyd, he helped create several tech and marketing companies. He graduated summa cum laude in Economics from Westminster University and earned an MBA at the University of Utah. He and his wife Kara are the parents of six children.
Gene White | Chief Financial Officer
Gene is a seasoned financial executive with broad industry experience. He is the former CFO of Visible Supply Chain Management, Content Watch and DownEast Outfitters. He is also a former auditor for Price Waterhouse, LLP, and Ernst & Young, LLP. In 2019, Gene was awarded the Utah Business CXO of the Year. Gene holds BS and MAcc degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.
Lord Michael Hastings | Global Ambassador
The Right Honorable the Baron Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick, Commander of the British Empire, is a member of House of Lords in the British Parliament, Chairman of SOAS University of London, and professor of leadership at the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center in the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. He serves as Chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Black Business Association, Governor of the Vodafone/Safaricom-supported MPESA Academy in Nairobi, Kenya, and VP of UNICEF. Lord Hastings is the former Chancellor of Regents University London and was Head of Global Citizenship at KPMG International for 13 years. He was also the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs and its first Head of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Board of Directors
E. Boyd Craig | Chairman & Director
See bio under Leadership Team.
John R. Miller | Director
John is the CEO of JR Miller Enterprises, a privately held company with diverse holdings in real estate, private companies and public securities. He retired from National Beef Packing Company in 2009 after serving as CEO since 1991. Mr. Miller grew the company from $500 million in sales to over $6 billion in sales. With over 8,000 employees, they are headquartered in Kansas City, MO, with seven regional production facilities, a Class A transportation company, and four international sales offices. National Beef markets and distributes beef products in all 50 states in the US and over 60 countries worldwide. In 2010 Mr. Miller was instrumental in orchestrating the sale of National Beef to Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK).
Brad D. Pelo | Director
Brad Pelo has served as a chief executive and founder of technology and entertainment companies and as a board member to foundations and public companies. He is currently a partner at Picture Rock Entertainment. Previously he served as founder, CEO, or president at Radiant, SAY, i.TV, Ancestry.com, NextPage, Bookcraft and Folio Corporation. Brad and his wife Melody are the parents of ten children.
Global Leadership Council
Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Father of Microcredit and Social Business
Founder, Grameen Bank
Dr. Paul T. Barrett, CPA
Professor of Management, College of Business and Economics, Longwood University
Jean-Claude Brizard
President & CEO, Digital Promise
Former Deputy Director & Senior Advisor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Former Chief Executive, Chicago Public Schools
Andrew Cherng
Founder & Chairman, Panda Restaurant Group
Dr. Kimberly Cummins
Principal, Acadiana Parish Schools
Martin Petitjean Elementary School
Mauricio E. Segovia
Network Chief, Chicago Public Schools
Michael Smith
Senior VP Data & Analytics, Hearst
Former President, Forbes.com
Spencer Zwick
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Solamere Capital