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On Leadership
In this insightful classic, John Gardner unpacks what it means to be a leader, stressing the importance of dispersed leadership and a primary understanding of leadership as applied across all sectors of society.
“A masterpiece.”—Walter F. Ulmer, Jr., President and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership
Leaders today are familiar with the demand that they come forward with a new vision. But it is not a matter of fabricating a new vision out of whole cloth. A vision relevant for us today will build on values deeply embedded in human history and in our own tradition. It is not as though we come to the task unready. Men and women from the beginning of history have groped and struggled for various pieces of the answer. The materials out of which we build the vision will be the moral strivings of the species, today and in the distant past.
Most of the ingredients of a vision for this country have been with us for a long time. As the poet wrote, “The light we sought is shining still.” That we have failed and fumbled in some of our attempts to achieve our ideals is obvious. But the great ideas still beckon—freedom, equality, justice, the release of human possibilities. The vision is to live up to the best in our past and to reach the goals we have yet to achieve—with respect to our domestic problems and our responsibilities worldwide.
—From the Preface to On Leadership
“A masterpiece.”—Walter F. Ulmer, Jr., President and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership
Leaders today are familiar with the demand that they come forward with a new vision. But it is not a matter of fabricating a new vision out of whole cloth. A vision relevant for us today will build on values deeply embedded in human history and in our own tradition. It is not as though we come to the task unready. Men and women from the beginning of history have groped and struggled for various pieces of the answer. The materials out of which we build the vision will be the moral strivings of the species, today and in the distant past.
Most of the ingredients of a vision for this country have been with us for a long time. As the poet wrote, “The light we sought is shining still.” That we have failed and fumbled in some of our attempts to achieve our ideals is obvious. But the great ideas still beckon—freedom, equality, justice, the release of human possibilities. The vision is to live up to the best in our past and to reach the goals we have yet to achieve—with respect to our domestic problems and our responsibilities worldwide.
—From the Preface to On Leadership
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 24, 2011
READ OCT 2010
Gardner did a nice job of discussing the rewards and opportunities of leadership. While heavily focused on political leaders, Gardner also included illustrations from leaders in other sectors and institutions.
Best quotes: "A familiar failing of visionaries and of people who live in the realm of ideas and issues is that they are not inclined to soil their hands with the nuts and bolts of organizational functioning" (p. 65) and "All leadership must be judged within the framework of values that represents the civilization at its best" (p. 191).
Gardner did a nice job of discussing the rewards and opportunities of leadership. While heavily focused on political leaders, Gardner also included illustrations from leaders in other sectors and institutions.
Best quotes: "A familiar failing of visionaries and of people who live in the realm of ideas and issues is that they are not inclined to soil their hands with the nuts and bolts of organizational functioning" (p. 65) and "All leadership must be judged within the framework of values that represents the civilization at its best" (p. 191).
March 2, 2020
This is one of those seminal primer books on leadership written by a highly experienced fellow. Although it dates back to 1990, many of the foundational issues are the same. Today's political climate, however, is different so I'll try and keep to the issues, not the divisiveness.
The issues behind the issues are motivation, values, social cohesion, and renewal. Leadership must be institutionalized, top down and bottom up. Tasks of leadership include envisioning goals- motivating and setting goals; affirming values-regenerating values; managing-planning and priority setting to organizing and institution building; keeping the system functioning; agenda setting and decision making; exercising political judgment; achieving workable unity-shared goals; trust; explaining and teaching.
Good constituents or followers tend to produce good leaders. Executives are given subordinates, they have to earn followers. Effective two way communication is essential. Trust, steadiness, and fairness needed, charisma is no longer in vogue. There are tons of political examples in the book as the author served under many presidents. What types of traits do leaders need/have? It depends on the context, the setting and the situation. Examples are Indira Gandhi, Alfred Sloan of GM, Ted Vail of ATT - timing is key.
Attributes needed for effective leaders include: physical vitality and stamina, energy, intelligence and judgment in action and a willingness to accept responsibilities. Leaders have to understand their followers and their needs. Need skill in dealing with people. Need to achieve. Must be able to motivate followers. Leaders need courage, resolution, steadiness (Churchill). Capacity to win-hold trust, to manage, decide and set priorities. Need confidence and flexibility.
Fundamental values of leadership include justice, liberty, equality of opportunity, dignity of the individual and sanctity of private religious beliefs (things have changed, haven't they?). Today we need to let the folks down the line make decisions and contribute.
