On Becoming a Leader

Excellent book, well written from a leadership guru and very relevant to today's highly competitive trading environment.

This book would've had better reviews if people weren't so used to quick-fix mantras that make leadership into a number of bullet points that can be taught in some overpriced corporate training class. But this book talks about the soul of leadership, rather than the window dressing that you get from most gurus. So only get this if you're interested in substance, and not just looking for a cheap motivational thrill.

Note: The review that follows is of the fourth ("Twentieth Anniversary") edition that was published on March 2, 2009. Where have the 20 years gone since this book was first published? It remains among the most valuable and most influential primary sources on the subject of effective leadership at a time when the need for it has never been greater. However, although the core principles and the development of them that Warren Bennis examines in this book remain essentially the same, the perils and opportunities to which those principles can be applied throughout the global business world have increased in number as well as changed in nature since 1989. That is why Bennis felt the need to revise and update the material while adding an Epilogue. Previously, I read the first and third editions of this book and each time was reminded me of a situation years ago when participants were outraged about the playing conditions on the course on which the U.S. Open golf championship was once held. The greens were too fast, the rough was too high and deep, the pin placements were "impossible," etc. After a U.S. Golf Association official was informed of the criticism, he explained that "we're not trying to embarrass the world's greatest golfers, we're trying to identify them." Bennis seems to be making the same point about how great leaders are developed. More specifically, as he and Robert Thomas assert in Geeks & Geezers (2002), there are "crucibles" from which some emerge as leaders but most others do not. They developed a theory that describes, they believe for the first time, how leaders come to be. "We believe that we have identified the process that allows an individual to undergo testing and to emerge, not just stronger, but better equipped with the tools he or she needs both to lead and to learn. It is a model that explains how individuals make meaning out of difficult events -- we call them crucibles [in italics] -- and how that process of 'meaning making' both galvanizes individuals and gives them their distinctive voice." They cite and then discuss a number of individuals who underwent that process and, as a result, eventually became highly-effective leaders. Bennis and Thomas conclude their book with an especially apt quotation from Edith Wharton: "In spite of illness, in spite even of the arch enemy, sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual state of integration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways." These are indeed words to live and grow by for both Geeks and Geezers. Those who aspire to become leaders - or to become more effective leaders - will find much of value in this latest edition even as some will question Bennis' selection of some of the exemplary leaders such as Herb Alpert, Norman Lear, and Sydney Pollack. However, my own opinion is that effective leaders can - and should - be developed at all levels and in all areas, not only within an organization but indeed throughout an entire society. I do agree with other reviewers that some of Bernnis'social commentary indicates a political bias that is irrelevant to his stated objectives. Granted, Harry Truman once described politics as "the art of getting things done" and great leaders are certainly results-driven pragmatists. In that sense, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela (to name but a few) were master politicians. That said, each demonstrated most (if not all) of the qualities that Bennis admires, notably a compelling ("guiding") vision, a passion for excellence, and impeccable integrity. None of those qualities is political in nature. However, all of the aforementioned leaders considered them essential to achieving political objectives. In the Epilogue, Bennis recalls an incident that occurred in 1945. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had recently died and "crowded, grieving masses surged along Constitution Avenue in April 1945, waiting for his funeral cortege to pass by. As his hearse neared, a well-dressed, middle-aged man standing in the throng fell to his knees, sobbing desperately until finally regaining his composure. A stranger by his side asked, `Did you know the President?' The man could barely reply. `No . . . but he knew me.'" What's Bennis' point? To become a great leader, you must "know" those whom you ask to follow you. Agreeing with Abigail Adams that "great necessities call forth great leaders," Bennis notes that with the inauguration of a new U.S. president in 2009, "it is easy to forget that we need more than one gifted leader at a time. At the founding of the United States, when our population was less than 4 million, we had six towering leaders: Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Franklin, and Adams. Now that we number more than 304 million people, we are surely capable of yielding at least 600 world-class leaders in this country alone." When concluding the Epilogue with a question, "Will you be one of them?" Warren Bennis offers both an invitation and a challenge, and he does so at a time when the need for more and more effective leaders was never greater.

Too old, some very good points that could be made in a book much faster. Exampled not very relevant for UK reader.

Didn't like the first chapter about "Context". 20 pages of random thoughts to set the context, which could be better structured. The book is quite poorly (horribly?) written. Unstructured. Unclear. Repetitive. I often read paragraphs after paragraphs not getting the main points. Plus, random quotes or excerpt statements by unknown leaders/interviewees on every page, making the reading dizzy. It's a pain to read through the book. Perhaps it's me not getting it.

I can recommand "On Becoming a Leader" since it is a rather short read and still gives a strong feeling for what can and needs to be done in a world of many overall poor leaders. The examples are written in a United States perspective yet I (not an American myself) would disagree with anyone calling them useless because of that.

Item arrived in perfect condition, timely, for a good price.

I have really enjoyed it, a description of qualities involved in leadership, made interesting by real life examples. One of the books to periodically read to remember the basics, know thyself, master the context, .... Definitely a must !

