139 Quotes by Warren G. Bennis

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.

Listening to the inner voice – trusting the inner voice – is one of the most important lessons of leadership.

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.

Leadership is like beauty – it’s hard to define but you know it when you see it.

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

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

If knowing yourself and being yourself were as easy to do as to talk about, there wouldn’t be nearly so many people walking around in borrowed postures, spouting secondhand ideas, trying desperately to fit in rather than to stand out.

Leaders are people who do the right thing: managers are people who do things right. Both roles are crucial, but they differ profoundly. I often observe people in top positions doing wrong things well.