OUR MISSION

The Virtuous Leadership Institute is a community of professionals from a variety of walks of life devoted to living out Virtuous Leadership in their everyday lives and spreading its message.

Our mission is to ignite hearts for greatness and raise up a new generation of Virtuous Leaders empowered to transform Life – business, family and culture.

ALEX HAVARD

Alex Havard is the founder of the Virtuous Leadership® system.

Alex was born and raised in Paris. He worked as a lawyer in Europe for many years before discovering his mission to ignite hearts for greatness.

His 7 books “Virtuous Leadership”, “Created for Greatness” , “From Temperament to Character”, “Free Hearts”,  “Coached by Joan of Arc”, “Discovering a Mission: My Way to Virtuous Leadership” and “Seven Prophets and the Culture War” have been translated into 20 languages.

ALEX’S 7 ONLINE COURSES ARE AVAILABLE
in English, Spanish and French at alexhavard.com
and in Russian at alexhavard.ru

OUR DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP

Leadership is about achieving greatness by bringing out the greatness in others.

Management is about getting things done. Leadership is about helping people grow.

True greatness is not about conquering an empire. It is about human, spiritual growth.

Greatness is the result of the practice of the virtue of magnanimity; service is the result of the practice of the virtue of humility.

Leadership is a way of being, which can be lived by everyone no matter his or her place in society or in any given organization.

Leadership is not about rank or position or being on top of the heap. Leadership is not reserved for the elite. It is a vocation not of the few, but of the many.

We spread a vision of leadership which is consistent with the highest demands of human nature and the noblest aspirations of the human heart.

OUR SYSTEM

Virtuous leadership is the first systematic and holistic approach to leadership from the point of view of aretology, which is the science of the virtues developed by the Ancient Greeks.

Virtue is more than a value. It is a dynamic force which allows us not only to achieve human excellence, but also to become effective as human beings. Virtue means excellence in being (aretē, in Greek) and effectiveness in action (virtus, in Latin).

Virtue makes you an effective human being, because it gives you a specific spiritual power: the power to make right decisions, to stay the course, to run risks, to energize your passions and direct them to the fulfillment of the mission at hand, to give people their due and communicate effectively, to achieve great things and serve people by bringing out the greatness in them.

The virtues of prudence (practical wisdom), courage, self-control and justice constitute the foundations of leadership, and the virtues of magnanimity (greatness) and humility (service) constitute its essence.

Virtue is a habit acquired through practice. Leadership is a question of character (virtue, freedom, growth) and not of temperament (biology, conditioning, stagnation).  Leaders are trained, not born.

Leadership is a life ideal, which recognizes, assimilates and propagates the truth about man.

THEY SAID ABOUT US

“I found Virtuous Leadership a fascinating book that goes straight to the heart of the matter:  we need to base our decisions on reality and the essence of reality is man himself.”

Francois MichelinCEO of Group Michelin (1955-1999)

Virtuous Leadership is a timeless book. After you read it, you will find yourself citing its many brilliant phrases without even realizing it.”

Sari EssayahWorld Champion in Women’s Race Walking (1993)

“In a complicated world, simplicity is priceless. Virtuous Leadership is full of brilliant insights.  It is highly topical and relevant.”

Timo SoiniFinnish Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015-2019)

“Somebody has finally written a book about virtue for those engaged in the business world. Too many books spill out of the presses on being effective, on getting your way, on making big bucks quick.  This book should be in every airport across Europe and America! (And ditch all the other quick-read, make-million business books that litter the bookstore shelves.)”

Benjamin D. WikerAuthor of A Meaningful World, 2006

“Alexandre Havard’s Virtuous Leadership is a book long-needed on every level of public life in the developed nations.  A vitally important and timely book.”

Michael D. O’BrienAuthor of Father Elijah: An Apocalypse (1996)