Terry Vaughn
School of Information
The University of Texas at Austin
November, 4 2004
It is widely acknowledged that humans use only a small portion of their abilities; according to John W. Gardner, those include talents for leadership. In his final opus, On Leadership, Gardner insists that most of the skills that enable a person to be an effective leader can be learned. In clear and concise prose, Gardner draws from his vast experience in government, corporate, and non-profit organizations to reflect upon the nature of leadership within the context of contemporary America. Accordingly, On Leadership speaks to a wide audience and applies to leadership in any human endeavor.
The seventeen chapters of this book explore multiple attributes, tasks, contexts, and expectations of leadership. Gardner cites many characteristics of successful leaders while recognizing that “the attributes required of a leader depend on the kind of leadership being exercised, the context, [and] the nature of the followers” (p. 53, ¶ 5). Gardner also presents the personal and social obligations of a leader. In addition to a commitment to lifelong personal growth, the author asserts that individuals have a responsibility to their community. To him, leadership is not the result of extraordinary individuals; rather it is a product of the community.
Throughout, the text is interwoven with three major themes: renewing our values and institutions, building community, and releasing human potential. Gardner realizes that the community is where leaders get their core values. Failures in leadership signify a collapse of the community. In turn, it is up to leaders to connect with their communities, reveal shared values and goals, and regenerate order rooted in an acknowledged heritage (189, ¶ 1). Within this environment, men and women have the opportunity to cultivate and exercise their leadership talents.
Outside of the text, the program of this book suggests a metanarrative for Gardner's views on leadership. A chapter on power is balanced by a chapter on moral obligations. Another chapter on the fragmentation of institutions is followed by chapters on rebuilding, community, and renewal. Gardner's entire conception of leadership is anchored in a sense of morality and social awareness.
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Gardner defines leadership as “the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers” (p. 1, ¶ 3). He emphasizes that leadership is only one of many roles fulfilled by members of groups, and that the function of the leader is to perform those tasks that are essential for the accomplishment of the group’s goals. Reinforcing the notion of interdependence between leader and constituents, Gardner proclaims, “We cannot respect anarchic individualism” (p. 188, ¶ 2). Perhaps his treatment of individualism is heavy-handed when one considers that so many Americans share a spirit of individualism. Instead of rejecting individualism, Gardner should heed his own words: “One of the tasks of leadership – at all levels – is to revitalize those shared beliefs and values, and to draw on them as sources of motivation for the exertions of the required group” (p. 191, ¶ 2). A leader of ingenuity might seek to redefine or reshape the role of the individual to fit within the group norms of the day. Perhaps differentiating between the “individual” and the “individualist” - the former being a self-motivated, determined, and consistent actor, and the latter being an stubborn, “go-it-alone” type.
Individuals at all levels must be prepared to assume leadership roles and tasks as the situation dictates. In fact, “the only hope for vitality in a large-scale organization,” asserts Gardner, “is the willingness of a great many people scattered throughout the organization to take the initiative in identifying problems and solving them” (p. 152, ¶ 3).
Consistent with recent approaches to management, which emphasize collaboration and teamwork, Gardner suggests that centralized authority cannot adequately meet the leadership needs of large organizations. He emphasizes the importance of leadership teams, which tend to foster feelings of ownership and pride in the overall product of their endeavors, and calls to mind Presidents Kennedy and Truman, who surrounded themselves with capable individuals who contributed their individual talents for the good of the whole (p. 150). As a cautionary note, Gardner warns that leaders who surround themselves with unswerving loyalists may insulate themselves from healthy criticism. Unity without reflection and diversity of thought inhibits positive change.
Recognizing that change (for better or worse) is an inevitable process, Gardner argues that leaders must be committed to renewal – “a continuous reweaving of the social fabric” to counter the inevitable decay that every human organization system experiences (p. 188, ¶ 4). This is perhaps the author's most powerful and uplifting insight. The purposes for renewal remain unchanged: to reaffirm the shared values of the community, to reawaken the latent energies of the community/constituency, to redefine forgotten goals and define new goals appropriate to current circumstances, and to achieve new understandings leading to new solutions (p. 122). Renewal is part of a self-reinforcing system: renewal begets community; out of that community leaders rise and continue the regenerative cycle. “Values always decay over time,” writes the author, “societies that keep their values alive do so not by escaping the processes of decay but by powerful processes of regeneration” (p. 13, ¶ 6).
To Gardner, community is the source from which leaders ascend; therefore it is the social responsibility of leaders to build community both within and without their organizations. Gardner claims that “skill in the building and rebuilding of community is not just another of the innumerable requirements of contemporary leadership. It is one of the highest and most essential skills a leader can command" (p. 118, ¶ 5). In the context of our contemporary culture, the author observes how some postmodernist thought has eroded our shared values, the roots of our community. Gardner opines, “Intellectuals of the 1960’s cried ‘Life is absurd.’ Life is indeed absurd when the web of community meaning is shredded, when belief systems are shattered, when there remains no embracing framework of values” (p. 114, ¶ 3). The time is ripe for new leaders to renew our communities, rooted in a tradition of pluralism and tolerance of dissent while recognizing our heritage. Gardner calls this principle “wholeness incorporating diversity.”
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As this review has revealed, On Leadership is a book that offers John W. Gardner’s insights on leadership steeped in social conscience. It is an inspirational work that draws upon his distinguished career as a leader and a scholar. Throughout its pages, Gardner’s optimistic tone reinforces his belief that we have barely even begun to tap the reservoirs of human possibilities; taken together with its clarity and depth, it should be required reading for anyone studying leadership.