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    The Art and Adventure of Leadership: Understanding Failure, Resilience and Success
    The Art and Adventure of Leadership: Understanding Failure, Resilience and Success
    The Art and Adventure of Leadership: Understanding Failure, Resilience and Success
    Ebook159 pages2 hours

    The Art and Adventure of Leadership: Understanding Failure, Resilience and Success

    By Warren Bennis, Steven B. Sample and Rob Asghar

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    About this ebook

    For the first time, a top leadership scholar and a top leadership practitioner explore the true duties, demands, and privileges of leadership.

    Intellectual sparks flew when Warren Bennis, the “father” of modern leadership studies and Steven B. Sample, one of the most accomplished university presidents in recent history, came together for candid explorations of the forces that shape successful leaders and unsuccessful ones.

    The Art and Adventure of Leadership, their final collab­oration, reveals the profound insights that the authors gained together over the 16 years in which they co-taught one of the most popular leadership courses in America.

    Here, each brings his own distinct vantage point as they address the mechanics and mysteries of leadership. The result is a unique examination of the journey of great leaders from momentary setbacks to ultimate success. It offers profound lessons on what determines the difference between failure and redemption for leaders. And it illu­minates important and overlooked dimensions of great leaders ranging from Winston Churchill to Steve Jobs.

    Together, they explore why:

    • A mature leader must grasp when it’s healthy to risk failure, and when failure can’t be tolerated at any cost
    • Leadership isn’t for everyone and requires a particular set of skills and competencies that are often glossed over in most management literature
    • To succeed in an uncertain and fast-changing world, a shrewd leader must understand which aspects of human society change—and which aspects never change
    • A mature, wise leader must seek a balance between high-minded ideals and the gritty realities and compromises that leaders face in their daily lives
    • Above all, meaningful leadership remains a matter of character

    With incredible insight, this book examines why George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and other giants were able to recover from failures, learn resilience, and prepare themselves for their moments of destiny. In so doing, it demonstrates and helps cultivate the leadership skills that you need to create your own most meaningful legacy.

    The Art and Adventure of Leadership is a unique look at lead­ership, and a critical resource for the leaders of tomorrow.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWiley
    Release dateMar 18, 2015
    ISBN9781119090328
    The Art and Adventure of Leadership: Understanding Failure, Resilience and Success
    Author

    Warren Bennis

    Warren Bennis is known around the world as the preeminent expert on the subject of leadership. He is University Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California and serves as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. His bestselling books Leaders and On Becoming a Leader have been translated into 21 languages. The Financial Times named Leaders one of the top 50 business books of all time. He has served on four Presidential Advisory Boards and has consulted for many Fortune 500 companies, including GE, Ford, and Starbucks.

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      Book preview

      The Art and Adventure of Leadership - Warren Bennis

      CONTENTS

      Cover

      Praise for The Art and Adventure of Leadership

      Title Page

      Copyright

      Dedication

      Foreword

      Preface

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Redefining Success and Failure

      Leadership as Playing with Fire—The Very Fire of the Gods

      It Depends: The Contingency Principle in Action

      Why we Must View Leadership Through the Lens of Complexity

      Chapter 2: Why Success Requires the Right Kind of Appetite for the Fight

      If You Do Want to Do Leadership …

      Reality Check: Leadership as 70 Percent Trivia

      Staying Out of Prison, and Other Benefits of a Healthy Expression of Leadership Skill

      Management Versus Leadership

      Chapter 3: Accepting and Exercising Moral Responsibility: The Ability to Accept—and Manage—Responsibility for Difficult Ethical Choices

      When There is No Win-Win Scenario: The Painful Moral Calculus of Failure

      The Ability to Compromise—And to be Compromised

      A Compromised Saint: The Dilemma of Thomas More

      Chapter 4: Avoiding Groupthink, Mass Media, and the Failures of the Herd

      Failures Caused by Groupthink

      Why Leaders Don't Follow the News: Ignoring Today's Trivia in Search of Timeless Truths

      Information Versus Gossip

      Media Myopia is Most Visible in Hindsight

      Chapter 5: A Timeless Reading List That Leads to Timely Success

      Beware the Trade Press

      A Daily Dose of Discipline

      Chapter 6: When Failure is Baked Into the System

      How Democratic Governance Avoids and Prevents Failure

      Failure and Disillusionment

      Defending Democracy

      Where Good Decisions are Born

      Democracy Works as Science Works

      A Brazen Prediction About Democracy's Success

      Chapter 7: Bankruptcy and Failure as the Great American Pastime: A Land of Second Chances

      The Human Consequences of Fear of Failure

      Conclusion: Redeeming Failure

      Note From the Writer

      About the Authors

      End User License Agreement

      Praise for The Art and Adventure of Leadership

      "The impact of Steve Sample and Warren Bennis has been enormous, here at USC and across academia and the world of management. But some of their most enduring impact came not simply in their roles as leaders, but as teachers who were deeply committed to building up new leaders. The Art and Adventure of Leadership distills their many lively conversations and debates into one compelling volume that can continue to educate attentive students of leadership for years to come. It’s a fitting exclamation mark on their joint legacy."

