leadership pitfalls Quotes

These are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible post.

Of all the things a leader should fear, complacency heads the list.

It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion

There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: recklessness, which leads to destruction; cowardice, which leads to capture; a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; a delicacy of honour, which is sensitive to shame; over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

The amount of success it takes for leaders to become overconfident isn't terribly large.

Be wary of great leaders.

One of the worries about a presidency is that everybody tells you yes. Nobody helps you figure out where your blind spots are.

The learning person looks forward to failure or mistakes. The worst problem in leadership is basically early success.

One of the things I've had the advantage of, growing up and being close to the top management of this company and other companies for most of my life, is seeing how CEOs start to believe in their own infallibility. And that really scares me.

That's why the army sends all its future generals to what we call "charm school." As soon as you are a general, people think that you know everything. You think yourself that you have become omniscient and omnipotent. Be careful, because people want to do everything they can to please the general, and you need to guard against this.

The prime occupational hazard of a manager is superficiality.

Power is poison. Its effect on Presidents had always been tragic, chiefly as an almost insane excitement at first, and a worse reaction afterwards.

The worst mistake that a statesman can make is to promise victory and to see it dashed, the hopes dashed.

That's one of the real dangers of leader selection in many organizations: leaders are selected for overconfidence.