I have been working with organizations of all kinds for fifty years or more—as a teacher and administrator in the university, as a consultant to corporations, as a board member, as a volunteer. Over the years, I have discussed with scores—perhaps even hundreds—of leaders their roles, their goals, and their performance. I have worked with manufacturing giants and tiny firms, with organizations that span the world and others that work with severely handicapped children in one small town. I have worked with some exceedingly bright executives and a few dummies, with people who talk a good deal about leadership and others who apparently never even think of themselves as leaders and who rarely, if ever, talk about leadership.

The lessons are unambiguous.

The first is that there may be "born leaders," but there surely are far too few to depend on them. Leadership must be learned and can be learned …

The second major lesson is that "leadership personality," "leadership style," and "leadership ...