Douglas Conant Quotes

The very exercise of leadership fosters capacity for it.

I don't think you just become a leader.

Leadership does take work. And it should. If you aspire to be a leader, you ought to treat leadership as a craft, you ought to become a student of it, and you ought to work at it. And if you're not willing to work at it, well, you get what you give.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

Though there are lessons that can be learned about becoming a great leader, most exist inherently in the bellies of those who lead.

I do have the strength. Leadership, leadership is not about attacking people and disparaging people. Leadership is about creating a serious strategy to deal with the threat of our time.

I think that you can't choose leadership. You have to deal with the leadership that the people respond to.

Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.

It is no easy task to lead men. But it is easy enough to drive them.

The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.

Poor leaders push us towards the goal. Great leaders guide us through the journey.

To add growth, lead followers - to multiply, lead leaders.

There are many ways to study Walt Disney, but I think learning about Walt as a leader probably has had the biggest impact on me.

Leadership is not about being a nice person or not a nice person.

First and foremost, effective leaders must continuously strive to make themselves smarter and better at making judgments.

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes.

Great leadership can be a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when you're working for one, but even they can have a hard time articulating what it is that makes their leadership so effective.

We have had imperfect leaders in the past, and we will have imperfect leaders in the future.

There are no perfect leaders.

Most experts and great leaders agree that leaders are made, not born, and that they are made through their own drive for learning and self-improvement.

Leadership is learned, earned, and discerned. You develop it. It's based on trust and credibility. Others see it in you. You can't demand it.

Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual phrased, it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic".

I have found that leadership is leadership is leadership. It applies whether you are in government or in corporate life or in non-profit life.

One quality of leaders and high achievers in every area seems to be a commitment to ongoing personal and professional development.

The true measure of leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.