156 Quotes by Margaret J. Wheatley

Yet we act as if simple cause and effect is at work. We push to find the one simple reason things have gone wrong. We look for the one action, or the one person, that created this mess. As soon as we find someone to blame, we act as if we've solved the problem.

We have created trouble for ourselves in organizations by confusing control with order.

In the past, it was easier to believe in my own effectiveness. If I worked hard, with good colleagues and good ideas, we could make a difference. But now, I sincerely doubt that.

Aggression is the most common behavior used by many organizations, a nearly invisible medium that influences all decisions and actions.

In virtually every organization, regardless of mission and function, people are frustrated by problems that seem unsolvable.

For example, I was discussing the use of email and how impersonal it can be, how people will now email someone across the room rather than go and talk to them. But I don't think this is laziness, I think it is a conscious decision people are making to save time.

We do as much harm holding onto programs and people past their natural life span as we do when we employ massive organizational air strikes. However, destroying comes at the end of life's cycle, not as a first response.

Destroying is a necessary function in life. Everything has its season, and all things eventually lose their effectiveness and die.

Most people associate command and control leadership with the military.