The authors examine ten historic or contemporary figures, and the core leadership virtues that combines to make them figures of inspiration and influence.

Part I. Character Leadership : 1. What Is Leadership? -- A Reflection -- Ethics, Virtue, and Character ; 2. Misleadership -- What Is Bad Leadership? -- Misleaders -- Bad Followers -- A Few Examples ; 3. Character and Leadership -- Character and Integrity -- The Dark Side of Character-- Character as Goodwill ; 4. Leadership and Business Excellence -- Ethics in Business -- Workplace Ethics -- Leaders as Role Models -- A Culture of Narcissism ; 5. The Ten Virtues -- Deep Honesty -- Moral Courage -- Moral Vision -- Compassion and Care -- Fairness -- Intellectual Excellence -- Creative Thinking -- Aesthetic Sensitivity -- Good Timing -- Deep Selflessness ; Part II. Leadership in Action : 6. James Burke and the Tylenol Poisoning Episodes : Deep Honesty -- Burke's Rise to Leadership -- Response to Crisis -- A Further Challenge ; 7. Abraham Lincoln/Rosa Parks : Moral Courage -- Courage: Physical and Moral -- Team of Rivals -- An Important Bus Ride -- Shared Convictions ; 8. Winston Churchill : Moral Judgment and Moral Vision --Churchill versus Halifax -- The War Cabinet Meets -- Churchill's Judgment -- The Hinge of Fate ; 9. Oprah Winfrey : Compassion and Care -- Star Status and More -- Her Fan Base -- The Book Club -- Leadership Is a Relationship ; 10. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Sicilian Slapping Incidents : Fairness -- The Slapping Incidents -- The Challenges Ike Faced -- Ike's Response ; 11. FDR and the A-Bomb : Intellectual Excellence -- The Scientific Background -- Roosevelt's Preparation for Leadership -- Hitler's Ascent to Leadership -- The A-Bomb Decision : The United States -- The A-Bomb Decision : Germany ; 12. Herb Kelleher and the People of Southwest Airlines -- Creative Thinking -- Southwest's Start -- Southwest's Service Innovations -- Southwest and Its People ; 13. Steve Jobs and Apple : Aesthetic Sensitivity -- Beginnings -- The Macintosh -- The Whole Widget -- Learning from Failure -- Apple Reborn -- The Centrality of Design ; 14. Charles de Gaulle and Exiting Algeria : Good Timing -- Youth and the First World War -- Up to the Battle of France -- Postwar Retreat amidst Political and Military Turmoil -- Taking Command -- Aftermath ; 15. Martin Luther King, Jr. : Deep Selflessness -- His Calling -- His Gift -- His Legacy ; 16. Conclusion.