Warren G. Bennis

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

— Warren G. Bennis

Perhaps the central task of the leader of leaders thus becomes the development of other leaders.

— Warren G. Bennis

Leadership is like beauty - it's hard to define but you know it when you see it.

— Warren G. Bennis

All claims deserve consideration but some claims are more important than others.

— Warren G. Bennis

Those who take risks walk the high wire with no fear of falling.

— Warren G. Bennis

What job is worth the enormous psychic cost of following a leader who values loyalty in the narrowest sense.

— Warren G. Bennis

That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

— Warren G. Bennis

That is the key challenge facing management today; change is the only constant.

— 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

Government is like an onion. To understand it, you have to peel through many different layers. Most outsiders never get beyond the…

— Warren G. Bennis

Encourage reflective backtalk: Leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth.

— Warren G. Bennis

That's important to remember: it's not just a collection of great individuals but a group of people who enjoy playing in the…

— Warren G. Bennis

People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic,…

— 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

Successful leadership is not about being tough or soft, sensitive or assertive, but about a set of attributes. First and foremost is…

— Warren G. Bennis

The crucible is a dividing line, a turning point, and those who have gone through it feel they are very different from…

— 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

“One thing Great Groups do need is protection. Great Groups do things that haven’t been done before. Most corporations and other traditional…

— Warren G. Bennis

Think of a crucible as an occasion for real magic, the creation of something more valuable than an alchemist could possibly imagine.…

— Warren G. Bennis

This is more than just having a vision. You can see the difference in the often-cited way in which Steve Jobs brought…

— Warren G. Bennis

Innovation- any new idea-by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can…

— 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…

— Warren G. Bennis

Frank Gehry designs buildings that make other architects half his age (he's 78) gasp with envy. Neotony is what makes him lace…

— Warren G. Bennis

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

— 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

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

— Warren G. Bennis

If I were to give off-the-cuff advice to anyone trying to institute change, I would say, "How clear is the metaphor?"

— Warren G. Bennis

Neotony is a metaphor for the quality of life - the gift - that keeps the fortunate of whatever age focused on…

— 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

Our tendency to create heroes rarely jibes with the reality that most nontrivial problems require collective solutions.

— Warren G. Bennis

First and foremost, effective leaders must continuously strive to make themselves smarter and better at making judgments.

— Warren G. Bennis

Great leaders love talent and know where to find it. They surround themselves with talented people who can work effectively together.

— Warren G. Bennis

A passion for continual learning, a refined, discerning ear for the moral and ethical consequences of their actions, and an understanding of…

— Warren G. Bennis

A leader is someone whose actions have the most profound consequences on other people's lives, for better or worse, sometime forever and…

— Warren G. Bennis

The leader has a clear idea of what he wants to do professionally and personally, and the strength to persist in the…

— Warren G. Bennis

Understand stakeholder symmetry: Find the appropriate balance of competing claims by various groups of stakeholders.

— 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

Create strategic alliances and partnerships: Now and in years to come, shrewd leaders will create allegiances with other organizations whose fates are…

— Warren G. Bennis