"In its essence, leadership is a lifestyle, not a position." 

John Hawkins, President and Founder of Leadership Lifestyle and Leadership Edge Inc. has helped corporations, university students and organizational leaders across America wrestle with the issue of developing a leadership lifestyle.  John believes that this is essential for effective, long-term leadership in today's chaotic organizations and corporations.

Providing seminars and presentations for corporations such as American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals, John stays in touch with the type of leadership that is needed in today's workplace.  Currently, John serves as a business ethics consultant for Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

John is a 1998 graduate of the Harvard University Master Class for Leadership Educators at the Kennedy School of Government.  Executive Excellence and Personal Excellence journals, as well as the New York Times Business Section have featured John's writing and advice on leadership.

John is the President of Leadership Edge Inc. in Durham, NC.  Through Leadership Edge, John works each year with dozens of undergraduate and MBA students at Duke University and its Fuqua School of Business in practical aspects of principled leadership development.  He has designed the Principled Leadership Training Program which has been offered at Duke University since 2001.

John has served as a founding member of the Duke University Interfraternity Council Board of Advisors.  In that capacity he designed and facilitated leadership development programs for the Duke fraternity system.  In the Spring of 2000, John was awarded the William J. Maschke Award as a result of the impact of his leadership development programs.

John's book Leadership As a Lifestyle: The Path to Personal Integrity and Positive Influence was recently published by Executive Excellence Publishing.  This book provides practical and insightful guidance for leaders in how to have principled interpersonal influence with those they lead.

In the Leadership Edge video tape, "Winning the Right to Influence," John shares with middle and upper level managers a challenging and effective approach to leading and motivating today's entry-level, twentysomething employees.  Companies such as the Southwestern Company and Alcon Laboratories use this 30-minute training tool in their internal employee development programs.  John has also been a qualified trainer for Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership® II training program. 

More important than any of the above, John has been married to his wife Janet for over 25 years and is the father of Laura, Gary and Will.  It has been in their family that John has learned the most practical lessons on leadership.