Table Of Content
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More praise for On Becoming a Leader
“Warren Bennis—master practitioner, researcher, and
theoretician all in one—has managed to create a practical
primer for leaders without sacrificing an iota of necessary
subtlety and complexity. No topic is more important; no more
able and caring person has attacked it.”
—Tom Peters
“The lessons here are crisp and persuasive.”
—Fortune
“This is Warren Bennis’s most important book.”
—Peter Drucker
“A joy to read...studded with gems of insight.”
—Dallas Times-Herald
“Bennis identifies the key ingredients of leadership success
and offers a game plan for cultivating those qualities.”
—Success
“Clearly Bennis’s best work in a long line of impressive,
significant contributions.”
—Business Forum
“Totally intriguing, thought-stretching insights into the
clockworks of leaders. Bennis has masterfully peeled the
onion to reveal the heartseed of leadership. Read it and reap.”
—Harvey B. McKay
“Warren Bennis gets to the heart of leadership, to the
essence of integrity, authenticity, and vision that can never
be pinned down to a manipulative formula. This book can
help any of us select the new leaders we so urgently need.”
—Betty Friedan
“Warren Bennis’s insight and his gift with words make these
lessons, from some of America’s most interesting leaders,
compelling reading for every executive.”
—Charles Handy
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On Becoming
a Leader
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Also by Warren Bennis
Beyond Leadership (co-author)
Beyond Bureaucracy
Co-Leaders (co-author)
Douglas McGregor on Management (co-author)
Geeks and Geezers (co-author)
Judgment (co-author)
Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge (co-author)
Leaders on Leadership (editor)
Learning to Lead (co-author)
Managing People Is Like Herding Cats
Managing the Dream
Old Dogs, New Tricks
Organizing Genius (co-author)
Reinventing Leadership (co-author)
The Temporary Society (co-author)
Transparency (co-author)
The 21st Century Organization (co-author)
The Unreality Industry (co-author)
Why Leaders Can’t Lead
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On Becoming
a Leader
Warren Bennis
A MEMBEROFTHEPERSEUSBOOKSGROUP
NEWYORK
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The poem “Six Significant Landscapes,” by Wallace Stevens,
is taken fromThe Collected Poems of Wallace Stevensand is
used by permission of the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish
their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations
appear in this book, and where Basic Books was aware of a trademark
claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters.
Copyright © 2009 by Warren Bennis Inc.
First Edition Copyright © 1989 by Warren Bennis Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the
United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003100205
ISBN: 978-0-465-01408-8; 0–7382–0817–5
Basic Books is a member of the Perseus Books Group.
Find us on the World Wide Web at www.basicbooks.com.
Books published by Basic Books are available at special
discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations,
institutions, and other organizations. For more information,
please contact the Special Markets Department at the
Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000,
or e-mail [email protected].
Text design by Lisa Kreinbrink
Set in 11-point Janson Text by the Perseus Books Group
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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To David Cannom, MD,
David Gergen, and
Stephen Sample
for their unsparing efforts to make
our world healthier and saner.
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction to the Revised Edition, 2003 xiii
Introduction to the Original Edition, 1989 xxix
1 Mastering the Context 1
2 Understanding the Basics 33
3 Knowing Yourself 49
4 Knowing the World 67
5 Operating on Instinct 95
6 Deploying Yourself: Strike Hard, Try Everything 107
7 Moving Through Chaos 135
8 Getting People on Your Side 147
9 Organizations Can Help—or Hinder 165
10 Forging the Future 185
Epilogue to the Twentieth-Anniversary Edition 199
Biographies 227
References 241
Index 245
