"Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult"
About this Quote
Leadership, for Bennis, isn`t a promotion; it`s an identity test you can`t outsource. The line lands because it refuses the comforting fantasy that leadership is a set of hacks, traits, or performative charisma. If becoming a leader is "becoming yourself", then the real work isn`t impressing people, it`s stripping away the borrowed selves: the corporate mask, the graduate-seminar voice, the tough-guy posture, the endlessly agreeable version built to avoid conflict.
The subtext is almost accusatory. Most leadership failures, Bennis implies, aren`t technical. They`re counterfeit. People copy the aesthetics of leadership - decisiveness, confidence, vision statements - without the internal coherence that makes those things credible. "Precisely that simple" reads like a Zen slap: there isn`t some hidden door, just the one you`ve been avoiding. "Also that difficult" admits the brutal part: becoming yourself requires appetite for uncertainty, the willingness to disappoint, and the stamina to live with the consequences of your choices. Authenticity here isn`t a vibe; it`s accountability.
Context matters. Bennis helped shape modern leadership studies in the postwar American managerial era, when organizations were getting bigger, flatter, and more psychologically self-aware. His work pushed against command-and-control models and toward leaders as meaning-makers. This quote compresses that whole project into a paradox: leadership development isn`t adding polish, it`s subtracting pretense - and that subtraction is what most people can`t bear.
The subtext is almost accusatory. Most leadership failures, Bennis implies, aren`t technical. They`re counterfeit. People copy the aesthetics of leadership - decisiveness, confidence, vision statements - without the internal coherence that makes those things credible. "Precisely that simple" reads like a Zen slap: there isn`t some hidden door, just the one you`ve been avoiding. "Also that difficult" admits the brutal part: becoming yourself requires appetite for uncertainty, the willingness to disappoint, and the stamina to live with the consequences of your choices. Authenticity here isn`t a vibe; it`s accountability.
Context matters. Bennis helped shape modern leadership studies in the postwar American managerial era, when organizations were getting bigger, flatter, and more psychologically self-aware. His work pushed against command-and-control models and toward leaders as meaning-makers. This quote compresses that whole project into a paradox: leadership development isn`t adding polish, it`s subtracting pretense - and that subtraction is what most people can`t bear.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Warren G. Bennis, On Becoming a Leader (1989). |
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