      —James G. Ellis, dean, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

      "Of all the people I’ve ever met, Steve Sample and Warren Bennis are the master teachers of leadership. Both lived it and studied it for most of their lives. Their friendship and decades-long collaboration produced some of the most important insights in the field. The Art and Adventure of Leadership captures what only a handful of students have experienced so far. Its wisdom spans generations. You should get it and read it, and more importantly, talk with others about it."

      —Dave Logan, author of Tribal Leadership and coauthor of The Three Laws of Performance

      The Art and Adventure of Leadership

      Understanding Failure, Resilience, and Success

      Warren Bennis

      Steven B. Sample

      with Rob Asghar

      Wiley Logo

      Cover design: Wiley

      Copyright © 2015 by Warren Bennis and Steven B. Sample. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

      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, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750–8400, fax (978) 646–8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748–6011, fax (201) 748–6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

      Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

      For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762–2974, outside the United States at (317) 572–3993 or fax (317) 572–4002.

      Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

      Bennis, Warren G.

      The art and adventure of leadership : understanding failure, resilience and success / Warren Bennis, Steven B. Sample, with Rob Asghar.

      pages cm

      Includes index.

      ISBN 978-1-119-09031-1 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-119-09038-0 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-119-09032-8 (ePub)

      1. Leadership. 2. Success in business. 3. Success. I. Sample, Steven B., 1940- II. Asghar, Rob. III. Title.

      HD57.7.B4576 2015

      658.4’092–dc23

      2015001932

      Dedication

      Dedicated with love to Grace Gabe and Kathryn Sample

      Foreword

      Warren Bennis and Steve Sample argued passionately for years that leadership is an art, not a science. Having studied and practiced leadership at the highest levels, they concluded that there were no surefire formulas, no one-size-fits-all approaches that could be dispensed to aspiring leaders.

      As Warren wrote years ago, The process of becoming a leader is…similar to becoming a fully integrated human being. He and Steve believed that leaders develop through their life experiences and emerge ever stronger—ready and equipped to take on the true responsibilities of leadership.

      It's as simple as that. And as wonderfully mysterious as that. Warren and Steve likened this process to an adventure, one that involves unique twists, unexpected turns, and personal crucible moments that forge each person who sets out on the journey.

      Fittingly, The Art and Adventure of Leadership is the title of a course they co-taught at the University of Southern California each spring for 15 years. It was the most sought-after course at the university. Only the most outstanding students with demonstrated leadership potential could hope to get a seat in this extraordinary class of learning from two masters who offered their wisdom of more than 100 years of leading.

      Warren invited me several times to be a guest speaker for the course. By far the most significant was in April 2014, the next-to-last class Warren ever taught. Can you imagine teaching a full course at age 89? That was Warren, although beset with bodily ills, as sharp and wise as ever mentally. Though his speech was halting, the students watched with rapt attention as Warren interviewed me about leadership.

      Each of us who knew Warren—students, leaders, and faculty alike—gained enormously from his wisdom and insights. Unlike some scholars who hoard their ideas, Warren genuinely wanted all of us to take his ideas, expand on them, and live them. He was indeed, as I said at his memorial service, a generous friend.

      Warren's influence on business leaders had been widespread and profound for decades. So many executives who never had the privilege of knowing him were inspired by his writings and adopted his approach to leadership. Countless chief executive officers have told me personally what a profound influence he had on their leadership. For that, he is properly remembered as the father of leadership.

      Steve, for his part, was a master practitioner of the leadership trade. He was revered in higher-education circles for pushing the State University of New York at Buffalo into the limelight, and then for guiding USC into the academic big leagues. He, too, carried his gifts into the classroom and shared them generously. The students who participated in this remarkable course were not only given a great gift but also given a lifetime opportunity to share that gift with others.

      Long before I met Warren, I read his classic On Becoming a Leader just as I was joining Medtronic. Finally, I had found a philosophy of leadership I could resonate with. As Warren wrote: The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. Throughout my years at Medtronic and at Harvard, I have carried that belief into my work and my teaching.

      I met Warren in the late 1990s, and he was a loyal friend and mentor to the very end—always available with encouragement and a helping hand. As executive editor for my four books in the Warren Bennis Books Series, Warren generously shared his time and his insights. When I was writing True North, coauthor Peter Sims and I spent an entire week with Warren in Santa Monica going over all the key ideas for the book. He had an enormous impact on the lives of so

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