Warren G. Bennis Quotes

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital.

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.

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

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

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

Successful leaders are great askers

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

Emotional intelligence, more than any other factor, more than I.Q. or expertise, accounts for 85% to 90% of success at work... I.Q. is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn't make you a star. Emotional intelligence can.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

Just as no great painting has ever been created by a committee, no great vision has ever emerged from the herd.

Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing.

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

Without character, there is no credibility; and without credibility, there is no trust.

Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential.

You are your own raw material. When you know what you consist of and what you want to make of it, then you can invent yourself.

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

All of great leaders evidence four basic qualities that are central to their ability to lead: adaptive capacity, the ability to engage others through shared meaning, a distinctive voice, and unshakeable integrity. These four qualities mark all exemplary leaders, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, or race.

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

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

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

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.

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

The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.