On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic [Paperback]

Warren Bennis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2003

With a new introduction by the authorWarren Bennis's formative years, in the 1930s and '40s, were characterized by severe economic hardship and a world war that showcased the extreme depths and heights to which leaders could drive their followers. Today's environment is similarly chaotic, turbulent, and uncertain. On Becoming a Leader has served for nearly fifteen years as a beacon of insight, delving into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to become an effective leader. This new edition features a provocative introduction on the challenges and opportunities facing leaders today, with additional updates and current references throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bennis here deplores what he considers a dearth of leadership in the world. "Although he provides solid, practical guidance on how to fill this vacuum, his philosophically and psychologically rich volume seeks primarily to define leadership--which, in his view, requires self-knowledge and clear personal goals," reported PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Bennis, author of the popular Leaders: The Strategies of Taking Charge (LJ 4/1/85) and also co-author of The Unreality Industry , reviewed in this issue, p. 00.-- Ed. , has interviewed hundreds of leaders over time, and he uses 30 of them to illustrate his points. He does this by quoting them, as appropriate, in the various chapters of the book--"Understand The Basics," "Operating on Instinct," "Knowing Yourself," etc. He still sees vision as an essential ingredient for leadership, but in this work stresses how to find the vision. "The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely--all your skills, gifts, and energies--in order to make your vision manifest." Recommended for all business collections.
- Michael D. Kathman, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; Revised edition (April 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738208175
• ISBN-13: 978-0738208176
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Warren Bennis (Los Angeles, CA), born in 1925, is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, who is widely regarded as the pioneer of the contemporary field of leadership. He is University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California. In the past decade, he served as chairman of the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, working with David Gergen.
Bennis has consulted for many Fortune 500 companies and served as adviser to four U.S. presidents. He has served on the faculty of MIT's Sloan School of Management and was Chairman of the Organizational Studies Department. He is a former faculty member of Boston University, former Provost and Executive Vice President of State University of New York at Buffalo and President of the University of Cincinnati. His global experience includes teaching at the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, INSEAD, the London Business School, and IMEDE (now IMD). In 2007, Business Week called him one of ten business school professors who have had the greatest influence on business thinking. He has received 20 honorary degrees and has served on numerous boards of advisors.
Bennis has written or edited 30 books, which have been translated into 21 languages, and many articles on three of his passions-leadership, organizational change, and creative collaboration. The Financial Times recently named Leaders as one of the top 50 business books of all time.
Bennis is proud of the four years he served in the U.S. Army, 1943-1947. At the age of 19 he was one of the youngest infantry commanders in Germany and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. His dream remains: to write a terrific one-act play.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent study of leadership., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On Becoming A Leader: Revised Edition (Paperback)

Charles Smith Submitted 2/18/99

Bennis, W. (1989). On Becoming A Leader. Reading, Massachusetts: Perseus Books

This book deals with leadership, how one becomes a leader, and the many people the author knows with leadership qualities. It is written in an easy to understand format that uses many formulas which people have used to obtain strong leadership qualities. Bennis points out three reasons for the importance of effective leadership. Leaders are responsible for organizational effectiveness, leaders must also provide stability to an organization and the need for integrity within an organization. Norman Lear, writer and director, is often referenced by Bennis. He believes that society is suffering from what he calls a "societal disease" of short-term thinking. This can be a stumbling block in the pursuit of total leadership. One of Bennis' premises is that that the context of leadership is a breaker not a maker and that most people fail to realize the difference. To be an effective leader one must see it as an end result, not a beginning. Learning from failure is also an important theme in the book. The author points out a person fictitiously called Ed and how he never really understood what it took to be an effective leader. While he had wonderful management skills, he was not trusted because he was unable to make people feel willing to follow. He had followers but they were not always willing followers. Norman Lear again provides insight to what he calls mastering the context of leadership. A leader must be self-expressive, listen to the inner voice, learn from the right mentors and give oneself over to a guiding vision. Bennis defines three ingredients that encompass leadership. A guiding vision is to know where one wants to go and how to get there. Another ingredient is passion. This occurs when a leader loves what he does and loves doing it. The third component is integrity. This follows the "know thyself" concept. If you know your strengths and weaknesses you will better know how to deal with certain tasks. There is great value in separating what people think and expect of you from what you think and expect of yourself, according to the author. Bennis discusses three types of learning that mold potential leaders. The first is maintenance learning described as using fixed methods and outlooks to deal with "recurring situations." The second is shock learning in which people are overwhelmed by events. These two types of learning are said to be more about accepting other's philosophies than about true learning. Bennis acknowledges the need to replace maintenance and shock learning with what he calls innovative learning, which requires one to be imaginative, an active listener and to participate in shaping events, instead of letting events shape you. Another concept is dealing with oneself. Bennis talks about learning from mistakes and looking back to see how mistakes could make a better future. These concepts are conducive to future growth. He also points out how failure is part of becoming an effective leader. It is necessary for growth and a lack of failure could indicate an unwillingness to take risks. Leaders must be able to deal with different personalities. Bennis discusses right-brained people, identifiable as intuitive, conceptual and artistic. He also identifies left-brained people who are logical, analytical and have technical backgrounds. In other words, a leader must be able to see through the eyes of an accountant as well as a researcher and mesh the two into a vision. Bennis calls this being whole brained. The author also talks the importance of trust building. He points out four traits necessary for trust to develop: consistency, congruity, reliability and integrity. With these characteristics, true leadership can take place. These important components of leadership are what kept Ed from being an effective leader. The author points out that trust is the foundation in which true leadership can be cultivated.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Human Touch of Leadership, June 28, 2003

By 

Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr. (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic (Paperback)

While I don't agree with all of Bennis' role models, he makes some very valid points about achievement, leadership, and human relationships. Like John Maxwell and others who have paid their dues, he mentions the importance of learning from failure. One of the many useful quotes Bennis provides is "it is not enough for a leader to do things right, he must do the right thing." Also like other writers in this genre, he says one of the fundamentals of leadership is to have a guiding vision. As a communicator, Bennis encourages potential leaders to codify their thoughts through writing. Writing eliminates ambiguity and helps one to focus. Leadership is viewed as a process in the sense that goal-accomplishment involves several incremental phases. He writes "the goal isn't worth arriving at unless you enjoy the journey." A process of self-reflection is outlined and discussed in the middle section of the book. This is followed by some advice on how to investigate the world at large. Travel, reading, and involvement are three keys to learning the environment in which one is to contribute. Bennis has some ideas worthy of followup. His book is worth reading.

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have been better, August 18, 2004

By 

M. D. Thomas "ReadingSailor" (New London, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic (Paperback)

When the author sticks to discussing leadership, I found this book very readable and easy to understand. The book is written in a very easy to follow format and he explores the personal side of leadership. He presents some very altruistic ideas the sound very good, however, aren't always practical in the real world. This book would have received a higher rating for me also if Mr. Bennis would have refrained from all the political commentary throughout the beginning of his book. His repeated support for a former president while being less than flattering of the current president put too much of a political overtone in the beginning and really turned me off. It wouldn't matter if I agreed with Mr. Bennis or not, it simply didn't have a place in what would have otherwise been a very good book.