As the tile indicates, this is a book on leadership development - "the hows: how people become leaders, how they lead, and how organizations encourage or stifle potential leaders." The premise upon which this book is based is best put by Warren himself - "...leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully. By this I mean that they know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to fully deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others, in order to gain their cooperation and support. Finally, they know how to achieve their goals. The key to full self-expression is understanding one's self and the world, and the key to understanding is learning - from one's own life and experience." The book then goes on to further elaborate on each of the areas highlighted above. The key differentiator between this and other leadership books is that this one promotes unleashing leadership from within, rather than describe what a person should strive to be. To me, this is the only way to develop sustainable authentic leaders. Another area of focus is that of experience. Warren stresses the importance of experience as the primary and ultimate development vehicle for leaders. Education is all its forms is important - but does not substitute the need for experience whether successes or failures. The book brings to life all of the aspects discussed through the stories of many successful leaders from a variety of sectors. A must read in the area of leadership and personal development! Below are some excerpts I found particularly insightful: 1- "Becoming a leader isn't easy, just as becoming a doctor or a poet isn't easy, and anyone who claims otherwise is fooling himself. But learning to lead is a lot easier than most of us think it is, because each of us contains the capacity for leadership. In fact, almost every one of us can point to some leadership experience." 2- "There are three basic reasons why leaders are important. First, they are responsible for the effectiveness of organizations...Second, the change and upheaval of the past years has left us with no place to hide...Third, there is a pervasive, national concern about the integrity of our institutions." 3- "There are four steps in the process behind Norman Lear's success in mastering the context: (1) becoming self-expressive; (2) listening to the inner voice; (3) learning from the right mentors; and (4) giving oneself over to a guiding vision." 4- "If most of us like Ed, are creatures of our context, prisoners of the habits, practices, and rules that make us ineffectual, it is from the Norman Lears, the people who not only challenge and conquer the context but who change it in fundamental ways, that we must learn. The first step toward change is to refuse to be deployed by others and to choose to deploy yourself. Thus the process begins." 5- "Leaders come in every size, shape, and disposition...Nevertheless, they all seem to share some, if not all, of the following ingredients: The first basic ingredient of leadership is a guiding vision...the second basic ingredient of leadership is passion...The next basic ingredient of leadership is integrity...Two more basic ingredients of leadership are curiosity and daring." 6- "All the leaders I talked with agreed that no one can teach you how to become yourself, to take charge, to express yourself, except you. But there are some things that others have done that are useful to think about in the process. I've organized them as the four lessons of self-knowledge. They are -One: You are your own best teacher. - Two: Accept responsibility. Blame no one. - Three: You can learn anything you want to learn. - Four: True understanding comes from reflecting on your experience." 7- "Self-awareness= self-knowledge = self-possession = self-control = self-expression. You make your life your own by understanding it." 8- "So innovative learning must replace maintenance/shock learning. The principle components of innovative learning are: -Anticipation: being active and imaginative rather than passive and habitual - Learning by listening to others - Participation: shaping events, rather than being shaped by them" 9- "Leaders, then, learn from their experiences. Learning from experience means - looking back at your childhood and adolescence and using what happened to you then to enable you to make things happen now, so that you become the master of your own life rather than its servant. - consciously seeking the kings of experiences in the present that will improve and enlarge you. - taking risks as a matter of course, with the knowledge that failure is as vital as it is inevitable. - Seeing the future - yours and the world's - as an opportunity to do al those things you have not done and those things that need to be done, rather than as a trial or a test." 10- "No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders." 11- "...Having measured the differences between what you want and what you're able to do, and between what drives you and what satisfies you, and between what your values are and what the organization's values are - are you able and willing to overcome those differences?" 12- "Entrepreneur Larry Wilson defined the difference between desire and drive as the difference between expressing yourself and providing yourself." 13- "The means of expression are the steps to the leadership: 1- Reflection leading to resolution 2- Resolution leading to perspective 3- Perspective leading to point of view 4- Point of view leading to test and measures 5- Tests and measures leading to desire 6- Desire lending to mastery 7- Mastery leading to strategic thinking 8- Strategic thinking leading to full self-expression 9- The synthesis of full self-expression = leadership" 14- "There is magic in experience, as well as wisdom. And more magic in stress, challenge, and adversity, and more wisdom. And the letters JOB after one's name mean infinitely more to the wise than all rhe BAS, MBAS, and PHDS." 15- "There are four ingredients leaders have to generate and sustain trust: 1- Constancy. 2- Congruity. 3- Reliability. 4- Integrity." 16- "...When they asked top executives what advice they would give to younger executives, there were three basic themes: 1- Take advantage of every opportunity. 2- Aggressively search for meaning. 3- Know yourself." 17- "There are ten factors, ten personal and organizational characteristics for coping with change, forging a new future, and creating learning organizations. 1- Leaders manage the dream. 2- Leaders embrace errors. 3- Leaders encourage reflective backtalk. 4- Leaders encourage dissent. 5- Leaders possess the Nobel Factor. 6- Leaders understand the Pygmalion effect in management. 7- Leaders have what I think of as the Gretzky factor, a certain touch. 8- Leaders see the long view. 9- Leaders understand stakeholder symmetry. 10- Leaders create strategic alliances and partnerships. "

Remarquable par le manque d'éthique des techniques décrites, style longuet et repetitif. Informatif mais je ne recommande pas ce livre