On Becoming a Leader

On Becoming a Leader

Introduction

This paper intends to provide a book review over “On Becoming a Leader” written by Warren Bennis. Warren Bennis is essentially one of the most important American scholars related to the field of management and leadership. This particular paper will provide a brief description about the author, general summary of the book, key leadership emphases of the book, pros and cons of the book and most importantly the influence of the book over my vision of educational leadership. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in depth review of the book.

About the Author

Warren Bennis was born in March 1925. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of the studies related to contemporary leadership. Warren Bennis was convinced of the viewpoint that leaders are not born; they are created. Also, he worked over suggesting that the management of organizations must be less hierarchical and more democratic. Warren Bennis created his revisionist theory of leadership which was published in Harvard Business Review in 1961. Warren Bennis challenged the prevailing way of leadership by suggesting that democratic and humanistic leaders can deal with the situations in a much comprehensive manner.

General Summary of “On Becoming a Leader”

Management and leadership remained the basic topics of the book. The underlying leadership traits that individuals need to possess is highlighted in the book. The author has also leveraged upon the fact that organizations need to encourage or highlight the potential leader in order to polish their skills; as leaders are created; not born. Throughout the book, the author has emphasized over the fact that organizations must encourage individuals to polish their skills so that they can become competent leaders (Bennis, 2009).

Warren Bennis have provided examples of dynamic businesses leaders for the purpose of demonstrating that ...