Quotes from Max De Pree

In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers.

A friend of mine characterizes leaders simply like this: Leaders don't inflict pain. They bear pain.

We talk about the quality of product and service. What about the quality of our relationships and the quality of our communications and the quality of our promises to each other?

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.

Jazz, like leadership, combines the unpredictability of the future with the gifts of individuals.

Leadership is liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible.

Leaders don't inflict pain - they share pain.

Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do.

We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet; and amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog has made an alliance with us.

In some South Pacific cultures, a speaker holds a conch shell as a symbol of temporary position of authority. Leaders must understand who holds the conch that is, who should be listened to and when.

We can choose to see life as a series of trials and tribulations, or we can choose to see life as an accumulation of treasures.

There may be no single thing more important in our efforts to achieve meaningful work and fulfilling relationships than to learn to practice the art of communication.

The greatest thing is, at any moment, to be willing to give up who we are in order to become all that we can be.

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.

By ourselves we suffer serious limitations. Together we can be something wonderful.

Trust comes only with genuine effort, never with a lick and a promise.

Leaders should be able to Stand Alone, Take the Heat, Bear the Pain, Tell the Truth, and Do What's Right

Trust grows when people see leaders translate their personal integrity into organizational fidelity. At the heart of fidelity lies truth-telling and promise-keeping.

The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.

The simple act of recognizing diversity in corporate life helps us to connect the great variety of gifts that people bring to the work and service of the corporation.

Intimacy is at the heart of competence. It has to do with understanding, with believing, and with practice. It has to do with the relationship to one's work.