On Becoming a Leader

Warren Bennis

Bennis's core claim: becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It's an act of self-invention available to anyone willing to reflect, learn, and take responsibility for their own life.

A foundational text of modern leadership studies, built on interviews with prominent leaders, arguing that leaders are made, not born — through self-invention, continuous learning from adversity, and the courage to become the author of one's own life.