The best leaders of 2011

Leadership experts share their picks with us for top leader of the year, from Hillary Clinton to Tim Tebow.

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Tim Tebow

Alaina Love, author of "The Purpose Linked Organization," casts her vote for one of today's biggest football stars. "I am very impressed with Tim Tebow, the clutch-player, king-of-football quarterback for the Broncos."

Julie Jacobson / AP

Hillary Clinton

Michael Useem, author of "The Leader's Checklist" and director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, picks Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "for her leadership of American foreign policy during a very tumultuous year with the Arab spring and beyond."

Kevin Lamarque / AFP/Getty Images

Tim Cook

Leadership expert John Baldoni, author of the new book "Lead With Purpose," selects Tim Cook, the new chief executive officer of Apple, as this year's most notable leader.

David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

The Gang of Six

Paul Portney, former dean of the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management, gives leadership accolades to the Gang of Six, including Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (pictured here). "They deserve credit for risking ostracism to attempt to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction package. A pox on virtually all other members of Congress."

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

Angela Merkel

Leadership gurus Warren Bennis, author of "On Becoming a Leader", and Tom Peters, author of "In Search of Excellence," both nominate German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to Peters, "How the recent EU agreement will spin itself out is very uncertain, and Chancellor Merkel was playing a reasonably strong hand. But there is no doubt that [with] shrewd, dogged domestic and EU-wide political gymnastics, she bent a continent, and perhaps the rest of us, to her will."

Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Warren Buffett

Marie Wilson, founder of the White House Project and author of "Closing the Leadership Gap," casts her vote for Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway: "He's dealt with class and gender in interesting ways: His appeal for taxes on him and his wealthy colleagues was a statement about democracy that we needed. He has also been a great advocate for women's leadership. "

Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg

Sam Palmisano

Harvard University leadership professor Bill George, author of "True North," calls IBM Chief Executive Sam Palmisano "the best CEO in the world. He retires this year after nine years at the helm. Has completely transformed IBM around an integrated global enterprise and leading by values."

Bill O'Leary

Christine Lagarde

Author of "The Silent Language of Leaders," Carol Goman picks Christine Lagarde as leader of the year. Lagarde replaced Dominque Strauss-Kahn as the head of the IMF, and is the first woman to head the organization.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs got the vote of two leadership experts: Alan Webber, a founding editor of Fast Company magazine, and Lisa Caputo, former press secretary for Hillary Rodham Clinton and now head of marketing and communications for Travelers. According to Weber, "We're going to miss him, so we should celebrate his departure."

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

Donald Berwick

Michael Maccoby, author of "The Leaders We Need," chose Donald Berwick, who was bypassed as President Obama's nominated director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: "Berwick emphasized that only by focusing on continual improved quality of care can we cut the costs of health care. Although Republican senators refused to confirm him, ostensibly because he once approved of the British system, he was able to set in place a strategy for shaping healthcare policy."

Ed Andrieski / AP

Gen. Martin C. Dempsey

Col. Charles Allen, a leadership professor at the U.S. Army War College, casts his vote for Gen. Martin Dempsey, who has held three positions in 2011: commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command, chief of staff of the Army, and now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Lee Jin-man / AP

Scott Rudin

Barbara Kellerman, the founding executive director of Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership, selects producer Scott Rudin (pictured center), "whose influence on film, theater and popular culture is in the moment unmatched."

Lucy Nicholson

Featured Photo Galleries

A masquerader from the Fantasy carnival band dances on stage on the final day of the carnival at Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain February 21, 2012. Picture taken February 21. REUTERS/Andrea De Silva (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Tags: SOCIETY)

Carnival, Nationals spring training, Australian foreign minister resigns and more in the day in photos

News and feature images from around the world.

Feb. 15, 2012: French bulldog Baby attends the feeding of wild boar piglets at the Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin, Germany. Six little pigs have found a new friend in a maternal French bulldog named Baby. The Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin says Baby took straight to the wild boar piglets when they were brought in Saturday, three days old and shivering from cold. Sanctuary worker Norbert Damm said Wednesday as soon as the furry striped piglets were brought in, Baby ran over and started snuggling them and keeping them warm, even though they're already about her size. He says the piglets' mother was likely killed by a hunter and the litter was found abandoned in a forest. The piglets are being bottlefed right now and should be released to an animal sanctuary when they can feed themselves in about three months.

Animal views

A French bulldog adopts wild boar piglets, a fingernail-size chameleon, frill-necked lizards and more.

Barbadian singer Rihanna accepts the International Female Solo Artist award at the BRIT Awards 2012 in London on February 21, 2012. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Adele, Joan Collins, Raquel Welch, Rooney Mara and other celebrities.

This undated image released by Julien's Auctions shows a pair of pearl drop earrings worn by Whitney Houston in the movie The Bodyguard,Warner Bros., 1992.Â This item is part of âHollywood Legendsâ auction scheduled to run on Saturday March 31, 2012 through Sunday April 1st at the Julienâs Auctions gallery in Beverly Hills.Â (AP Photo/Julien's Auctions)

Whitney Houston items up for auction

Items that belonged to or were used by the late pop icon will be sold by Julien’s Auctions in March. Here is a look at those items, plus other celebrity items auctioned by Julien&rsquo...

A reveler with the Mystic Stripers tosses trinkets to the crowds gathered on Royal Street in Mobile, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. The pre-Lenten blowout continues along the Gulf Coast culminating in Fat Tuesday celebrations Feb. 21. Tourism leaders estimate more than a million visitors pour into the Mobile area each Mardi Gras season to watch the festivities. (AP Photo/Mobile Register, G.M. Andrews) MAGS OUT; NO SALES

Mardi Gras around the globe

Revelers around the world celebrate Fat Tuesday, the day before the fasting season of Lent begins.

Kennedy Space Center at 50

The Kennedy Space Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s orbital flight.

ATTENTION EDITORS - IMAGE 4 OF 25 FOR PICTURE PACKAGE 'MONGOLIA'S OLYMPIC GYM ' Mongolia's Olympic freestyle 60kg wrestler Mandakhnaran Ganzorig limbers with a partner at a wrestling gym in Ulan Bator, October 27, 2012. While the elite of the sporting world tune up for the London Olympics in world class facilities, other gold medal hopefuls are forced to make do with less salubrious surroundings. In Mongolia, Asian champion Ganzorig trains alongside children playing basketball in an old, tired gym with paint peeling from the walls. Children play on ancient free weight machines, climb ropes and roll around on the floor mimicking their wrestling hero as he warms up for his training session in the corner. Picture taken October 27, 2012 REUTERS/Kieran Doherty (MONGOLIA - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS)

Olympic dreams, shabby surroundings

While the elite of the sporting world tune up for the London Olympics in world-class facilities, other gold medal hopefuls are forced to make do with less. In Mongolia, Asian champion...

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks in Redmond, Wash. To hear some Republican presidential candidates tell it, the president’s pen is a magic wand that can make Obamacare vanish in one day and sweep in cheaper health care, economic growth and lots of jobs in businesses freed from the health care law’s heavy hand. But there is no such fairy dust in Washington. Across the board, the contenders pledge to repeal the overhaul. In doing so, some are more realistic than others about what they can achieve and how fast. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

10 richest U.S. presidents

If Mitt Romney wins the election, it will him the second-wealthiest president in our nation’s history. Here’s a list of the richest presidents, ranked by 24/7 Wall Street...

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The best leaders of 2011

Leadership experts share their picks with us for top leader of the year, from Hillary Clinton to Tim Tebow.

Featured Photo Galleries

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