"The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born"
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Bennis is picking a fight with the cult of the “natural,” the lazy story societies tell to justify who gets power and why. By calling the “born leader” idea the most dangerous myth, he’s not just correcting a misconception; he’s indicting a system. If leadership is genetic, then hierarchies become fate: selection becomes destiny, privilege becomes proof, and training becomes window dressing. His blunt “That’s nonsense” isn’t academic hedging. It’s a rhetorical elbow meant to knock charisma off its pedestal.
The subtext is democratic, but also managerial. Bennis helped define modern leadership studies in an era when corporations and institutions were trying to professionalize what used to be mystique. Postwar America loved the heroic CEO and the magnetic politician; “charisma” became a résumé item and an excuse for tolerating incompetence in a well-tailored suit. Bennis pushes back by reframing leadership as craft: learned behaviors, cultivated judgment, moral formation, and social skill developed under pressure. That shift matters because it relocates responsibility. If leaders are made, then organizations have to build pipelines, coach, mentor, evaluate, and diversify. Individuals can’t hide behind “I’m not a leader type,” and institutions can’t hide behind “We couldn’t find any.”
There’s also a warning embedded in his certainty. The “born leader” myth doesn’t just limit who gets a shot; it makes people vulnerable to performers. If charisma is treated as destiny, we stop asking the harder questions about competence, ethics, and results. Bennis is urging skepticism toward the glittering natural and faith in the unglamorous work of becoming.
The subtext is democratic, but also managerial. Bennis helped define modern leadership studies in an era when corporations and institutions were trying to professionalize what used to be mystique. Postwar America loved the heroic CEO and the magnetic politician; “charisma” became a résumé item and an excuse for tolerating incompetence in a well-tailored suit. Bennis pushes back by reframing leadership as craft: learned behaviors, cultivated judgment, moral formation, and social skill developed under pressure. That shift matters because it relocates responsibility. If leaders are made, then organizations have to build pipelines, coach, mentor, evaluate, and diversify. Individuals can’t hide behind “I’m not a leader type,” and institutions can’t hide behind “We couldn’t find any.”
There’s also a warning embedded in his certainty. The “born leader” myth doesn’t just limit who gets a shot; it makes people vulnerable to performers. If charisma is treated as destiny, we stop asking the harder questions about competence, ethics, and results. Bennis is urging skepticism toward the glittering natural and faith in the unglamorous work of becoming.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Warren G. Bennis, On Becoming a Leader (1989). Frequently cited as the source of the passage asserting "Leaders are made rather than born." |
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