Dr. Warren Bennis

Presented by: Angela SmithConceptual Foundations of Management

Anderson University

May 25, 2001

Dr. Warren Bennis

• Distinguished professor of Business Administration at USC

• Founding Chairman of the Leadership Institute at USC

• Authored more than 2,000 articles and 27 books

• Advised four U.S. Presidents• One of top 10 speakers on Management• “Dean of Leadership Gurus”

1935-1943

An Invented Life…

1943-1947• 1943: Joined the US Army

• 1944: second lieutenant in the European Theatre of Operations

• Youngest infantry officer at the age of 19

• Affirmed his lifelong interest in the topic of leadership

• Met his first mentor - Captain Bessinger

1947-1951

• 1947: Antioch College

• Influences at Antioch:- famous co-op program- desire to achieve personal

satisfaction- look for the explanations

of life

• Met his second mentor - Douglas McGregor

1951-1956

• MIT Economics Department

• Taught Social Psychology for one year (1955-1956) as an assistant professor

1995-1967• Boston University

• National Training Laboratories (NTL) in Bethel, Maine

• New social invention: T-Groups

• Focus was on group structure and communication

• Two articles on “natural groups”

• 1959: returned to MIT to work with McGregor

The Planning of Change (1961)

• “the only constant of today's society is change”

• By planning change, we work toward specified goals in a comprehensive and organized manner.

The Temporary Society (1968)• Explored new organizational forms

• Envisioned organizations as adhocracies as opposed to bureaucracies

• Argued the triumph of democracy worldwide was inevitable and would come to pass within 50 years

• Labeled a “futurologist”

1967-1971

• 1967: Provost at the State University of New York at Buffalo

• Experienced first-hand unsuccessful change

• The vision was not communicated to the organization

• 1971: resigned as provost

1971-1978

• 1971: President

• Bennis’s First Law of Academic Pseudynamics - routine work drives out nonroutine work and smothers to death all creative planning

• Focused on leading, not managing

• 1977: Resigned as president

1971-1978

• American organizations are under led and over managed

Managers vs. Leaders Managers administer Leaders innovate

Managers focus on systems and structure

Leaders focus on people

Managers rely on control Leaders inspire trust

Managers have short-range views

Leaders have long-range perspectives

Managers learn through training Leaders opt for education

Managers do things right Leaders do the right thing

1977-1985

• Country was experiencing “despair” and Institutions’ credibility was eroding steadily

• “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”

• Bennis attempted to seek out leaders who were effective under these adverse conditions

• Spent five years traveling and interviewed 90 successful leaders

Leaders (1989)• Four competencies of Leadership:

– Management of Attention– Management of Meaning– Management of Trust– Management of Self

• Empowerment (4 themes):– People feel significant– Learning and competence matter– People are part of a community– Work is exciting

1979

• Professorship at University of Southern California

• His focus at USC is on communication, research and his life lessons:– self-invention– importance of organization– nature of change– nature of leadership

The Leadership Classics

• Learning to Lead (1997) (coauthored with Joan Goldsmith)

• Why Leaders Can’t Lead (1997)

• Managing People is Like Herding Cats (1997)

On Becoming A Leader, 1994

• Based on the following assumptions:– Leaders are people who express

themselves fully– Leaders know what, why and

how to communicate what they want

– Leaders know how to achieve goals

On Becoming A Leader

• Three common points:– Leaders are made, not born, and made by

themselves more than by any external means– No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but

rather to express himself freely and fully– Leaders continue to grow and develop

throughout life

Organizational Success

• What it will take to survive:– Staying with the status quo is unacceptable– The key to future competitive advantage will be

the organization’s capacity to create the social architecture of generating intellectual capital

– Followers need specific qualities from their leaders

Qualities of a Leader

• Seven attributes essential to leadership:– Technical competence– Conceptual skill– Track record– People skills– Taste– Judgment– Character

