Synopses & Reviews
In this follow-up book to the best-selling Driven, Harvard professor Paul Lawrence applies his four-drive theory of human behavior to the realm of leadership, explaining how leadership—like all human behavior—can be understood as a function of the balance, or lack of balance, of four basic human drives: the drive to acquire, to defend, to comprehend, and to bond. We achieve an optimal state of leadership when all four drives are cultivated and balanced.
In this next-step resource, Lawrence uses historical examples and current leadership crises to explain how the balance of the four drives results in one of three types of leadership:
Good leadership: The best leaders, followers, and stakeholders fulfill the four drives in a balanced manner.
Misguided leadership: These leaders, followers, and stakeholders fulfill one or some of their four drives while ignoring or supp-ressing the others.
Evil leadership: Defines leaders who are missing the drive to bond and have influence over others and only fulfill their drives to acquire, defend, and comprehend.
Driven to Lead explains the biological underpinnings of leadership behavior and offers a compelling discussion of the history of leadership. It examines the critical turning points in the leadership of political institutions, the rise of the corporation as the leading economic institution, and the leadership of religious, artistic, and scientific organizations.
Based on theories that are universal, testable, and actionable, Driven to Lead brings to light a general theory of human behavior that can be used to cultivate good leadership and leaders who have a balance of the four drives.
Review
"...former Medtronic CEO and smart leadership thinker Bill George loved it, and I have to think someone who's been studying the topic since at least the 1960s would have something smart to say." (Washington Post, October 2010)
Synopsis
The author applies the four drive theory of human behavior (to acquire, to defend, to comprehend, to bond) to the leadership realm, and explains the history of leadership in political, economic, and symbolic institutions as a result of one of three types of leadership: good leadership, misguided leadership; and evil leadership. This innovative book outlines a framework of human behavior that can be used to cultivate stellar leadership/leaders which balances the four drives while avoiding negative leadership and leaders who are missing the drive to bond.
Synopsis
"This book is truly amazing--actually, a masterpiece. It tells the story of the human condition."
--From Foreword by WARREN BENNIS
IN THIS FOLLOW-UP BOOK to the best-selling Driven, Harvard professor Paul Lawrence applies his four-drive theory of human behavior to the realm of leadership, explaining how leadership--like all human behavior--can be understood as a function of the balance, or lack of balance, of four basic human drives: the drive to acquire, to defend, to comprehend, and to bond. We achieve an optimal state of leadership when all four drives are cultivated and balanced.
In this next-step resource, Lawrence uses historical examples and current leadership crises to explain how the balance of the four drives results in one of three types of leadership:
- Good leadership
The best leaders, followers, and stakeholders fulfill the four drives in a balanced manner. - Misguided leadership
These leaders, followers, and stakeholders fulfill one or some of their four drives while ignoring or supp-ressing the others. - Evil leadership
Defines leaders who are missing the drive to bond and have influence over others and only fulfill their drives to acquire, defend, and comprehend.
Driven to Lead explains the biological underpinnings of leadership behavior and offers a compelling discussion of the history of leadership. It examines the critical turning points in the leadership of political institutions, the rise of the corporation as the leading economic institution, and the leadership of religious, artistic, and scientific organizations.
Based on theories that are universal, testable, and actionable, Driven to Lead brings to light a general theory of human behavior that can be used to cultivate good leadership and leaders who have a balance of the four drives.
Synopsis
Praise for Driven to Lead"A powerful scientific framework, grounded in evolutionary biology, that helps us think about leadership successes and failures throughout history and how we might address humanity's need for better leadership going forward."
—Nitin Nohria, Dean, Harvard Business School
"Brilliant insights—straightforward, easy to comprehend, and extremely useful to anyone in business. I predict the four-drives model will replace Maslow's hierarchy of needs as the accepted way of describing human behavior."
—David N. Burt, chairman emeritus, Supply Chain Management Institute, University of San Diego
"Paul Lawrence is back! Driven to Lead is the most comprehensive general theory of leadership ever created. By digging deeply into Darwin, Lawrence offers a practical guide for authentic leaders to excel in today's challenging world."
—Bill George, professor of management practice, Harvard Business School, and former chair and CEO, Medtronic
"If Darwin had written a book about leadership in the twenty-first century, this would be it."
—Ranjay Gulati, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
"It's the E = mc2 of human behavior."
—Malcolm DeLeo, Vice President of Innovation, Daymon Worldwide
"This book presents a rigorous and novel theory on how evolution and the human brain can produce effective and ineffective leadership. The writing is clear. It is accessible to practitioners as well as to researchers."
—Chris Argyris, professor emeritus, Harvard Business School
About the Author
Paul R. Lawrence is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Organizational Behavior Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He is the author of twenty-five books and numerous articles across the entire field of social sciences and is the coauthor, with Nitin Nohria, of Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Acknowledgments.
The Author.
Introduction.
1 How Much Can We Hope For?
PART ONE: THE LEADERSHIP BRAIN.
2 A Brain Designed for Leadership?
3 Darwin Rediscovered: Did the Brain Evolve Leadership Capabilities?
PART TWO: HISTORIC LEADERSHIP PATTERNS.
4 All About Leaders: Good, Bad, and Misguided.
5 Leadership and the Historic Evolution of Political Institutions.
6 Leadership of Economic Institutions: The Rise of Corporations.
7 Leadership in Institutions of Human Meaning: Religion, Art, and Science.
PART THREE: LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY AFFAIRS.
8 Keeping on Track: Leadership in Contemporary Corporations.
9 A Worldwide Swindle: By Banking Leaders-w/o-Conscience?
10 Keeping a Global Economy and a Global Community on Track.
11 Keeping on Track by Practicing Good/Moral Leadership.
12 Renewing the Story of Human Progress with Darwin's Help.
Appendix: Darwin Misunderstood.
Notes.
Index.