Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Leadership roles should be assigned based on ability rather than preference or status.
In plain terms
Choose leaders for their skills, not for who they want to be.
What can you take from it?
Assign roles based on competence.

Where it applies

  • team management
  • hiring decisions
  • organizational structure

Putting it to work

  • evaluate skills before promoting
  • match tasks to strengths

Questions to consider

  • How do you identify true competence?
  • Who decides what skill matters?

Another view

Sometimes potential matters more than current skill.

More from Henry Ford

  1. As we advance in life we learn the limits of our abilities.

    Permalink to quote #13
  2. Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.

    Permalink to quote #15
  3. A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.

    Permalink to quote #12

Related quotes

  1. Those who were adept and brave fellows I have made military commanders. Those who were quick and nimble I have made herders of horses. Those who were not adept…

    Genghis KhanGenghis Khan quote #3
  2. The principle of collective leadership is elementary for a proletarian party and for a party of the Lenin type. Nevertheless, we must emphasize this old truth,…

    Anastas MikoyanAnastas Mikoyan quote #2
  3. I think of him as well intentioned, poorly informed, high status idiot.

    Stephen ColbertStephen Colbert quote #3