Alex Ferguson Quotes

You have to enable and empower people to make decisions independent of you. As I've learned, each person on a team is an extension of your leadership; if they feel empowered by you they will magnify your power to lead.

Part of being a leader means knowing who you can go after and who you should pat on the butt.

You may give give a man office, but you cannot give him discretion

It is easier to give directions than advice, and more agreeable to have the right to act, even in a limited sphere, than the privilege to talk at large.

Never delegate. Always empower.

Leadership is influence.

To supervise people, you must either surpass them in their accomplishments or despise them.

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.

Nobody is going to delegate a lot of power to a secretary that they can't control.

So I still seized the power, but I felt that if I officially made myself the boss, in black and white, it would be too intimidating for the other producers and the other men who worked on the show. In other words, I had the power, but I gave them the title.

The way you delegate is that first you have to hire people that you really have confidence in. You won't truly let those people feel a sense of autonomy if you don't have confidence in them.

I've always been comfortable with people who run things, whether it was the principal of my high school or the president of the university.

I don't think I am that hands-on. I'm much more of a believer in finding a great team of people and trusting them to follow their instincts. They work better when they feel they have freedom and they are trusted.

You try and pick good people and avoid micromanaging them thereafter.

Leadership is having the trust of the people are trying to lead.

The man in charge must concern himself with details. If he does not consider them important, neither will his subordinates.

I do not decide who plays.

If you have excellent people, then you have to give them the power.

You need good staff with their own opinions - Mick Jones has been a great No 2 as he's not a yes-man - but at the end of the day the buck stops with you and the good managers are the ones who make more good decisions than bad.

No coach wants to sit back and not have control of the team.

Being a manager is kneading people.

I think associate director jobs are the best in the world, because you can do what you want and not have to take responsibility for it!

One of my skills is knowing, 'This is where I'm needed, and this is how I'm needed and where I'm going to be in control and where I'm going to cede control and why.'

I am better when I have control. I am not a power freak. But my point is that I need to feel that I can manage the team and have a direct, clear line through to the owners. Once that becomes hazy, for me, there is a problem.

When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out.