Becoming a Leader The book Becoming a Leader was written by Warren Bennis, an American academic, author and widely known pioneer of leadership studies. This book was published in 1989 by Basic Books but revised in 2003 by Perseus Publishing in Cambridge, MA. This book lays out the many traits, qualities, and factors needed to become a leader. Bennis shows the depth and height of how leaders lead their followers in different situations. This book focuses on theories for becoming a leader, it is by no means a “how to” book. Bennis explains how leaders contribute to society and how crucial they are as well as the characteristics that come with being a leader. It provides fascinating insight into leaders and emphasizes the integrity and authenticity of these people. In this reading, Bennis (the author) Bennis states that people are not born with these traits and that people acquire these traits by pushing themselves to excel to lead others. He also argues that there is a distinct difference between a person being a leader and a manager, and that the difference is that leaders will lead others to greater success and achieve their goals when managers keep everything as it is is and that nothing ever goes beyond this point. Bennis believes that for Potts 2 to lead, you need to know yourself inside out, know your strengths and weaknesses, and know when to ask others for help. If one fails to achieve this, one will fail to lead because one will not understand how to choose people to fill the roles that the person has already held successfully. It is also stated that to progress, one must experience things for oneself, without any help and essentially through self-learning. He also argues that you need to reflect on good and bad experiences, learn to grow from bad ones, and understand how you accomplished.