Comment: No single leader can master the full scope of today’s challenges. That’s why Conversational Leadership matters—it fosters environments where ideas flow, and leadership is distributed across the group.In an increasingly complex world, appointed leaders simply don’t know enough to decide what is new and better.
Leadership is a group sport, not an individual heroic activity.
Credit: Edgar Schein
Source: Egon Zehnder in conversation with Ed Schein (9-July-2019)
Posts where this quotation is embedded
- Edgar Schein Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management
- Introduction: Conversational Leadership Conversational Leadership
Books: Edgar Schein (2)
Quotations: Edgar Schein (2)
Videos: Edgar Schein (1)
Tags: complexity (100) | Edgar Schein (10) | leadership (76) | world #2 (4)
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Online Knowledge Café: Conversational Leadership — Beyond Knowledge Management
Wednesday 17th March 2026, 14:00 - 15:30 London time
Knowledge Management gives us access to information, but it does not decide or act. In this Knowledge Café, we will explore how Conversational Leadership builds on KM by strengthening shared reasoning, judgement, and agency. Join us to examine how we think together when knowledge alone is not enough.
This quotation is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. It is one of many quotations that have influenced my thinking on the subject. Parts of this blook have restricted access. You may browse the pages open to you, but you will need to register and be approved before you can login and access the full site. When you register, you may also sign-up to receive a quotation of the day by email.