Warren G. Bennis Leadership Quotations

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

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.

Leaders keep their eyes on the horizon, not just on the bottom line.

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

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.

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

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

Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born -- that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

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

It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from followers.

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

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

The ability to plan for what has not yet happened, for a future that has only been imagined, is one of the hallmarks of leadership.

I'd always rather err on the side of openness. But there's a difference between optimum and maximum openness, and fixing that boundary is a judgment call. The art of leadership is knowing how much information you're going to pass on - to keep people motivated and to be as honest, as upfront, as you can. But, boy, there really are limits to that.

Leaders are people who believe so passionately that they can seduce other people into sharing their dream.

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation.

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

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

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

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

Power is the basic energy needed to initiate and sustain action or, to put it another way, the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it. Leadership is the wise use of this power: Transformative leadership.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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