The Wow Factor: Heather Templeton Dill: President of The John Templeton Foundation

Heather Templeton Dill: President of The John Templeton Foundation | Stewarding A Family Legacy

Apr 20, 2022

Heather Templeton Dill is president of the John Templeton Foundation. Before assuming this role in 2015, she served as executive liaison to the president under her father, the late Dr. Jack Templeton. Dill is the granddaughter of the late Sir John Templeton. In her tenure as president, Dill and the Foundation have awarded 1,334 grants and donations totaling more than $874 million. The John Templeton Foundation funds research and discovery across a range of subjects in the sciences, philosophy, and theology, from gratitude and hope to the psychology of purpose and positive neuroscience. Under her leadership, the Foundation plans to increase its grants and donations to approximately $313 million in 2021 and 2022.

Heather joins me today to discuss the vision and purpose of the John Templeton Foundation and what their aspiration of becoming a global catalyst for discoveries that contribute to human flourishing means in real terms. We discuss Heather’s purpose of enabling people to create lives of purpose and meaning and how the foundation encourages them through their grants. Heather also gives her invaluable advice to leaders on why gratitude is the lens through which they should view their world.

“I absolutely see my role as a calling, as a vocation, as something that providence has guided me to over time.” - Heather Templeton Dill

“We want the research we fund to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and communities.” - Heather Templeton Dill

“Those concepts, those ideas, those actions, like forgiveness, gratitude, and generosity, contribute to human flourishing because it helps us make the lives of those around us better.” - Heather Templeton Dill

This Week on The Wow Factor:

What Heather learned from her physician parents about the joy of giving
Why it can be a challenge for leaders to take the space that's required for reflection
Heather’s initial career aspirations, when and why she pivoted towards working with the Templeton Foundation
The philanthropic organizations that Heather’s grandfather founded — The John Templeton World Charity Foundation, and the Templeton Religion Trust
How Heather and her sister managed their relationship when Heather was considering stepping up as president of the Foundation
Why Heather sees the John Templeton Foundation as a catalyst that sparks new fields of research
How Heather aligns what the John Templeton Foundation does now with what we think her grandfather wanted to accomplish
Why Heather is inspired by her grandfather's vision and her feeling that it is a privilege and an honor to carry it forward

Heather Templeton Dill’s Words of Wisdom:

There are two components to gratitude; firstly, all leaders need to be very grateful for the position they hold to be a leader and a servant as the head of an institution. The second is to express gratitude for those who work with you and for you. Expressing gratitude both in writing and publicly is so important in leadership.

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