John Hoover - Leadership Quotes

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Hierarchical organizations are typically run by…little Napoleons and Napoleonettes; especially at mid-organization level.... A hierarchical organizational design draws leadership focus and energy away from problem solving and progressive thinking by encouraging those climbing the organizational food chain to focus instead on protecting their positions, perks, and territory.

John Hoover
How would your organization perform if everyone accepted leadership responsibility?... if leadership were... not an exception for the anointed few? The most distinguishing characteristic between thriving enterprises and struggling enterprises is the presence and quality of leadership at all levels.

John Hoover
A well-designed and engineered leadership system ties everyone in your organization to the truth of the past, the irreplaceability of the moment, and the promise of the future. Without these things, much... will be wasted in an effort that might take you someplace you had no intention of going, at a price you had no intention of paying, and with more unintended than intended consequences.

John Hoover
Active idiots carry their dysfunction into positions of leadership and remain oblivious to the havoc they wreak.... Recovering idiots are not perfect.... But we're working on it.

John Hoover
People in organizations get ticked and become increasingly cynical every time a new change initiative, continuous process improvement, leadership development program, customer service seminar, internal and/or external communication initiative is brought in; and nothing improves.

John Hoover
The cost of downsizing, re-sizing, or right-sizing eclipses what it would have cost to unleash the pent up leadership already inside the organization.

John Hoover
The vast majority of your organization's leadership potential is probably locked up behind the bars of bureaucracy or staggering under the weight of organizational inertia.... The cultural dragon you're fighting feeds on old school notions about leadership that grew out of a Napoleonic, hierarchical military organizational model.

John Hoover
Many executives, us included, have benefited from upswings in the market, unexpected shifts in customer demands (in our favor), fortuitous timing, and luck of the draw. Of course, we called it brilliant executive leadership at the time.

John Hoover
Paranoia can feed on itself and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Paranoid Boss spends his energy searching out and exposing the conspiracy against him.... the focus and leadership that should have been committed to departmental objectives is wasted and the whole operation goes in the tank—thus confirming the paranoid boss's contention...

John Hoover