But it is much harder to tease out the components that determine their success. It is not hard to state in a few words what successful leaders do that makes them effective. His unique achievement is a human and social one which stems from his understanding of his fellow workers and the relationship of their individual goals to the group goal that he must carry out. As for the important matter of setting goals, he may actually be a man of little influence, or even of little skill as a leader he may merely carry out the plans of others. He may not ever be a colorful person he may never use memorable devices to dramatize the purposes of his group or to focus attention on his leadership. He may not be popular his followers may never do what he wishes out of love or admiration for him. He may not possess or display power force or the threat of harm may never enter into his dealings. A great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances. The man who successfully marshals his human collaborators to achieve particular ends is a leader. Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. Some leaders have these things, but they are not of the essence of leadership. Instead he studies popularity, power, showmanship, or wisdom in long-range planning. He usually does not study leadership at all. While his language in some passages is dated, Prentice’s observations on how leaders can motivate employees to support the organization’s goals are timeless, and they were remarkably prescient.Īttempts to analyze leadership tend to fail because the would-be analyst misconceives his task. He called for democratic leadership that gives employees opportunities to learn and grow-without creating anarchy. Prentice defined leadership as “the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants” and a successful leader as one who can understand people’s motivations and enlist employee participation in a way that marries individual needs and interests to the group’s purpose. Prentice’s 1961 article rejecting the notion of leadership as the exercise of power and force or the possession of extraordinary analytical skill. This concept, along with his rejection of the notion that leadership is the exercise of power or the possession of extraordinary analytical skill, foreshadows the work of more recent authors such as Abraham Zaleznik and Daniel Goleman, who have fundamentally changed the way we look at leadership.Īlthough the more recent work of authors such as Abraham Zaleznik and Daniel Goleman has fundamentally changed the way we look at leadership, many of their themes were foreshadowed in W.C.H. Prentice calls for democratic leadership that, without creating anarchy, gives employees opportunities to learn and grow. Ideally, Prentice says, managerial dominions should be small enough that every supervisor can know those who report to him or her as human beings. Prentice argues that by responding to such individual patterns, the leader will be able to create genuinely intrinsic interest in the work. In this article, first published in HBR’s September–October 1961 issue, W.C.H. Another may need a friendly, admiring relationship and may be constantly frustrated by the failure of his superior to recognize and take advantage of that need. One person may find satisfaction in solving intellectual problems but may never be given the opportunity to explore how that satisfaction can be applied to business. Human beings respond not only to the traditional carrot and stick but also to ambition, patriotism, love of the good and the beautiful, boredom, self-doubt, and many other desires and emotions. To be successful, leaders must learn two basic lessons: People are complex, and people are different. Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants-a human and social achievement that stems from the leader’s understanding of his or her fellow workers and the relationship of their individual goals to the group’s aim. But none of these qualities is the essence of leadership. The would-be analyst of leadership usually studies popularity, power, showmanship, or wisdom in long-range planning.
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