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On Becoming a Leader
(1989)
Warren Bennis |
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| Bennis is a major figure in the academic study of leadership, but has also popularised the subject through bestsellers.
In 1985 he co-authored Leaders, based on observation and interviews with 90 of America's leaders, ranging from astronaut Neil Armstrong to McDonald's founder Ray Kroc. The book's conclusion was that leadership is more crucial than we know, yet can be learned by anyone.
While Leaders is a business classic which analyses the nature of leadership, On Becoming a Leader is about how we can make leadership a personal habit. It arose out of more in-depth dialogue with a smaller number of people including director Sydney Pollack, feminist author Betty Friedan, and musician and A&M records founder Herb Alpert.
The book provides many fine insights. Perhaps the key one is that true leaders are not interested in proving themselves; they want above all to be able to express themselves fully . Proving oneself implies a limited or static view of the self, whereas the leader, by continually seeking his or her fullest expression, must be willing to engage in periodic reinvention. For Bennis's leaders, life is not a competition, but a flowering. Structured education and society often get in the way of leadership. Real learning is the process of remembering what is important to us, and becoming a leader is therefore the act of becoming more and more yourself.
When people protest that they can't lead, or don't want to lead, they are usually thinking of management and giving speeches. But leadership is as varied as people, and the main question is not whether you will be burdened, but how you are challenged to escape mediocrity and conformity and really lead yourself.
Becoming a leader involves:
- Continuous learning and never-dying curiosity;
- A compelling vision; leaders first define their reality (what they believe is possible), then set about 'managing their dream';
- Developing the ability to communicate that vision and inspire others to follow it;
- Tolerating uncertainty and taking on risk - a degree of daring;
- Personal integrity: self-knowledge, candour, maturity, welcoming criticism;
- Being a one-off, an original. 'Leaders learn from others, but are not made by others';
- Reinvention. To create new things sometimes involves re-creating ourselves. We may be influenced by our genes and environment, but the leader takes all his or her influences and makes something unique;
- Taking time off to think and reflect, which brings answers and produces resolutions;
- Passion for the promises of life; a belief in the best, for ourselves and others;
- Seeing success in small, everyday increments and joys, not waiting years for the Big Success to arrive;
- Using the context of your life, rather than surrendering to it.
Bennis has probably done as much as anyone to shatter the myth of leaders as heroes, born not made. We live in a democracy of leadership now, in which everyone can lead in some way.
As more people understand what leadership means and are taught to achieve their potential, it might be expected that competition will increase to ridiculous levels. But whereas competition is the result of everyone striving to win at the same thing, personal visions are unique. To become a leader is to claim the power and assurance that comes from being a one-off. |
| Read the full commentary in 50 Success Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon. |
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50 Success Classics,
the book,
gives you:
• insightful commentaries on 50 key books.
• 300 pages of life-changing wisdom and advice.
• Expanded features and profiles not
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| "This incredible book gives you the best of success literature ever written - in one easy book that you can read and reread for years.” |
Brian Tracy, author of
Goals and Million Dollar Habits |
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| "A highly readable collection! 50 Success Classics presents a smorgasbord of some of the best thinking on what success really means.” |
Kenneth Blanchard, co-author of
The One Minute Manager |
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| "I can't imagine needing any other success book after reading 50 Success Classics. It has every piece of wisdom you'll every need to make your life extraordinary.” |
Cheryl Richardson, author of
Life Makeovers |
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| "I only wish this book had been available years ago - it could have saved me countless hours sifting through the dross by instead pointing me to the really inspirational works. Very highly recommended.” |
Jim Ewan,
Vice-President of The Speakers Association |
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| On Becoming A Leader: |
"Leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves."
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| Warren Bennis: |
Bennis was the youngest infantry commander in the European theatre in World War II. Back home at Antioch College, he found a mentor in Douglas McGregor, the path-breaking management theorist, and was also influenced by Abraham Maslow (see Motivation and Personality). After studying group dynamics, he wrote about new organisational forms, coining the term 'adhocracies' as the opposite to bureaucracies. He gained his Ph.D in economics and social science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Bennis spent several years as president of the University of Cincinnati and executive vice-president at the State University of New York, and has been on the faculty of MIT's Sloan School of Management, Harvard and Boston Universities, INSEAD and the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. He has authored or co-authored 20 books, including the autobiographical An Invented Life (1993), Organizing Genius (1997) and Co-Leaders: the Power of Great Partnerships (1999) with David Heenana.
He is now based at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, as founder and Distinguished Professor of the Leadership Institute, Marshall School of Business.
The author has served on a multitude of high-level advisory boards, including the White House Task Force on Science Policy. On Becoming a Leader has been praised by Al Gore, and has been published in 13 languages.
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