But to practice leadership, you need to accept that you are in the business of generating chaos, confusion, and conflict

Conflict is the primary engine of creativity and innovation. People don't learn by staring into a mirror; people learn by encountering difference.

Exercising adaptive leadership is about giving meaning to your life beyond your own ambition.

I think that notion of leadership is bankrupt.

Your behavior reflects your actual purposes.

Exercising leadership is an expression of your aliveness... But when you cover yourself up, you risk losing something as well. In the struggle to save yourself, you can give up too many of those qualities that are the essence of being alive, like innocence, curiosity, and compassion.

And leadership then is about mobilizing and engaging the people with the problem rather than trying to anesthetize them so you can go off and solve it on your own.