In this post I want to go back to one of my favorite authors on the subject of leadership, Warren Bennis, and specifically to a quote in his book On Becoming A Leader. The quote is, “In order to lead a Great Group, a leader need not possess all the individual skills of the group members. What he or she must have are vision, the ability to rally the others, and integrity. Such leaders also need superb curatorial and coaching skills – an eye for talent, the ability to recognize correct choices, contagious optimism, a gift for bringing out the best in others, the ability to facilitate communication and mediate conflict, a sense of fairness, and, as always, the kind of authenticity and integrity that creates trust.” In this quote, Bennis surfaces a number of leadership qualities that are individually significant and collectively paint a very complete picture of what constitutes effective leadership.
For me, his opening sentence is perhaps the most important … leaders do not need to be all things. I cannot imagine any mortal human possessing to the fullest extent possible all of the individual strengths that encapsulate a perfect leader. Instead, each of us has our own strengths that we can routinely tap and the strengths of others that we can add to the mix. The most effective leaders that I have known or witnessed understand this and actively engage others in the process … toward evolving best strategies and making the most effective decisions.
Having vision is one of the critical qualities that Bennis points to. Not all of us can see past the moment … to sense what is coming around the bend in the road, but the most innovative and inventive of those within the leadership ranks seem to be able to do this with regularity. Rather than a psychic quality, I have found this to be much more a product of continuous research … primarily of talking with stakeholders. No one has all of the answers, but taking all of the answers and blending them together will often paint a clear vision of what is to be.
Bennis also mentions the importance of having “an eye for talent.” This is critically important. And talent should not be defined by the degrees one has been awarded or the skill sets they have acquired, it is such things as heart, drive, integrity, character, compassion, commitment, and a host of other qualities that comprise the sort of individual who will fully invest himself/herself in organizational visions and the tasks of the moment … and therefore who will make the greatest difference. Skill sets can be learned … the qualities mentioned above come from within … they come with the person. Focusing on these components of “talent” and then investing fully in growing these individuals to new levels represents the foundation of leadership success. The end results can be spectacular. A reminder of this comes in a related quote from Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Another of the individual mentions in Bennis’ quote is specific to “rallying others.” You can have the perfect team, but if you cannot light their fire, especially in difficult times, intentions will not be achieved … at least not to the extent they might. And people will not rally around a leader unless other qualities mentioned by Bennis are thoroughly evident … most importantly integrity and authenticity. People follow those individuals who they trust and therefore in whom they believe.
Bennis also mentions “contagious optimism.” It is hard to get excited in the presence of a half-glass-empty person or someone who continuously ducks perceived shadows. Henry David Thoreau summed it up well, “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” And this resurfaces for me yet another quote … a Marsha Evans quote shared in a past post, “Leaders don’t have the luxury of not being optimists.” To get others excited, one must genuinely display excitement. To get others rallied around the flagpole, one must have genuine passion around the issue of the moment. To get others to believe that anything is possible, one must genuinely believe that any obstacle can be overcome. This cannot be faked; it has to be real. And for true leaders … the passion runs deep, is most evident, and truly is “contagious.”
Summing this up, although leaders do not need to be all things there are certain qualities that are weaved in varying degrees through all leaders … perhaps none more important than “vision, the ability to rally the others, and integrity.”
Author Cross-references:
Warren G. Bennis: Also see posts 1/14/09, 2/6/09, 5/1/09, 8/17/09, 11/11/09, 2/18/10, 2/24/10
Margaret Mead: None
Henry David Thoreau: Also see post 10/26/09
Marsha Evans: Also see post 2/19/09
Key Word Cross-references:
Authentic/Believable/Genuine: Also see posts 1/28/09, 2/18/09, 2/25/09, 3/16/09, 10/26/09, 1/4/10, 2/24/10, 5/26/10
Benevolent/Caring/Compassionate/Empathetic: Also see posts 12/16/08, 1/16/09, 2/18/09, 11/11/09, 1/4/10
Character/Integrity: Also see posts 2/3/09, 2/6/09, 3/16/09, 5/1/09, 6/5/09, 8/17/09, 11/1/09
Communication/Effective Speaking: Also see posts 12/12/08, 3/4/09, 5/17/09, 6/26/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 11/20/09, 1/4/10, 1/29/10, 2/24/10
Mentoring/Nurturing/Developing: Also see posts 12/8/08, 12/12/08, 1/13/09, 2/6/09, 2/28/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 9/15/09, 10/26/09, 1/6/10, 3/29/10
Optimist/Positive Attitude: Also see posts 2/19/09, 3/16/09, 3/25/09, 7/7/09, 2/24/10
Passion: Also see posts 6/26/09, 9/26/09, 2/24/10
Trust: Also see posts 12/12/08, 12/16/08, 2/18/10, 5/26/10
Vision: Also see post 5/17/09, 2/18/10, 3/12/10
Tags: Leadership
on Leadership ... by Steven Davis, CAE 
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