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What makes a good leader? These leadership quotations will tell you!
LloydJ. EdwardsJr. famously said “ you ca n’t educate leadership, but it can be learned.”
A sheltered police assistant from California, Edwards says confidence, integrity, determination, and a commitment to excellence, are traits common among leaders in any field.
All of these attributes, in the perfect combination, produce leaders who inspire those around them to suppose, do, and be better.
Whether you’re presently a leader, or aspire to be one someday, it’s important to remember that good leadership requires chops that must be constantly honed and meliorated.
Being a leader is about further than just having a certain job title. It’s all about having the direction, perseverance, and capability to motivate other people to achieve a common thing.
We hope these amazing leadership quotations inspire you to keep learning and reaching for new heights.
Phrases
Quotes About Helping Others
-Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership.
James Humes-To add value to others, one must first value others.
John Maxwell-Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.
Margaret Thatcher-Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.
Seth Godin-When people talk, listen completely.
Ernest Hemingway-We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
Kurt Vonnegut
-The important thing is this: to be able to give up in any given moment all that we are for what we can become.
DeSeaux-Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill-Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
Publilius Syrus-Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.
Margaret Fuller-A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-You manage things; you lead people.
Grace Murray Hopper-A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.
M.D. Arnold-One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
Arnold Glasow-The highest of distinctions is service to others.
King George VI
-Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.
Brian Tracy-The things we fear most in organizations–fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances–are the primary sources of creativity.
Margaret Wheatley-Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.
Eleanor Roosevelt-If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams-The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.
Theodore Hesburgh-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-In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson-The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.
Tony Blair-A leader is a dealer in hope.
Napoleon Bonaparte-There is a troublesome humor some men have, that if they may not lead, they will not follow; but had rather a thing were never done, than not done their own way, tho’ other ways very desirable.
William Penn-All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.
John Kenneth Galbraith-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
-If you’re not sure where you are going, you’re liable to end up someplace else.
Robert F. Majer-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-Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.
Brian Tracy-Doing what is right isn’t the problem. It is knowing what is right.
Lyndon B. Johnson-There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.
Indira Gandhi-Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.
Dwight D. Eisenhower-There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton-Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill-You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.
Jeanette Rankin-You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt-The role of leadership is to transform the complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them.
Carlos Ghosn-I think one of the keys to leadership is recognizing that everybody has gifts and talents. A good leader will learn how to harness those gifts toward the same goal.
Ben Carson-Leaders don’t inflict pain, they share pain.
Max Depree-It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
Bill Gates
-Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.
Diogenes of Sinope-Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.
Warren Bennis-The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
Harvey S. Firestone-There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.
Charles F. Kettering-Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Warren G. Bennis-Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes.
Peter F. Drucker-A leader is a person you will follow to a place you would not go by yourself.
Joel Barker-Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson-What you do has far greater impact than what you say.
Stephen Covey-The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.
John Maxwell-Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.
Walt Disney-An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Jack Welch
-You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.
Henry Ford-Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.
Robert Louis Stevenson-Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.
Vince Lombardi-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-Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
Jack Welch-The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
William Arthur Ward-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-Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.
Sam Walton-Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker-A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.
Jim Rohn-One of the most important things for any leader is to never let anyone else define who you are. And you define who you are. I never think of myself as being a woman CEO of this company. I think of myself as a steward of a great institution.
Ginni Rometty
-A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King Jr.-To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way.
Pat Riley-You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Winston Churchill-Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore Roosevelt-It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.
Warren Buffett-Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln-When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.
Malala Yousafzai-I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.
Alexander the Great-I learned that things are never as complicated as we imagine them to be. It is only our arrogance which seeks to find complicated answers to simple problems.
Muhammad Yunus-The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.
Amelia Earhart-People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
John Maxwell-To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence … When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’
Lao Tzu-You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too.
Sam Rayburn
-Leadership is an ever-evolving position.
Mike Krzyzewski-Earn your leadership every day.
Michael Jordan-Those who let things happen usually lose to those who make things happen.
Dave Weinbaum-Leadership is an action, not a position.
Donald McGannon-As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
Bill Gates-To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.
Eleanor Roosevelt-We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle-A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others see.
Leroy Eimes-Don’t tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.
George S. Patton Jr.-We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.
J.K. Rowling
-If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.
Dolly Parton-I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou-I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
Leonardo da Vinci-If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you.
Indra Nooyi-If ‘leadership’ has come to be known as something much bigger than us, aligned to changing the world, then we are spending way too much time celebrating things that hardly anyone can do and not celebrating things we can do every day.
Drew Dudley-Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.
Unknown-Each group and each youngster is different. As a leader or coach, you get to know what they need.
Mike Krzyzewski-True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.
Sheryl Sandberg-The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.
John Maxwell-The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special.
Bill Taylor
-Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50 percent of your time in leading yourself–your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Invest at least 20 percent leading those with authority over you and 15 percent leading your peers.
Dee Hock-Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
Vince Lombardi-The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt-Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.
Tom Landry-A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
Douglas MacArthur-The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.
Ray Kroc-Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.
David Star Jordan-The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
Ralph Nader-Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You can’t come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.
Ben Roethlisberger-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-Knowing what must be done does away with fear.
Rosa Parks-If you don’t believe in yourself, why is anyone else going to believe in you.
Tom Brady-True leadership lies in guiding others to success – in ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.
Bill Owens-The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
Henry Kissinger-There are no office hours for leaders.
Cardinal J. Gibbons-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-I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through–then follow through.
Edward RickenbackerIf you want to make enemies, try to change something.
Woodrow Wilson-Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
Stephen Covey-Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.
Harold Geneen-Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.
Dianne Feinstein-Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.
Bill BradleyI suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.
Mahatma Gandhi-A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on with their jobs.
Robert Townsend-Look over your shoulder now and then to be sure someone’s following you.
Henry Gilmer-I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.
Herbert Swope-The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.
John Buchan-The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
