James Mac Gregor Burns

James Mac Gregor Burns

James MacGregor Burns (born August 3, 1918) is an historian and political scientist, presidential biographer, and authority on leadership studies. He is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1971, Burns received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in History and Biography for his work on America's 32nd president, Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom, 1940-1945.

Burns has shifted the focus of leadership studies from the traits and actions of great men to the interaction of leaders and their constituencies as collaborators working toward mutual benefit. He is best known for his contributions to the transactional, transformational, aspirational, and visionary schools of leadership theory.

Burns' research regarding the transformational theory focuses on how leaders approach power. The transformational theory yields several pros which are: it appeals to the moral side of developing social values and individual purpose, asks the most fundamental question of what the ultimate goal of leadership is and why one should be a leader, and it allows avenues for humans to avoid potential disasters such as overpopulation, etc. However, there are cons also associated with this theory. The cons include: its dependency upon the motivation of a given population, its inability to work in an emergency situation, and the ability of a transformational leader to deal with leaders who are less knowledgeable of the theory. Burns also holds fast to a hierarchy of values. He places public values at the top of his hierarchy. His values are based upon the values upheld by the signers of the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Burns received his bachelor's degree from Williams College and his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard, and he also attended the London School of Economics. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is past president of the American Political Science Association and the International Society of Political Psychology.

Burns was the Democratic nominee for the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts in 1958 and was also elected a delegate to four Democratic National Conventions. Burns served in the military as combat historian in the Pacific theater during World War II; he was awarded the Bronze Star and four Battle Stars. Throughout his military adventures, Burns noticed that when leadership was mentioned, it was in terms of officers and their traits and qualities, but did not include soldiers.

Burns has advocated repeal of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution to allow effective US presidents to serve three or more terms of office.

Burns' Leadership (1978) introduced two types of leadership: Transactional leadership where leaders focus on the relationship between the leader and follower, and Transformational leadership where leaders focus on the beliefs, needs and values of their followers.

Excerpts from Burns's book, Leadership:

• Leadership over human beings is exercised when persons with certain motives and purposes mobilize, in competition or conflict with others, institutional, political, psychological, and other resources so as to arouse, engage, and satisfy the motives of followers... in order to realize goals mutually held by both leaders and followers....

• Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality.

• That people can be lifted into their better selves is the secret of transforming leadership and the moral and practical theme of this work.

Burns' work has influenced other transformational leadership theorists such as Bernard Bass, Bruce Avolio, Kenneth Leithwood and many others.