Demands of Followers

• Five competencies critical to a leader’s success in a knowledge economy:– strong sense of purpose– organizational and personal integrity– resilience or “hardiness”– provide development opportunities – propensity toward action, risk, curiosity, and courage

Exemplary LeadersipExemplary Leadership

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Direction Purpose, Passion, Meaning

Trust Organizational & Personal Integrity

Hope/Optimism “Hardiness”

Learning & Personal Growth

Development Opportunities

Results Bias toward Action, Risk, Curiosity, & Courage

Direction

• The need of direction:– Effective leaders have an innate purpose in

everything they do. The purpose is passionate and possesses meaning

– Passion is comprised of conviction, commitment and resolve

– Meaningful purpose demonstrates “purpose beyond oneself”

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Direction Purpose, Passion, Meaning

Trust

• Distrust is a growing phenomenon in the American culture

• Five “C’s of Trust”:– Competence– Constancy– Caring– Candor– Congruity

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Trust Organizational & Personal Integrity

Hope/Optimism

• Hope combines “agency” of goal-directed determination with the ability to generate the means of reaching the goal

• Effective leaders must exhibit a “hardiness”

• Effective leaders must be full of confidence

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Hope/Optimism "Hardiness"

Learning & Personal Growth

• Leaders must provide the right development opportunities to support the learning and personal growth of their people

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Learning & Personal Growth

"Hardiness"

Results

• Followers expect results

• Leaders must be willing to take risks

• As Wayne Gretsky points out “You miss 105% of the shots you don’t take”

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders

Results Bias toward Action, Risk, Curiosity & Courage

Exemplary Leadership ResultsExemplary Leadership

Needs of Followers Values of Leaders To Help Create

Direction Purpose, Passion, Meaning

Clear Goals & Objectives

Trust Organizational & Personal Integrity

Reliability & Consistency

Hope/Optimism “Hardiness” Energy & Commitment

Learning & Personal Growth

Development Opportunities

Increase Productivity & Loyal Workforce

Results Bias toward Action, Risk, Curiosity, & Courage

Confidence & Creativity

Organizing Genius (1997)

• “Great Groups”

• “None of us is as smart as all of us”

• The Economist:– among senior executives of international firms,

61% said that “teams of leaders” will have the most influence on their organizations in the next decade; only 14% said “one leader”

Organizing Genius

“This is reality and we have to recognize this new paradigm. We cling to the myth of the Lone Ranger, the romantic idea that great things are usually accomplished by a larger-than-life individual working alone. We still tend to think achievement in terms of the Great Man or the Great Woman, instead of the Great Group”

Great Groups

• Studied some of the most noteworthy great groups of our time - the Manhattan Project, Xerox, Apple Computer, and Walt Disney

• Was interested in what made the groups “tick”

Great Groups

• Eight common principles:– At the heart of every Great Group is a shared

dream– They manage conflict by abandoning individual

egos to the pursuit of the dream– They have a real or invented enemy– They view themselves as winning underdogs

Great Groups

– Members pay a personal price – Great Groups make strong leaders– Great Groups are the product of meticulous

recruiting– Great Groups are usually young

New Paradigm

• Three elements : ACE– Align– Create– Empower

• “We are all angels with only one wing; we can only fly while embracing one another”

Dr. Warren Bennis

“Warren Bennis gets to the heart of leadership, to the essence of integrity, authenticity, and vision that can never be pinned down to a manipulative formula. He provides solid, practical guidance in his philosophically and psychologically rich volume.”

--Tom Peters

Dr. Warren Bennis“Bennis teaches leaders to maximize their

virtues, correct their faults, face change successfully, and love their work. Leaders will win, but so will their organizations: Bennis advocates a collaborative leadership that empowers employees and enhances organizational effectiveness. A priceless gift to those seeking to be accountable leaders.” --Peter Drucker

Dr. Warren Bennis

Presented by: Angela SmithConceptual Foundations of Management

Anderson University

May 25, 2001