Jan. 29 Discussion

Book: Bennis, Warren On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic. 2003. 218 pages.

Preliminaries: Holly led this month’s discussion as we munched on cheese and crackers, along with a little dark chocolate. Our group of seven welcomed one new comer, and discussed inviting some additional people. I realized after the discussion that I had forgotten to take notes, so my comments here are from memory; perhaps another participant will have additional insights.

Book Discussion: Most everyone agreed that they liked this book, and appreciated Bennis’ writing style; his focus on four leadership competencies (vision, voice, integrity, adaptability); and that Bennis didn’t try to offer up any formulaic solutions. We found our discussion returning to the competencies throughout our discussion, and at one point Holly asked us which we valued most. Several discussants thought integrity was the most important, because without it, vision and voice can be destructive. Another person argued for vision, pointing out that without it, a person can be a good manager, but isn’t necessarily a leader. Another person made a similar argument for voice.

The group spent some time discussing Ed, the company man from New York who as being groomed to be the CEO of a Minneapolis-based company. Bennis came to know Ed when he was hired to coach him, a role in which he did not succeed. Ed was a company man who had drive and toughness. He quickly earned a reputation in his new company as the “Brooklyn Bomber,” and lacked people skills. As much as Ed worked at becoming less tyrannical, the people who worked with him remained wary of him. We discussed the competencies that Ed seemed to missing, and finally concluded that he lacked them all. Rather than leading, he was bullying.

Book discussion participants talked about library leaders in Arizona and the U.S. They talked about how the Library Development Division at the Arizona State Library, as well as continuing education efforts within library districts, might nurture leaders. The opportunity to travel, especially to attend national or regional library conferences, is especially important. Workshops delivered to local communities can be important first steps, and workshops that encourage library staff members to attend with those they don’t know, are also important. Library leaders have emerged from the week-long library institute, which takes place on the UofA campus. Efforts to encourage library staff members to network outside the library within their own communities are also important.

Something to Think About: Can leadership be taught? Thinking about each of the competencies that Bennis outlines, is it possible for a person to learn these?