Top 150 Awesome Leadership Quotes And Sayings That Inspire life
Leadership Quotes – Sayings & Quote About Leadership
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. John C Maxwell
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already. John Buchan
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. You can’t blow an uncertain Trumpet. Theodore M. Hesburgh
“It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” Adlai E. Stevenson II
Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. Rosabeth Moss Kantor – Leadership Quotes
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants to be done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
He that cannot obey cannot command. Benjamin Franklin
“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” Robert Louis Stevenson
All Leadership is influence. John C. Maxwell
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” Ronald Reagan
The only safe ship in a storm is leadership. Faye Wattleton
“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men–the other 999 follow women.” Groucho Marx
A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not. John Quincy Adams
“Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.” Tina Fey
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. Henrik Ibsen
“Power isn’t control at all–power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” Beth Revis
A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn’t like the tune. Anon
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do, and let them surprise you with their results.” George Patton
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch
“I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.” Lao Tzu
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Kenneth Blanchard – Leadership Quotes
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want to be done because he wants to do it.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. John F. Kennedy
I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Ralph Nader
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Peter F. Drucker
Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do, and let them surprise you with their results. George S. Patton
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” Woodrow Wilson
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. Theodore Hesburgh
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” Albert Schweitzer
A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves. Eleanor Roosevelt
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” John C. Maxwell
Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned. Harold Geneen
“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” Brandon Sanderson
Leadership is a special quality that enables people to stand up and pull the rest of us over the horizon. James Fisher
“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another.” John C. Maxwell
Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing. Mary D. Poole
“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” Steve Jobs
Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it. -John Naisbitt
“A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” Nelson Mandela
Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. Marian Anderson
“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.” Colin Powell – Leadership Quotes
A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done. Dwight David Eisenhower
“Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas?” Margaret Thatcher
There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Nelson Mandela
“A leader is a dealer in hope.” Napoleon
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” Theodore Roosevelt
The best leaders are the best notetakers, best askers, and best learners – They are shameless thieves Tom Peters
“I don’t see myself being special; I just see myself having more responsibilities than the next man. People look to me to do things for them, to have answers.” Tupac Shakur
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela
“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.” Henry David Thoreau
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. Mother Theresa
“I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” Robert E. Lee
I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum. Bishop Desmond Tutu
“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” Colin Powell
The only test of leadership is that somebody follows. Robert K. Greenleaf- Leadership Quotes
“Consensus: The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus?’” MargaretThatcher
Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning. Warren Bennis
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Rosalynn Carter
Principle of insufficient mandate: – “those unable to change themselves cannot change those around them.”
“There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust.” Klaus Balkenhol
Those who are to change significantly that which they freshly encounter must themselves be changed by the changing of it. Reg Revans
“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” Nancy D. Solomon
It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt
“In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Max De Pree
You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can’t sit on it for long. Boris Yeltsin
“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” Whoopi Goldberg
A councilor ought not to sleep the whole night through, a man to whom the populace is entrusted, and who has many responsibilities. (The Iliad) Homer.
“A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others so that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” Beth Revis – Leadership Quotes
A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone. Henry Kissinger.
“Always remember, Son, the best boss is the one who bosses the least. Whether it’s cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government.” Ralph Moody
A leader is best when people barely know he exists when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Lao Tzu.
“If you really want the key to success, start by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.” Brad Szollose
A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under. Sam Houston.
“‘Give as few orders as possible,’ his father had told him once long ago. ‘Once you’ve given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.’” Frank Herbert (from Dune)
A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice. James Callaghan.
“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.” Tony Blair – Leadership Quotes
A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone. Henry Kissinger.
“Wisdom equals knowledge plus courage. You have to not only know what to do and when to do it, but you have to also be brave enough to follow through.” Jarod Kintz
A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader. Golda Meir.
“In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.” Seth Godin
But I thought it lessened my esteem of a king, that he should not be able to command the rain. Samuel Pepys.
“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” Patrick Lencioni
Education is the mother of leadership. Wendell Willkie.
“No guts, no story.” Chris Brady
For ten years Caesar ruled with an iron hand. Then with a wooden foot, and finally with a piece of string. Spike Milligan
“Leadership is an action, not a position.” Donald McGannon
Grown men do not need leaders. Edward Abbey- Leadership Quotes
“Surround yourself with great people; delegate authority; get out of the way” Ronald Reagan
I’m not a natural leader. I’m too intellectual; I’m too abstract; I think too much. Newt Gingrich.
“I cannot give you a formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: try to please everybody.” Herbert Bayard Swope
Leadership is, among other things, the ability to inflict pain and get away with it – short-term pain for long-term gain. George Will.
“Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are.” Thomas John Carlisle
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter Drucker.
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor but without folly.” Jim Rohn
Might is a fine thing, and useful for many purposes; for “one goes further with a handful of might than with a bagful of right. Max Stirner.
“A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.” J.P. Morgan
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it. Andrew Carnegie.
“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.” Tom Rath
Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself. Thomas J. Watson.
“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” Orrin Woodward
One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. Arnold H. Glasow.
“Don’t blow off another’s candle for it won’t make yours shine brighter.” Jaachynma N.E. Agu
Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader. Tacitus. – Leadership Quotes
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Peter F. Drucker
So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work. Peter Druncker.
“When you put together deep knowledge about a subject that intensely matters to you, charisma happens. You gain courage to share your passion, and when you do that, folks follow.” Jerry Porras
Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without ahead. Euripides.
“A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.” M.D. Arnold
The difference between a boss and a leader: a boss says, ‘Go!’ -a leader says, ‘Let’s go!’. E.M. Kelly.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr. – Leadership Quotes
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. Walter Lippmann.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” Father Theodore M. Hesburgh
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. Max De Pree.
“It is absolutely necessary…for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.” George Washington
The great leaders are like the best conductors – they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players. Blaine Lee.
“When eagles are silent, parrots begin to chatter.” Winston Churchill – Awesome Leadership Quotes
The leader who exercises power with honor will work from the inside out, starting with himself. Blaine Lee.
“A leader takes people where they would never go on their own.” Hans Finzel
The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such. All leaders whose fitness is questioned are clearly lacking in force. Andre Maurois.
“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people someplace to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” Ken Kesey
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. Theodore Martin Hesburgh.
“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” Max Lucado
To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less. Andre Malraux.
“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.” Brian Tracy
We must be part of the general staff at the inception, rather than the ambulance drivers at the bitter end. Lane Kirkland.
“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” Ralph Nader
You had better have one King than five hundred. Charles II of England.
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” Publilius Syrus – Awesome Leadership Quotes
o be a leader in the Church has always required strength and faith beyond the merely human. J. Oswald Sanders.
“A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. “Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
People will not follow a leader with moral incongruities for long. Every time you compromise character you compromise leadership. The foundation of firm leadership is character. Bill Hybels.
“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” Steve Jobs
The ideal leader is one who hears the voice of God and beckons on as the voice calls him and them. A.W. Tozer.
“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” John Maxwell
Once a leader delegates, he should show the utmost confidence in the people he has entrusted. A.B. Simpson.
“To have long-term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way.” Pat Riley
God is always at work, though we cannot see it, preparing people he has chosen for leadership. When the crisis comes, God fits His appointee into the place ordained for him. J. Oswald sanders.
“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” John Maxwell
Leadership is not a magnetic personality — that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people” — that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. Peter F. Drucker.
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” George Patton
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Earn your leadership every day.” Michael Jordan – Awesome Leadership Quotes
