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.Table of Contents
Foreword xiii
Bill George
Preface xvii
Steven B. Sample
Acknowledgments xxiii
Introduction 1
1 Redefining Success and Failure 11
2 Why Success Requires the Right Kind of Appetite for the Fight 31
3 Accepting and Exercising Moral Responsibility: The Ability to Accept - and Manage - Responsibility for Difficult Ethical Choices 45
4 Avoiding Groupthink, Mass Media, and the Failures of the Herd 61
5 A Timeless Reading List That Leads to Timely Success 77
6 When Failure is Baked into the System 95
7 Bankruptcy and Failure as the Great American Pastime: A Land of Second Chances 109
Conclusion: Redeeming Failure 119
Note from the Writer 127
Notes 135
About the Authors 139
