Quotes About Leadership

as odd as it may seem, it is actually more important for leaders to focus on making their organizations healthy than on making them smart.

It's about knowing that in certain moments you have to offer yourself up as a minor sacrifice to help them accomplish what they need to accomplish. Letting them abuse you, on the other hand, would be a terrible disservice. I know it seems like a fine line, but it's a real one, and it can be done.

high school kids at In-N-Out Burger and Chick-fil-A are doing largely the same job that kids at any other fast-food restaurant are doing, and yet there are a lot fewer miserable jobs at In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A. The difference is not the job itself. It is the management. And one of the most important things that managers must do is help employees see why their work matters to someone. Even if this sounds touchy-feely to some, it is a fundamental part of human nature.

Kathryn paused for effect before delivering her next line. "Let me assure you that from now on, every staff meeting we have will be loaded with conflict. And they won't be boring. And if there is nothing worth debating, then we won't have a meeting.

The most important action that a leader must take to encourage the building of trust on a team is to demonstrate vulnerability first.

Rich didn't care if people liked the guy. He knew that most people at this level had learned how to be likable during interviews. "What did Rita think?

conflict is productive

Rita laughed. "I know. Technically, you're right. But I think a guy at this level needs a little more rope." Rich was adamant now. "No. Less rope. Senior people should get less rope, because in the process of hanging themselves, they snag other people too.

We have more money, better technology, and more talented and experienced executives than our competitors, and yet we are behind. What we lack is teamwork, and I can promise you all that I have no greater priority as CEO than making you, I mean, us, more effective as a group.

Let me assure you that from now on, every staff meeting we have will be loaded with conflict. And they won't be boring. And if there is nothing worth debating, then we won't have a meeting." The

Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.

Contrary to the assumptions of his rivals, Rich O'Connor had no tolerance for touchy-feely off-site meetings. In fact, his staff had come to refer to his meetings as "hug-free zones," a term they coined during Telegraph's first management retreat five years earlier.

small gaps between executives high up in an organization become major discrepancies by the time they reach employees below

One of the most difficult challenges for a leader who wants to instill accountability on a team is to encourage and allow the team to serve as the first and primary accountability mechanism.

As strongly as we feel about our own employees and as wonderful as that is for them, it simply cannot come at the expense of the loyalty and commitment we have to the group of people sitting here today.

The most important principle that an executive must embrace is a desire to produce results. As obvious as this sounds, it is not universally practiced by the highest-ranking executives in many companies. Many CEOs put something ahead of results on their list of priorities, and it represents the most dangerous of all the temptations: the desire to protect the status of their careers.

Some people are hard to hold accountable because they are so helpful. Others because they get defensive. Others because they are intimidating. I don't think it's easy to hold anyone accountable, not even your own kids.

No, trust is not the same as assuming everyone is on the same page as you, and that they don't need to be pushed. Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team.

Good leaders drive commitment among the team by first extracting every possible idea, opinion, and perspective from the team. Then, comfortable that nothing has been left off the table, they must have the courage and wisdom to step up and make a decision, one that is sure to run counter to at least one of the team members, and usually more.

See, management is an everyday thing. Strategy and financial reporting and planning are not.

Yeah, in my last company we called it 'disagree and commit.' You can argue about something and disagree, but still commit to it as though everyone originally bought into the decision completely.

an organization that has properly identified its values and adheres to them will naturally attract the right employees and repel the wrong ones.

But I can assure you that we're going to find the right person. That means everyone here will be interviewing candidates and pushing to find someone who can demonstrate trust, engage in conflict, commit to group decisions, hold their peers accountable, and focus on the results of the team, not their own ego.

Building an effective, cohesive team is extremely hard. But it's also simple.