Warren Bennis Leadership

Words: 1605
Pages: 7

We have seen many definitions for Leadership over the years, though most of them differ substantially, the essence remains the same and that is, a leader often inspires, motivates and influences his followers to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Warren Bennis has an elegant definition of leadership, he says, “leadership is like beauty: it’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it” (On Becoming a Leader, p.1) and (p.73) that “The ingredients of leadership cannot be taught. They must be learned.” We have had some amazing leaders like Gandhi, the Kennedys, and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the past who have always demanded respect and gave us a sense of unity in harmony and encouraged us to achieve the possible in the right direction (Warren Bennis, 2003). There has been an increasing hunger for leadership over the years. Especially with the business going global and transcending national borders, it has indeed become important to understand the native approaches to leadership and how they contribute in steering the organization in the right direction.
Some of the Leadership Theories that we have come across the globe are Transformational, Transactional and Paternalistic leadership
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This theory believes that people tend to place their interests second and give their all to the organization (Transformational Leadership Theories, leadership-central.com). The very essence of this theory is that leaders transform their followers through their charismatic personality and inspirational nature. Subordinates tend to nurture a sense of faith in their leaders and give in their best to work towards achieving the leader’s vision as a team. One of the main reasons for this is, a transformational leader consciously takes efforts to engage and involve their subordinates to grow professionally and personally (Transformational Leadership, Hitesh