Leadership Quotes by Warren G. Bennis

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

— Warren G. Bennis

The manager administers; the leader innovates.

— Warren G. Bennis

“Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing.”

— Warren G. Bennis

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

— Warren G. Bennis

Successful leaders are great askers

— Warren G. Bennis

All great leaders constantly seek new information and new ways of thinking.

— Warren G. Bennis

The learning person looks forward to failure or mistakes. The worst problem in leadership is basically early success.

— Warren G. Bennis

The new leader is one who commits people to action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents…

— Warren G. Bennis

Effective leaders make a full commitment to be a learner, to keep increasing and nourishing their knowledge and wisdom.

— Warren G. Bennis

Ineffective leaders often act on the advice and counsel of the last person they talked to.

— Warren G. Bennis

Around the world, the generals are being ousted, and the poets are taking charge.

— Warren G. Bennis

Growing other leaders from the ranks isn't just the duty of the leader, it's an obligation.

— Warren G. Bennis

Leaders must earn the trust of their teams, their organizations, and their stakeholders before attempting to engage their support.

— Warren G. Bennis

Leaders wonder about everything, want to learn as much as they can, are willing to take risks, experiment, try new things. They…

— Warren G. Bennis

One of the qualities that all the leaders have is a voracious appetite to learn whatever they do not as yet know…

— Warren G. Bennis

No leader can create sustainable, significant change without a reservoir of good will. Without that, you always tend to compromise with failure.

— Warren G. Bennis

Without a terrific leader, you're not going to have a Great Group. But it is also true that you're not going to…

— Warren G. Bennis

This duality, making yourself better while teaching and developing others' judgment capabilities, is the key to leadership that is both productive and…

— Warren G. Bennis

Great groups give the lie to the remarkably persistent but incorrect notion that successful organizations are the lengthened shadow of a great…

— Warren G. Bennis

Understand the "Pygmalion Effect": Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and…

— Warren G. Bennis

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it;…

— Warren G. Bennis

What makes a good follower? The single most important characteristic may well be a willingness to tell the truth. In a world…

— Warren G. Bennis

Leadership (according to John Sculley) revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and…

— Warren G. Bennis

In the face of ambiguity, uncertainty, and conflicting demands, often under great time pressure, leaders must make decisions and take effective actions…

— Warren G. Bennis

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it;…

— Warren G. Bennis

Leading with character gives the wise leader clear-cut advantages. They are easier to trust and follow; they honor commitments and promises; their…

— 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…

— Warren G. Bennis

All of great leaders evidence four basic qualities that are central to their ability to lead: adaptive capacity, the ability to engage…

— Warren G. Bennis

Unlike top management at Enron, exemplary leaders reward dissent. They encourage it. They understand that, whatever momentary discomfort they experience as a…

— Warren G. Bennis

“Neoteny is more than retaining a youthful appearance, although that is often part of it. Neoteny is the retention of all those…

— Warren G. Bennis

A new leader has to be able to change an organization that is dreamless, soulless and visionless ... someone's got to make…

— Warren G. Bennis

Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.

— Warren G. Bennis

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

— 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

Learning to be an effective leader is no different than learning to be an effective person. And that's the hard part

— Warren G. Bennis

The basis of leadership is the capacity of the leader to change the mindset, the framework of the other person.

— Warren G. Bennis

The first job of a leader is to define a vision for the organization...the capacity to translate vision into reality.

— Warren G. Bennis

Servant leadership teaches us that you have to lay your cards on the table.

— Warren G. Bennis

People who know what they want and why they want it, and have the skills to communicate that to others in a…

— Warren G. Bennis

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

— Warren G. Bennis