Leading for a Lifetime: How Defining Moments Shape Leaders of Today and Tomorrow - Softcover

At the heart of this model are what the authors call "crucibles"--utterly transforming periods of testing from which one can emerge either hopelessly broken or powerfully emboldened to learn and to lead. Whether losing an election or burying a child, learning from a mentor or mastering a martial art, crucibles force us to decide who we are and what we are capable of.

Well, no. In fact, authors Warren G. Bennis and Robert J Thomas have discovered that leadership is forged in what they term a crucible of experience. Leaders aren’t just born— they develop by building on the lessons of their times. Everyone who can “learn to learn”, or extract wisdom from the daunting circumstances of life’s transformative moments, can grow to become a leader.

This important new theory is illustrated by examples from two generations of American leaders. Leading for a Lifetime includes interview with such leaders as correspondent Mike Wallace and Architect Frank Gehry, whose crucibles occurred in the 1940’s and 1950’s; and also with young leaders like EarthLink founder Sky Dayton and Ford executive Elizabeth Kao, who came of age in the 1990’s.

Their lessons are as diverse as their experiences—from World War II to the World Wide Web—but the outcomes are the same. This engaging, practical analysis highlights the importance of what leaders old and new have always shared: the desire to learn for a lifetime.