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Leadership Quotes: Colin Powell on Leadership

By Mark Murphy, CEO of Leadership IQ  |  Dec 19, 2009

"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

"Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable, if you're honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: You'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset.

"Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone 'nicely' regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive in the organization."

-Gen. Colin Powell

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Right now, 77% of leaders believe their employees are not giving 100%.

And they’re not far off in their assessment, because 72% of employees admit they’re not giving 100%.

Are you the kind of leader who elicits 100% effort?

Find out now – download our free white paper for leaders.
We take your privacy very seriously. We will never – ever – rent, sell or share your personal info with anyone. Period.