On Leadership
Published on 12. March 1993
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-02-911312-7 (ISBN)
Description
“A masterpiece.” —Walter F. Ulmer Jr., former president of the Center for Creative Leadership
In this insightful classic, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient 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.
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
In this insightful classic, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient 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.
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
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
277 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-02-911312-7 (9780029113127)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John W. Gardner was the US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare between 1965 and 1968. He served as an advisor under multiple presidential administrations and chaired the President's Commission on White House Fellowships in 1976. In 1964 Mr. Gardner was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civil honor in the United States.
Content
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Nature of Leadership
2. The Tasks of Leadership
3. The Heart of the Matter: Leader-Constituent Interaction
4. Contexts
5. Attributes
6. Power
7. The Moral Dimension
8. Large-Scale Organized Systems
9. Fragmentation and the Common Good
10. The Knitting Together
11. Community
12. Renewing
13. Sharing Leadership Tasks
14. Leadership Development: The Early Years
15. Leadership Development: Lifelong Growth
16. Motivating
17. The Release of Human Possibilities
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Nature of Leadership
2. The Tasks of Leadership
3. The Heart of the Matter: Leader-Constituent Interaction
4. Contexts
5. Attributes
6. Power
7. The Moral Dimension
8. Large-Scale Organized Systems
9. Fragmentation and the Common Good
10. The Knitting Together
11. Community
12. Renewing
13. Sharing Leadership Tasks
14. Leadership Development: The Early Years
15. Leadership Development: Lifelong Growth
16. Motivating
17. The Release of Human Possibilities
Notes
Index