Great leaders understand that historical success tends to produce stable and inwardly focused organizations, and these outfits, in turn, reinforce a feeling of contentment with the status quo.
John P. KotterRead
Leadership produces change. That is its primary function
Interpretation
What this quote means
Leadership is fundamentally about facilitating progress and transformation.
This quote by John P. Kotter emphasizes that the core role of leadership is to drive change within an organization or community. Effective leaders not only envision what needs to be transformed but also inspire and mobilize their followers to embrace and enact that change, ultimately resulting in growth and advancement.
Themes
LeadershipChangeTransformationGrowthProgress
In practice
Example use cases
During a conference on business strategy, one might say, 'As John P. Kotter states, leadership produces change; we need to embrace new practices to adapt to market demands.'
More from John P. Kotter
All quotes βWe are always creating new tools and techniques to help people, but the fundamental framework is remarkably resilient, which means it must have something to do with the nature of organizations or human nature.
John P. KotterRead
Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.
John P. KotterRead
Because management deals mostly with the status quo and leadership deals mostly with change, in the next century we are going to have to try to become much more skilled at creating leaders.
John P. KotterRead
Outsiders have the intuitive ability to continually view problems in fresh ways and to identify ineffective practices and traditions.
John P. KotterRead
Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
John P. KotterRead
Similar quotes
We will take care of every single person in our society. That is our task.
Angela MerkelRead
The best leaders... almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols.
Tom PetersRead
At Microsoft, we're aspiring to have a living, learning culture with a growth mindset that allows us to learn from ourselves and our customers. These are the key attributes of the new culture at Microsoft, and I feel great about how it seems to be resonating and how it's seen as empowering.
Satya NadellaRead
A leader may be the most knowledgeable person in the world, but if the players on his team cannot translate that knowledge into action, it means nothing.
Mike KrzyzewskiRead
To reporters the day after his accession to the presidency, April 13, 1945: When they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.
Harry S. TrumanRead
'Power' is an explosive word, particularly when applied to women.
Madeleine M. KuninRead