Summary Leaders and the Leadership Process
Judith Campbell’s
Chapter Summaries & Reflections of:
Leaders and the Leadership Process
By Jon L. Pierce and John W. Newstrom
Submitted for Clemson University’s I LEAD! Program
12-15-09
Prologue
“Perspectives on Leadership From Homer’s Odyssey”
By Fred A. Kramer (University of Massachusetts)
Summary
This article discusses the leadership roles demonstrated by two characters in Homer’s
Odyssey. Mentor and Odysseus exhibited good leadership by demonstrating Warren
Bennis’ four “competencies” that leaders must display. The four competencies are: management of attention through vision; management of meaning through communication; management of trust through reliability and constancy; and management of self through knowing one’s skills and deploying them effectively. Kramer discusses how the first three competencies are deeply related. A leader must have a vision and be able to communicate it to others. Not only this, they must be trustworthy and reliable.
Kramer suggests the last competency, management of self, should supercede the others.
In order for a leader to exhibit the first three competencies, he or she must have a strong sense of self-regard. Leaders should know their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. According to Kramer, “the main lesson of the Odyssey is that each of us should undertake our own journeys into self awareness and self-understanding.”
Reflection
I agree with the last point made by Kramer on how important it is for leaders to
“undertake their own journeys into self awareness and self understanding.” In my experience, the leaders I have respected have all been very confident and self-assured individuals. Before they could communicate their vision, they had to know who they were and where they wanted to go in life. By having self-confidence, they were successful in building trust and communicating the meaning of their vision to others.
Chapter 1
Reading 2
“On the Meaning of Leadership”
By Jon Pierce and
Chapter Summaries & Reflections of:
Leaders and the Leadership Process
By Jon L. Pierce and John W. Newstrom
Submitted for Clemson University’s I LEAD! Program
12-15-09
Prologue
“Perspectives on Leadership From Homer’s Odyssey”
By Fred A. Kramer (University of Massachusetts)
Summary
This article discusses the leadership roles demonstrated by two characters in Homer’s
Odyssey. Mentor and Odysseus exhibited good leadership by demonstrating Warren
Bennis’ four “competencies” that leaders must display. The four competencies are: management of attention through vision; management of meaning through communication; management of trust through reliability and constancy; and management of self through knowing one’s skills and deploying them effectively. Kramer discusses how the first three competencies are deeply related. A leader must have a vision and be able to communicate it to others. Not only this, they must be trustworthy and reliable.
Kramer suggests the last competency, management of self, should supercede the others.
In order for a leader to exhibit the first three competencies, he or she must have a strong sense of self-regard. Leaders should know their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. According to Kramer, “the main lesson of the Odyssey is that each of us should undertake our own journeys into self awareness and self-understanding.”
Reflection
I agree with the last point made by Kramer on how important it is for leaders to
“undertake their own journeys into self awareness and self understanding.” In my experience, the leaders I have respected have all been very confident and self-assured individuals. Before they could communicate their vision, they had to know who they were and where they wanted to go in life. By having self-confidence, they were successful in building trust and communicating the meaning of their vision to others.
Chapter 1
Reading 2
“On the Meaning of Leadership”
By Jon Pierce and