Little Book of Big Management Theories, The, 2nd Edition

THEORY 22

WARREN BENNIS ON THE MYTH THAT LEADERS ARE BORN NOT MADE

Use to remind you that with practice you can become a great leader.

Warren Bennis (1925–2014) was an American academic, management consultant and an influential writer on the subject of leadership. One of the tasks he set himself was to demystify the concept of leadership. He firmly believed that:

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born … The myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense … Leaders are made rather than born.

Warren Bennis

In his seminal book, with Burt Nanus, Leaders: Strategies for taking charge he provides pen portraits of forty successful leaders, many of whom clearly lacked charisma ...