Thought Leadership

I’m an internationally known author, speaker, TEDx presenter, scholar, and podcast host.

Here’s an overview of my thought leadership over the years:

Speaker at Youth Leadership Summit 2019 on stage with audience

Developing Servant Leadership at Scale:
How to Do It, and Why It Matters

Published in September 2025

Book cover with title "Developing Servant Leaders at Scale" by Max Klau. Image of a hand holding a candle, surrounded by smaller candles on a dark background. Subtext: "How to do it, and why it matters."
Learn more

In October 2025, I was invited to share a “Story from the Field” at the Inner Development Goals Global Summit in Stockholm, Sweden.

Check out the eight minute video here.

My TEDx Talk

“Social Justice Leadership in Living Systems” (2011)

TEDx HGSE (Harvard Graduate School of Education”

Academic Publications

Cover of "New Directions for Youth Development" featuring a child in a forest, titled "Youth Leadership," Spring 2006, with foreword by Ronald Heifetz and editors Max Klau, Steve Boyd, Lynn Luckow. Published by Jossey-Bass.
"The Handbook for Teaching Leadership" book cover, edited by Scott Snook, Nitin Nohria, and Rakesh Khurana with abstract image accents.
Book cover of "Creative Social Change: Leadership for a Healthy World" edited by Kathryn Goldman Schuyler, John Eric Baugher, and Karin Jironet, featuring a cityscape and bridge.

New Directions for Youth Development:  Youth Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2006)
I served as co-editor of this journal issue and contributed a chapter entitled "Exploring Youth Leadership in Theory and Practice." It includes two of the most frequently cited papers on the topic of youth leadership.

The Handbook for Teaching Leadership (Sage, 2011)
I contributed a chapter entitled "City Year: Developing Idealistic Leaders Through National Service."

Creative Social Change:  Leadership for a Healthy World (Emerald Group, 2016)
Together with co-author Jill Huffnagel, we contributed a chapter entitled "Strengthening Communities Through Adaptive Leadership:  A Case Study of the Kansas Leadership Center and the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center."

Articles & Blog Posts

Over the years, my writing about leadership has appeared in publications including Fast Company, the Harvard Business Review, and the Huffington Post.  Here's a sample of my articles and blog posts:

Why leaders must confront their shadow…and how to make it happen (Brainz Magazine, February 22nd, 2023)
Our values & servant leadership: Humbition (New Politics Leadership Academy Blog, January 2020)
It's About Leadership:  How New Politics Seeks to Transform American Politics (Huffington Post, June 2017)
We're Asking Again:  Do You Feel Called to Enter the Arena?  (Huffington Post, January 2017)
Why Politics in America is Failing...And What We Can Do About It (Huffington Post, September 2016)
How to Solve a Complex Issue in 90 Minutes (Fast Company, January 2015)
Developing Leaders on a Moving Train (Huffington Post, May 2013)
How to Change the World:  A Breakthrough Idea from the Front Lines (Huffington Post, March 2012)
On Heroes, Civic Leaders, and Social Change:  Reflections on Black History Month (Huffington Post, February 2012)
21st Century Leadership:  It's All About Values (Harvard Business Review, May 2010)

Interviews

I’m frequently invited to appear as a guest on podcasts, radio shows, and video interview shows. Here’s a sample of these appearances:

Podcast Appearances
The ManKind Podcast Episode #216: From Shadow to Service, July 2025
The Podcast With a Thousand Faces #36: Max Klau and Tyler Lapkin, June 2025
The Growth Blueprint #4:Dr. Max Klau, July 2024
The ManKind Podcast Episode #117: Driving Social Change: Harnessing Power and Love on a Hero’s Question, Sept. 2023.
Tending the Shadows Episode #6: Shadow Work and Servant Leadership, Sept. 2023
Quantuvos Episode #35: The Inner Journey of Leadership, June 2023
The Wonder Dome Episode #33: The Inner Flame, November 2020
DistantJobs Podcast, December 2019
Mentalligence Radio: Episode #4, September 2019
City Year Podcast:  Race, Social Change, and National Service, March 2017
Visions of Education Episode #37: Leadership Development and the Importance of Space, December 2016

Radio Interviews (partial list)

“The Bruce Cook Conversation”, December 11th, 2022
“Race and Social Change: Science and Spirit”, Northern Spirit Radio, May 24th, 2019
”The Morning Show with Greg Berg”, WTGD, Kinosha Wisconsin, March 22nd 2019
”Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen”, WSCA, New Hampshire, March 21st 2019
”Ideasphere: A Platform for Today’s Voices”, PRX, San Louis Obispo California, March 25th, 2019
“The Jefferson Exchange”, WJPR, Oregon Washington, March 6th 2019

Video Interviews and Appearances
Book Talk with New Politics Academy Founder Emily Cherniack, Feb. 2026
Courageous Wholeness, Interview with Angel Acosta, June 2025
Exploring Leadership with Max Klau, interview by Kathryn Goldman-Schuyler, April 2020
Who is a Leader? Presentation at Don Bosco Institute in Guwahati India, July 2019
Let the World Know you Want to Succeed, Presentation at Don Bosco Institute, July 2019
Interview with Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, June 2019