Henry Mintzberg Quotes

As for leadership, I am the kind who leads reluctantly and more by example than anything else. Someone had to be on the incorporation papers as president.

I'm not particularly good at running things when once they get to a certain level. Once it gets routine, get me out of the way.

Leading from behind doesn't work.

Intellectuals are good at seeing the big picture. But they are not so good at process.

I'm not into this detail stuff. I'm more concepty.

Many leaders are tempted to lead like a chess master, striving to control every move, when they should be leading like gardeners, creating and maintaining a viable ecosystem in which the organization operates.

One of the biggest things about being an entrepreneur is discovering your own management style. You can learn from others and try to emulate what they are doing, but at the end of the day, your inherent personality - how you deal with events and situations - comes to the forefront.

I would like to think that during my time at Stoke - and other clubs I was at - I was always a manager that wanted to play in the right way, with purpose, with drive, and to try to dictate to the opposition if you could.

When I first became a head coach in Toronto, I was more of a dictator, wanted to do everything, all the development, defense, offense, whatever it was.

Coaching was something I've never had much interest in. I've always been a big-picture guy, like a manager has to be.

I grew up in the IBM school of management.

Leadership does not mean being bossy, always telling others what to do. No, leadership means going ahead, not putting others in the front. Good leaders lead by example, not by decree.

When you pay attention to detail, the big picture will take care of itself.

I purposely try to hire people who are really self-motivated and good at what they do, and then I just leave them alone.

The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up. The shortcut to closing a door is to bury yourself in the details. This is how we must look to God. As if everything's fine.

A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear.

The best managers figure out how to get great outcomes by setting the appropriate context, rather than by trying to control their people.

At Microsoft I had many years of experience and history and seeing connections. With my direct reports, the job at Microsoft was to delegate and then be able to properly review, but not to micromanage. To have a way of connecting and integrating without getting in the way.

I built a phenomenal company; if we could run America the way I ran my company, we'd be proud of it.

And I'm not a micromanagement guy. I prefer to spend my time doing other stuff than that.

I have a senior staff meeting every day, with key personnel who interface with the players - coaches, the medical staff, our analyst department. This is a useful exercise as it means we are all across what is happening and they are aware of my expectations.

In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.

The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind.

In proportion as man approaches the outer rim, he becomes lost in details, and the more he is preoccupied with details, the less he can understand them.

Prudence supposes the value of the end to be assumed, and refers only to the adaptation of the means. It is the relation of right means for given ends.