Leonard Frank Ray uncovered an insightful quote from Warren Bennis where Bennis states the following:
In the post bureaucratic world, the laurel will go to the leader who encourages healthy dissent and values those followers brave enough to say no. The successful leader will have not the loudest voice, but readiest ear. And his or her real genius may well lie not in personal achievement, but in unleashing other people’s talents (p. 440).
In his quote, Bennis illuminates a vital attribute, of leadership, the harnessing of resources and talents, which has stood the test of time. From Alexander the Great to Jack Welch, we have examples of individuals who have marshaled and directed resources toward the development self and community. Alexander led a small army of Greeks to the end of the known world and once he reached India, he had assembled a multi-national empire and army. Jack Welch assumed the leadership of an ailing GE and reinvigorated the organization for the modern world and created wealth for the company’s stakeholders As, long as men and women assembly themselves within groups, organizations, communities and nations, there will always be a need for a leader to “unleashing other people’s talents” towards the fulfillment of a need, be it military conquest or the survival of a multinational corporation.
Daniel Wren sums it up nicely when he said:
Today is not like yesterday, nor will tomorrow be like today: yet today is a synergism of all our yesterdays and tomorrow will be the same (p. 4).
The only other point of understanding to add is that a leader is the one who enables the synergy to happen within a community or organization. And, as long a man and even animals exist leadership will continue to be a vital element of a community or organization.
References:
In the post bureaucratic world, the laurel will go to the leader who encourages healthy dissent and values those followers brave enough to say no. The successful leader will have not the loudest voice, but readiest ear. And his or her real genius may well lie not in personal achievement, but in unleashing other people’s talents (p. 440).
In his quote, Bennis illuminates a vital attribute, of leadership, the harnessing of resources and talents, which has stood the test of time. From Alexander the Great to Jack Welch, we have examples of individuals who have marshaled and directed resources toward the development self and community. Alexander led a small army of Greeks to the end of the known world and once he reached India, he had assembled a multi-national empire and army. Jack Welch assumed the leadership of an ailing GE and reinvigorated the organization for the modern world and created wealth for the company’s stakeholders As, long as men and women assembly themselves within groups, organizations, communities and nations, there will always be a need for a leader to “unleashing other people’s talents” towards the fulfillment of a need, be it military conquest or the survival of a multinational corporation.
Daniel Wren sums it up nicely when he said:
Today is not like yesterday, nor will tomorrow be like today: yet today is a synergism of all our yesterdays and tomorrow will be the same (p. 4).
The only other point of understanding to add is that a leader is the one who enables the synergy to happen within a community or organization. And, as long a man and even animals exist leadership will continue to be a vital element of a community or organization.
References:
Frank, L.R. (Ed.) (2001). Quationary. New York, NY: Random House.
Wren, D. A. (2005). The History of Management Thought 5th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Son
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