Government is like an onion. To understand it, you have to peel through many different layers. Most outsiders never get beyond the first or second layer.
Warren G. BennisRead
Without a terrific leader, you're not going to have a Great Group. But it is also true that you're not going to have a great leader without a Great Group.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great leadership and teamwork are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other.
This quote emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between leaders and their teams. It suggests that effective leaders foster and cultivate strong groups, while also acknowledging that a cohesive and motivated group is essential for a leader to thrive. Together, they create a dynamic where success is achievable, highlighting the importance of collaboration in any effective organization.
Themes
LeadershipTeamworkCollaborationSuccessGreatness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a leadership workshop to illustrate the importance of teamwork.
More from Warren G. Bennis
All quotes βLeaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.
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To be authentic is literally to be your own author... to discover your own native energies and desires, and then to find your own way of acting on them.
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The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
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Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.
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People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.
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That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
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No one is innocent after the experience of governing. But not everyone is guilty.
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