My first report on the subject was published as Leaders (Harper and Row, 1985, co-authored with Bert Nanus). Leaders covered the whats. On Becoming a Leader is the hows: how people become leaders, how they lead, and how organizations encourage or stifle potential leaders. - Introduction.
Deemed “the dean of leadership gurus” by Forbes magazine, Warren Bennis has for years persuasively argued that leaders are not born—they are made. Delving into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to achieve it, his classic work On Becoming a Leader has served as a source of essential insight for countless readers. In a world increasingly defined by turbulence and uncertainty, the call to leadership is more urgent than ever. Featuring a provocative new introduction, this new edition will inspire a fresh generation of potential leaders to excellence.
Reviews with the most likes.
I had to read this book for a graduate class. When I first started with it, I was excited because it was easy to read and really highlighted some good points with respect to leadership. In reality, I have picked up some good quotes from it.
However, as my coursework progressed and was assigned additional leadership texts, I came to regard this one as very bland. It is meant to be a prescriptive text for leaders but I think it is sporadic in theme and delivery. In some cases, it is hard to understand how the examples relate to the chapter at hand until the last paragraph or two in the chapter. Such a tactic has its place in fiction, but not in a textbook.
Bottom line, the subject matter was admirable and moderately relevant. The book was originally published in 1989. My version advertised its being revised for relevance in a post-9/11 and post-Enron world. Honestly, though, I found the revisions to be forced and the concepts to still be somewhat dated. This was truly a transitional book written to guide leaders from a former paradigm to the a new one. Now that the new one is here, it is time to move away from this book.
Books
7 booksIf you enjoyed this book, then our algorithm says you may also enjoy these.
