Famous Quotes & Sayings

Warren G. Bennis

Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.

Warren G. Bennis

I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be.

Warren G. Bennis

Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination.

Warren G. Bennis

The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Warren G. Bennis

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

Warren G. Bennis

To become a leader, then, you must become yourself, become the maker of your own life

Warren G. Bennis

The leaders I met, whatever walk of life they were from, whatever institutions they were presiding over, always referred back to the same failure something that happened to them that was personally difficult, even traumatic, something that made them feel that desperate sense of hitting bottom-as something they thought was almost a necessity. It's as if at that moment the iron entered their soul; that moment created the resilience that leaders need.

Warren G. Bennis

Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.

Warren G. Bennis

Leaders learn by leading, and they learn bestby leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, problems shape leaders.

Warren G. Bennis

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born...

Warren G. Bennis

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.

Warren G. Bennis

Leaders do not avoid, repress, or deny conflict, but rather see it as an opportunity

Warren G. Bennis

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Warren G. Bennis

Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.

Ronald Reagan

It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad, and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile, because they might just wind up lowering our flag.

Ronald Reagan

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.

Ronald Reagan

Our policy is simple: We are not going to betray our friends, reward the enemies of freedom, or permit fear and retreat to become American policies. ... None of the four wars in my lifetime came about because we were too strong. It is weakness ... that invites adventurous adversaries to make mistaken judgments.

Wilt Chamberlain

I've prided myself on being in excellent condition-as good as any man in my profession. Now this doesn't come from sitting around on your rear end. This comes from hard, hard work.

Wilma Mankiller

Recognizing the good, not just in one's own personal circumstances, but in the world, makes anything possible. When I am asked about the important characteristics of leadership, being of good, positive mind is at the top of my list. If a leader can focus on the meritorious characteristics of other people and try to play to their strengths as well as find value in even the most difficult situation, she can inspire hope and faith in others and motivate them to move forward.

Will Rogers

You've got to go out on a limb sometimes because that's where the fruit is.

Rudyard Kipling

I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all i knew); Theirs names are What and Why and When And How And Where and Who.

W. Averell Harriman

Roosevelt was the one who had the vision to change our policy from isolationism to world leadership. That was a terrific revolution. Our country's never been the same since.

Zig Ziglar

The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you think you can only do a little.

Ty Cobb

I've got to be first. ALL the time.

Twyla Tharp

A tough manager will have realistic quotas for his employees that he keeps to himself and aggressively stretch quotas, anywhere from ten percent higher to a lot more, which he imposes on his staff. If his people miss the stretch numbers but exceed the realistic goals, he's happy. If he's a superb manager, he knows how far they can stretch without breaking.

Vladimir Putin

I hope that the responsible figures in the Ukrainian leadership will not hinder soldiers in the Ukrainian army from putting down their weapons.

William Allen White

From 4 to 6 percent of the presidential office is not in administration but in morals, politics, and spiritual leadership . He has to guide a people in the greatest adventure ever undertaken on the planet.

William Arthur Ward

We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.

Wilferd Peterson

The best leaders are very often the best listeners. They have an open mind. They are not interested in having their own way but in finding the best way.

Walter Lippmann

The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.

Voltaire

The right of commanding is no longer an advantage transmitted by nature; like an inheritance, it is the fruit of labors, the price of courage.

William Feather

Next to doing a good job yourself, the greatest joy is having someone else do a first class job under your direction.

William Bratton

They really do feel under attack, rank-and-file officers and much of American police leadership, that they feel they're under attack from the federal government at the highest levels, so that's something we need to understand also, this sense of perception that becomes a reality.