What Makes a Great Leader?
Setup
Ethical dilemmas, turning organizations around and creating trust require wisdom and stamina from the top. Three consummate leaders with decades of experience in government, business and philanthropy reflect on the qualities needed to succeed.
- 2024 Festival
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Arts
![Aspen Ideas: Health Closing Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/43030c8f-3f87-43e9-a2a1-f35ca0aab1c1/240623_closing_010.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1532%2C0%2C1774%2C2659&w=400)
Featuring inspiring conversations, the closing session is not to be missed. First, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Jennifer Ashton of ABC News explore the loneliness epi...
![Aspen Ideas: Health Opening Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/12e9f828-c1a8-4b1e-8a3b-d82d59e091c3/53805382856_778574e9b4_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5874%2C3306&w=400)
Join us to kickoff Aspen Ideas: Health 2024 with welcome remarks from Aspen Institute leaders, 10 Big Ideas from Aspen Ideas: Health speakers, and a special performance from t...
![Aif Stock Hero Images 6](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a7f9ad39-1246-4986-8121-12fc8c16089f/AIFStockHeroImages6.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ac473e&q=80&rect=2623%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 6](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a7f9ad39-1246-4986-8121-12fc8c16089f/AIFStockHeroImages6.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2623%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
William Shakespeare started writing plays in an era when popular theater was exploding and cementing its place in culture. Audiences spanned economic classes, professions and...
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2d408de0-a035-405d-b0f4-253e9a7081c2/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=4b7780&q=80&rect=2607%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2d408de0-a035-405d-b0f4-253e9a7081c2/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2607%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
The stories we hear about migrants trying to escape difficult circumstances tend to focus on hardship, conflict, statistics and policy. We rarely get a deep look at any of the...
![Designing for Better Health](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/526cabd9-2786-49ad-8c2a-b19fecdedea1/Screenshot2023-09-06at2.50.36PM.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=267&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C868%2C578&w=400)
Whether expressed through systems that are easy to navigate, devices that are friendly to their users, and spaces that are pleasing to the eye, thoughtful design can break dow...
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/01e44384-391e-4e6f-a5f3-76f1b1da51f7/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ac473e&q=80&rect=1602%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/01e44384-391e-4e6f-a5f3-76f1b1da51f7/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1602%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
Shakespeare is ubiquitous in literature classes and theater, but the avenues of relating to his work are not always clear to young people and modern audiences. Some, such as S...
![All About Books](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/399a2516-783a-402b-ab64-2d4df0cdf0f5/AIFStockHeroImages9.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=267&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5065%2C3375&w=400)
October is National Book Month, and we’re celebrating by looking back at some of our favorite conversations about reading and writing from the Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen I...
![A.I.’s Rendezvous with Art: The Future of Creative Expression](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/bbf788d6-50a7-40f4-a048-080340e713ef/53013403164_80be8bbcb5_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C125%2C6000%2C3375&w=400)
Like Photoshop, photography, or even pigment, A.I. represents new technology for creative expression that aims to close the gap between imagination and physicality. Alexander...
![Closing Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f8406988-32fa-4a58-a6ef-8027d8678528/53013913151_2bc80c2ec4_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1970%2C0%2C3659%2C5504&w=400)
Journalist Tom Friedman reflects on 28 years of reporting.
![Leaders Inspiring America](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1d12d9a5-a938-43db-acfc-c0f694e25a34/53009859870_a80bf9178a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C3098&w=400)
NBCUniversal News Group recently announced the honorees for its prime-time special, “Inspiring America: The Inspiration List.” NBC News’ Tom Llamas brings this conversation fe...
![Life Advice from the Ancients](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0138c2e0-4b57-46ea-bff5-cdf04710b0c5/52999381494_d0c4b45235_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C7513%2C4230&w=400)
“Self-care” is the buzzword of the moment. But far before face masks and digital detoxes, ancient philosophers were thinking of ways to enhance human flourishing. How do their...
![Naturally Ever After: Will Images and Storytelling about Nature Help Rewrite Our Future?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b7e00c76-b36b-4dcc-89d0-a1de25ab3394/230627_storytelling_nature_006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C333%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
As the impacts of climate change become more evident on natural habitats, widespread focus on protecting these places is more critical than ever. With Hollywood finally flexin...
![From King Lear to Succession: Shakespeare on Stage and Screen](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a6d4ccee-52b6-4bc2-8319-4c884a4a94bf/53009278491_f76edb778a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1455%2C0%2C1963%2C2942&w=400)
HBO’s hit show “Succession” is the latest example of how well the themes of tragedy, betrayal, ambition, and love — which Shakespeare depicted for the stage centuries before e...
![The Case for Art as Civic Glue](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1fc986cc-3ee7-44e1-af88-04768999f22c/53010529621_eeef24abf4_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C114%2C5607%2C3154&w=400)
For Kate Levin of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul Minnesota, and Karen Brunwasser of FeelBeit (a community center that bridges divides between East...
![What Makes Life Good?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2859e0e6-c155-4aa4-a61f-c5abf0c60c0f/53007491708_beda3f6450_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C344%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
The search for meaning is at the crux of the human condition and the basis of Life Worth Living, a new book emulating one of Yale’s most popular courses. In this lively “hot s...
![Afternoon of Conversation](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a24851c3-3b9b-40cf-8ed0-159d2463a9a3/53006438722_b768442f01_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C172%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
The Afternoon of Conversation is the Aspen Ideas Festival's pinnacle programming moment. Over 2,000 people gather in the Benedict Music Tent, an open-air venue with acoustics...
![The Road to 'The Lincoln Highway': A Conversation with Amor Towles](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/59db32e9-62c9-431f-870f-b076000ffca0/53009097054_42f3e199ab_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=2654%2C308%2C2109%2C3174&w=400)
Jenna Bush Hager sits down with best-selling author Amor Towles to discuss his latest book, The Lincoln Highway, and the winding road that led him to writing. (Book signing to...
![In Search of a 'Soul Boom'](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8d0856a2-77e0-4fe7-b52d-19a51dfe2ae5/53009125805_3cebf32c16_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5823%2C3277&w=400)
From “The Office” to being cheerleader for spirituality, comedic actor, writer, and producer Rainn Wilson is on a mission to show the world how embracing spirituality can help...
![Read with Jenna: Migration and the Meaning of Home](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d898f07c-fb7e-4c46-b98f-b84a24dc7ca0/53003945984_ab28579a5c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3467%2C1951&w=400)
Javier Zamora’s migration journey took him from El Salvador to the United States by foot at age nine, while Jamie Ford’s great-grandfather emigrated from China to Nevada to mi...
![Book Club: 'The Didomenico Fragment' by Amor Towles](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/973a66ed-f644-497a-8230-ec4eb3199f6c/aif-062623-fragment-listing.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C17%2C533%2C300&w=400)
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