Conflict resolution needs to be taught in schools along with coalition building and establishing trust. Skill building and rebuilding of the community is one of the highest and most essential skills a leader can command. This includes agreement building, networking, exercising non jurisdictional power, and flexibility. Transformational leaders renew. Change is always around us. Need new blood, develop people, reassure people, prevent staleness, find motivated people, get outsiders. Companies get stale and fixed and a good leader will try and avoid that.
Leaders need a team. Power must be held accountable. Leaders need to learn about this untapped talent in their early years. Explosive crises create great leaders, creeping crises do not (today.). There are many obstacles nowadays including the size and complexity of society, call for specialization, and the schools. Leaders have always been generalists. The schools don't teach or encourage leadership skills. Good communication skills are needed along with mentors.
Leadership development requires life long growth. We need to tap the Washingtons and Jeffersons of our day. Leaders must be motivators. We need to be realistic optimists, keep hope alive, teach people to believe in themselves, expect the best of your charges.
Much of what's talked about here is solid but it's tough in our climate to produce leaders with all these qualities today. Freedom, equality, justice, and the release of human possibilities is foundational here. The author was born in 1912 and died in 2002 at the age of 89. He was the founder of Common Cause, served at the Sec of HEW under LBJ, father of campaign finance reform, etc.
The issues behind the issues are motivation, values, social cohesion, and renewal. Leadership must be institutionalized, top down and bottom up. Tasks of leadership include envisioning goals- motivating and setting goals; affirming values-regenerating values; managing-planning and priority setting to organizing and institution building; keeping the system functioning; agenda setting and decision making; exercising political judgment; achieving workable unity-shared goals; trust; explaining and teaching.
Good constituents or followers tend to produce good leaders. Executives are given subordinates, they have to earn followers. Effective two way communication is essential. Trust, steadiness, and fairness needed, charisma is no longer in vogue. There are tons of political examples in the book as the author served under many presidents. What types of traits do leaders need/have? It depends on the context, the setting and the situation. Examples are Indira Gandhi, Alfred Sloan of GM, Ted Vail of ATT - timing is key.
Attributes needed for effective leaders include: physical vitality and stamina, energy, intelligence and judgment in action and a willingness to accept responsibilities. Leaders have to understand their followers and their needs. Need skill in dealing with people. Need to achieve. Must be able to motivate followers. Leaders need courage, resolution, steadiness (Churchill). Capacity to win-hold trust, to manage, decide and set priorities. Need confidence and flexibility.
Fundamental values of leadership include justice, liberty, equality of opportunity, dignity of the individual and sanctity of private religious beliefs (things have changed, haven't they?). Today we need to let the folks down the line make decisions and contribute.
Conflict resolution needs to be taught in schools along with coalition building and establishing trust. Skill building and rebuilding of the community is one of the highest and most essential skills a leader can command. This includes agreement building, networking, exercising non jurisdictional power, and flexibility. Transformational leaders renew. Change is always around us. Need new blood, develop people, reassure people, prevent staleness, find motivated people, get outsiders. Companies get stale and fixed and a good leader will try and avoid that.
Leaders need a team. Power must be held accountable. Leaders need to learn about this untapped talent in their early years. Explosive crises create great leaders, creeping crises do not (today.). There are many obstacles nowadays including the size and complexity of society, call for specialization, and the schools. Leaders have always been generalists. The schools don't teach or encourage leadership skills. Good communication skills are needed along with mentors.
Leadership development requires life long growth. We need to tap the Washingtons and Jeffersons of our day. Leaders must be motivators. We need to be realistic optimists, keep hope alive, teach people to believe in themselves, expect the best of your charges.
Much of what's talked about here is solid but it's tough in our climate to produce leaders with all these qualities today. Freedom, equality, justice, and the release of human possibilities is foundational here. The author was born in 1912 and died in 2002 at the age of 89. He was the founder of Common Cause, served at the Sec of HEW under LBJ, father of campaign finance reform, etc.
August 1, 2021
After serving many presidents, John W. Gardner knows a bit about leadership. This was my second Gardner read (I also recommend Self-Renewal). Gardner has a very straight forward writing style and the storytelling is short. One thing this book does well is distinguish what leadership is, responsibilities of leaders - managerial functions as well as vision setting. From experience, he speaks about things leaders he has known who have done things very well. The book closes with ideas for cultivating leaders.
