139 Quotes by Warren G. Bennis

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn’t very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

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.

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

Learning to be an effective leader is no different than learning to be an effective person. And that’s the hard part.

Recognize the skills and traits you don’t possess, and hire the people who have them.

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

The ideal boss for a growing leader is probably a good boss with major flaws, so that one can learn all the complex lessons of what to do and what not to do simultaneously.

Trust is difficult to define, but we know when it’s present and when it’s not.

The first step in becoming a leader, then, is to recognize the context for what it is – a breaker, not a maker; a trap, not a launching pad; an end, not a beginning – and declare your independence.