BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

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MANAGEMENT LIBRARY
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
Why Read It?
Warren Bennis is widely respected as one of the foremost thinkers on leadership, and this book is regarded as a classic. It explains how people become leaders, how they lead, and how organizations respond to leadership. It is not based on academic theory, but offers practical advice based on interviews with a mix of leaders from many different fields.

Getting Started
Bennis believes that there is no exact science of leadership. Leaders vary in background, education, and experience. However, he identifies certain characteristics as essential for success. According to Bennis, leaders should know what they want and should be able to communicate what they want to others in order to gain their support. Leaders should also understand their own strengths and weaknesses and use them to achieve their goals. Bennis explains the phenomenon of leadership by defining its distinctive qualitiesespecially those that set a leader apart from a boss or manager, by highlighting the experiences that were vital to the development of leaders, by identifying the turning points, and by examining the role of failure.

Contribution
1. The importance of leadership Bennis explains that leaders are important for three reasons:

they are responsible for the effectiveness of organizations they provide a focal point they provide a recognizable constant in the midst of rapid change

2. Leading and managing According to Bennis, the ingredients of leadership are wide-ranging and they include guiding vision, passion, integrity, self-knowledge, trust, and daring. Leaders, he argues, can be highly competent, but fail to win the hearts and minds of the people they are leading.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2004

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

October 2004 Upgrade 25

Bennis believes that there is a significant difference between a leader and a boss, especially a boss who comes up from a results-driven management role. The drive for short-term results can run counter to the effectiveness of a visionary leader. There are also many important differences between managers and leaders, he argues. The former have short-term rather than long-term perspectives, focus on systems rather than people, accept the status quo rather than challenging it, and exercise control instead of inspiring trust. 3. Leaders and learning Leaders, according to Bennis, are their own best teachers. They accept responsibility and gain from their own experience and that of others. He distinguishes between maintenance learning and shock learning, both of which are familiar to managers, and what he calls innovative learning, which involves listening to others. This type of learning, he explains, means that people are free to express themselves, rather than just explain themselves. True intellect, he believes, is being able to see how things can be different. 4. The value of failure Bennis suggests that leaders also learn from adversity. Making mistakes should not be punished. Leaders must operate on instinct, a process based on the use of the left- and right-hand sides of the brain. Managers, in contrast, rely on tried and tested processes. According to Bennis, leaders should try everything, even in the face of failure. Few people venture into uncharted waters because of the risk of failure. 5. Achieving goals Leaders should be able to shift perspective so that they can see what is most important. Bennis argues that leadership, unlike any other skill, cannot be broken down into a series of repeatable maneuvers. The creative process involved in reaching a goal is infinitely complex. As he explains, leaders have to be able to move through chaos and synthesize all the elements needed for success. 6. Gaining support Bennis argues that leaders must get people on their side to effect change. Empathy is therefore an important characteristic of leadership. This, he explains, is in contrast to theories of leadership by force. Leadership, he believes, requires persuasion, not giving orders. This requires an understanding of the needs of other people and the ability to communicate a vision.

Context
Leadership is now one of the most popular topics in management literature and training, and Warren Bennis has made an important contribution. Leadership did not attract serious academic interest until the 1985 publication of Leaders: Strategies for Taking Change written in conjunction with Burt Nanus.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2004

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

October 2004 Upgrade 25

Benniss work is based on extensive research with leaders in every field. One project involved interviews with 90 of Americas leaders, including astronaut Neil Armstrong, the coach of the LA Rams, orchestral conductors, and businessmen such as Ray Kroc of McDonalds. Bennis argues that leadership is not a rare skill. Leaders are made rather than born; leaders are usually ordinary, or apparently ordinary, people rather than obviously charismatic figures. Leadership, moreover, is not solely the preserve of those at the top of the organizationit is relevant at all levels.

The Best Sources of Help

Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. London: Arrow Books, 1998.

Further Reading
Bennis, Warren, and Burt Nanus. Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge. New York: HarperBusiness 1997.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2004