Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Warren G. Bennis

Quote by Warren G. Bennis

“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.”

Quote by Warren G. Bennis

Create image

Author

Warren G. Bennis
Warren G. Bennis

Warren G. Bennis was an esteemed American author and scholar known for his contributions to the fields of leadership and organizational behavior. His works delve into the essence of leadership and how leadership abilities can be cultivated and enhanced. more

You May Also Like

“Level 5 leaders are differentiated from other levels of leaders in that they have a wonderful blend of personal humility combined with extraordinary professional will. Understand that they are very ambitious; but their ambition, first and foremost, is for the company's success. They realize that the most important step they must make to become a Level 5 leader is to subjugate their ego to the company's performance. When asked for interviews, these leaders will agree only if it's about the company and not about them.”

IfsFirstsImportantRealizingLeadershipLevelsBusinessCompanyLeaderStepsWonderfulHumilityEgoAmbitionPerformancesAgreeExtraordinaryInterviewsAmbitious
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company's core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius.”

MatterSuccessValuesLeadershipCompanyHumilityGeniusDisciplineAmbitionResearchLuckBoundsCorePreparationRemarkableDisplayBrutalCeoWhatever It TakesStoicCore Values
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“I am often asked if leaders are born or made. The answer, of course, is both. Some characteristics, like IQ and energy, seem to come with the package. On the other hand, you learn some leadership skills, like self-confidence, at your mother's knee, and at school, in academics and sports. And you learn others at work-trying something, getting it wrong and learning from it, or getting it right and gaining the self-confidence to do it again, only better.”

IfsTryingMadeSelfHandsSeemsSchoolMotherCoursesEnergySportsBornLeadershipAnswersLeaderSkillsSelf ConfidenceKneesCharacteristicsPackagesLeadership SkillsTrying Something
Author:Jack Welch
Create image

“The best ideas aren't hidden in shadowy recesses. They're right in front of us, hidden in plain sight. Innovation seldom depends on discovering obscure or subtle elements but in seeing the obvious with fresh eyes. This is easier said than done because nothing is as hard to see as what's right before our eyes. We overlook what we take for granted. Billions of tea drinkers observed the force of steam escaping from water boiling in a kettle before James Watt realized that this vapor could be converted into energy.”

SaidIdeasHardDoneEyeEnergyForceWaterLeadershipSeeingFrontsDependsEasierElementsSightInnovationCuriosityObviousBillionsGrantedTeaSubtleDiscoveringObscureSteamEscapingDrinkersBoilingRecessVaporKettlesPlain SightEasier Said Than DoneJames Watt
Author:Richard Farson
Create image

“Winston Churchill said that appetite was the most important thing about education. Leadership guru Warren Bennis says he wants to be remembered as 'curious to the end.' David Ogilvy contends that the greatest ad copywriters are marked by an insatiable curiosity 'about every subject under the sun.'”

WantSaidImportantEndsLeadershipEducationSunSubjectsImportant ThingsCuriosityCuriousRememberedAppetiteAdsGuruInsatiable
Book:The Project50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Every
Create image