April 20, 2011
John Gardner clearly knows a thing or two about leadership. In fact, he packs about 150 things about leadership into this fairly slender, 220-page volume.
What he doesn’t know so much about is writing books, although he has written a few. While most writers would benefit from being more concise, including yours truly, Gardner is concise to a fault. “On Leadership” would be eminently more readable, and interesting, if he had simply fleshed out some of the historical examples and anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout the book.
Nonetheless, this 20-year-old book is still relevant and timely, and even inspiring and trenchant. Tell me this statement doesn’t still hold true:
“We give every appearance of sleepwalking through a dangerous passage of history. We are anxious but immobilized.”
Gardner succeeds in grounding leadership principles in big ideas about history, sociology, organizational behavior and psychology.
Although I haven’t read widely in the leadership genre, I dare say that this is one of the better books on the subject, despite Gardner’s limitations as an author.
What he doesn’t know so much about is writing books, although he has written a few. While most writers would benefit from being more concise, including yours truly, Gardner is concise to a fault. “On Leadership” would be eminently more readable, and interesting, if he had simply fleshed out some of the historical examples and anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout the book.
Nonetheless, this 20-year-old book is still relevant and timely, and even inspiring and trenchant. Tell me this statement doesn’t still hold true:
“We give every appearance of sleepwalking through a dangerous passage of history. We are anxious but immobilized.”
Gardner succeeds in grounding leadership principles in big ideas about history, sociology, organizational behavior and psychology.
Although I haven’t read widely in the leadership genre, I dare say that this is one of the better books on the subject, despite Gardner’s limitations as an author.
April 10, 2023
On Leadership, John Gardner
people want to know whether the followers believe in the leader; a more searching question is whether the leader believes in the followers.
Think longer term
Think beyond organization and jurisdiction
Vision, values, motivations
One type of leadership to start a new enterprise, another to keep it going
Institutionalize the process - choose strong subordinate leaders
Every good leader is teaching and every good teacher is leading
Do not shrink from external representation
Where the whole enterprise is going and must go - core and essence of the best leadership
The ear of the leader must ring Witt the voice of the people
Rational problem. Solver
Parade analogy
Leaders must strengthen their people and unleash them
Competence in just a few matters under juristiction but knowledge of the whole system
Move people into positions where they can make the greatest contribution
Single all purpose tool of leadership is communication
Leaders should lead as far as they can and then vanish - H.G. wells
people want to know whether the followers believe in the leader; a more searching question is whether the leader believes in the followers.
Think longer term
Think beyond organization and jurisdiction
Vision, values, motivations
One type of leadership to start a new enterprise, another to keep it going
Institutionalize the process - choose strong subordinate leaders
Every good leader is teaching and every good teacher is leading
Do not shrink from external representation
Where the whole enterprise is going and must go - core and essence of the best leadership
The ear of the leader must ring Witt the voice of the people
Rational problem. Solver
Parade analogy
Leaders must strengthen their people and unleash them
Competence in just a few matters under juristiction but knowledge of the whole system
Move people into positions where they can make the greatest contribution
Single all purpose tool of leadership is communication
Leaders should lead as far as they can and then vanish - H.G. wells
December 9, 2023
Not 5 stars only because some of the material is dated. Highly insightful otherwise especially since he weaves together leadership roles in various domains (government, business, not for profit, etc.).
May 4, 2017
An old-school, white, male perspective on leadership, but incredibly wealthy with historical leadership examples and cross-sector ideas.
July 8, 2017
A classic book on leadership with some great principles.
September 14, 2022
a nothing book full of nothingness. at one point in time he lists the top quality of a leader as “physical vitality and stamina” so that was funny i guess
March 29, 2023
Read this for school.
March 6, 2019
This is a book that every person in any position of leadership should read. It is also an invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to be a leader. Given our current political and social climate, this book is especially important for anyone wishing to understand how and why leaders emerge, under what conditions they flourish; it can help us recognize why we find ourselves in a current crisis of leadership.
This is a perennial read for me. It helps me stay refreshed. With all the political trials and tribulations, with all the ridiculous policies and procedures and conflicting agendas that characterize modern public education, this book reminds me of the true potential not just in myself, but in the colleagues around me and in some of my students.
Ever a perennial read. 2019 marks my 12th read-through of this marvelous book.
I think next year, I may put this one aside and I will read another of his books, as well as find some of the books he has recommended to me over the years through his work.
This is a perennial read for me. It helps me stay refreshed. With all the political trials and tribulations, with all the ridiculous policies and procedures and conflicting agendas that characterize modern public education, this book reminds me of the true potential not just in myself, but in the colleagues around me and in some of my students.
Ever a perennial read. 2019 marks my 12th read-through of this marvelous book.
I think next year, I may put this one aside and I will read another of his books, as well as find some of the books he has recommended to me over the years through his work.
December 21, 2007
I really enjoyed this book. I've read more recent leadership books that cited it, so it was nice to finally get a chance to read it (thanks, Scott).
The glut of leadership books on the market can make the topic repetitive and boring, often just rehashes of the same material and you're utterly helpless to translate them all based on the order you are exposed to them, liking some and dislike some that expose the same truths, but not in the same manner you first touched them.
"On Leadership" gave me some well-developed insight into some aspects of leadership I've been neglecting, like symbolism, communication, moral leadership, community, and renewal. The section on obstacles to leadership highlighted some of the threats that are all around us in our daily lives as leaders.
I even came away with my favorite quote this week...."THe future is shaped by those who believe in the future...and themselves."
The glut of leadership books on the market can make the topic repetitive and boring, often just rehashes of the same material and you're utterly helpless to translate them all based on the order you are exposed to them, liking some and dislike some that expose the same truths, but not in the same manner you first touched them.
"On Leadership" gave me some well-developed insight into some aspects of leadership I've been neglecting, like symbolism, communication, moral leadership, community, and renewal. The section on obstacles to leadership highlighted some of the threats that are all around us in our daily lives as leaders.
I even came away with my favorite quote this week...."THe future is shaped by those who believe in the future...and themselves."
March 3, 2017
I read some interesting essays by John Gardner, so I decided to check this book out even though it's a bit dated (1990). There are some interesting stories and examples in here. Interesting in that none of them include the CEO hero-worship that seems to pervade so many business books these days. However, I don't think it's very well organized, and the writing style is pretty dry. Lots of "Another example of this is..." and "The seventh key attribute of a good leader is..." It's worth a scan if you're looking for examples of leadership development outside of high-tech, but other than that, look elsewhere.
March 27, 2009
So many people consider this one of the "standards" in the field of leadership. I may be a little short-sighted, but I just missed it. The book is well-written and easy to understand. Many of the individual points that Gardner makes are poignant.
Overall, though, this book feels dated to me. Not dated in the sense of its stature as a foundation for contemporary research, but dated as in out of touch.
Overall, though, this book feels dated to me. Not dated in the sense of its stature as a foundation for contemporary research, but dated as in out of touch.
April 5, 2010
The writing style may be a bit dated, but the content is always relevant. Gardner uses copious examples from history to illustrate various aspects of good leadership and makes it clear that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all goal, but a process of understanding who you are and how best you can elicit the progress you want in your particular organization.
February 23, 2013
This is an insightful read on what it means to be a leader. Anyone who is always following someone (and we most are) will find this a helpful in understanding just what the type of leader their leader is. What attributes do they have? What are they missing? What value do they bring? Just because one is a leader doesn't mean they have followers.
September 12, 2009
One of my professors passed me this book and suggested I read it while on vacation. While it's not your ideal poolside-trash-fiction, I do find myself compelled to buy it for several people--I suppose it's just that sort of book.
October 13, 2009
This is a leadership book with a slant toward business and managers. While there are definitely valuable nuggets of information within, I found this book alternately too vague and repetitive. If you don't have a lot of time, I would suggest passing up this book and choosing another.
August 31, 2011
Gardner examines styles of leadership and their effects. A good book for the person interested in studying leadership methods. I prefer the Marine Corps style, by example from the front.
October 24, 2011
soms wat al te 'obvious' maar Gardner blijft een man met diepe inzichten
November 22, 2011
Aclassic in its field, and deservedly so. It's not a page turner but it is very thorough, well-researched, and well-written.
May 26, 2012
Unique, miltary-first perspective. Powerful first few chapters.
Read
April 18, 2013A classic! A treasury of quotations! Highly recommended.
June 16, 2013
Without doubt the best book on leadership I have ever read.
November 28, 2013
A classic read for my leadership class. Worth reading as the foundation of much leadership work, but a little disorganized perhaps.
Want to read
August 13, 2014Spellman and Johnson Book List
Read
February 5, 2016ok, same as all these leadership books. I want the how to!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews