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Leadership Quotes

1. A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.
2. A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.
3. A duty dodged is like a debt unpaid; it is only deferred and we must come back and settle the account at last.
4. A good leader is a guy who can step on your toes without messing up your shine.
5. 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.
6. A great leader comes along about once in a generation and great problems come along about three times a week.
7. A great man is always willing to be little.
8. A leader develops people ADDS – a leader who leaders, MULTIPLES!
9. A leader is a dealer in hope.
10. A leader is a person with a magnet in his heart and a compass in his head.
11. A leader is anyone who has two characteristics: first, he is going somewhere; second, he is able to persuade other people to go with him.
12. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
13. A leader must be able to concentrate under difficult conditions – to keep his head when all about him are losing theirs.
14. 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.
15. A leader’s success is largely determined by the ability to motivate others.
16. A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, strong enough to correct them.
17. A man who has to be convinced to act before he acts is not a man of action.
18. A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
19. A person that is successful has simply formed the habit of doing things that unsuccessful people will not do.
20. A sense of responsibility is the clearest indication of mature leadership.
21. A ship in a harbor is safe but that is not what ships were built for.
22. A wise leader inspires and motivates, rather than intimidating and manipulating.
23. A wise leader resolves conflict peaceably not forcibly.
24. Ability may get you to the top – but it takes character to keep you there.
25. Again and again, the impossible problem is solved when we see that the problem  is only a tough decision waiting to be made.
26. All glory comes from a daring to begin.
27. All great leaders have one common spiritual gift – faith.
28. All leaders will pay a price to carry out their calling.
29. An important question for leaders: “Am I building people, or building my dream and using people to do it?”
30. As a rule…. He (or she) who has the most information will have the greatest success in life.
31. Asking “who ought to be the boss” is like asking “who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?” Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.
32. Attitude will make or break a leader.
33. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
34. Be the most enthusiastic person you know.
35. Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.
36. Character is power.
37. Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
38. Congealed thinking is the forerunner of failure…make sure you are always receptive to new ideas.
39. Do not be afraid of going slowly, be afraid of standing still.
40. Don’t spend a $1.00 worth of time on a $.10 decision.
41. Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.
42. Eagles don’t flock – you have to find them one at a time.
43. Even eagles need a push.
44. Example is the main thing in influencing others – it’s the only thing.
45. Failing doesn’t make you a failure. Giving up, accepting your failure, refusing to try again does!
46. Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.
47. Failure can be divided into those who thought and never did and into those who did and never thought.
48. Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.
49. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
50. Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.
51. He that cannot obey cannot command.
52. He who never walks except where he sees other men’s tracks will make no discoveries.
53. He who stays in the valley shall never go over the hill.
54. Here lies a man who knew how to enlist the service of better men than himself.
55. How do you recognize a leader? His people consistently turn in superior performances.
56. I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
57. I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.
58. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
59. I studied famous men and women: they got to the top because they did the job in hand with everything they had.
60. I will have no man for me who has not the capacity to become a partner.
61. IBM’s Tom Watson was asked if he was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost IBM $600,000. He said, “No, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?”
62. If you lay down with dogs, you’ll pick up fleas.
63. If you see a snake, just kill it. Don’t appoint a committee on snakes.
64. If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.
65. In the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves…self-discipline with all of them came first.
66. In times like these it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.
67. It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.
68. It is wonderful when the people believe in their leader: but it is more wonderful when the leader believes in the people.
69. It isn’t the people you fire who make life miserable, it’s the people you don’t.
70. It’s OK to lend a helping hand – the challenge is getting people to let go of it.
71. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
72. Leaders get out in front and stay by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged.
73. Leaders impress others when leaders succeed; leaders impact others when followers succeed.
74. Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
75. Leaders walk the talk.
76. Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise. Not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.
77. Leaders will not experience long-term success unless a lot of people want them to.
78. Leadership development is a life-time journey – not a brief trip.
79. Leadership has less to do with position than it does with disposition.
80. Leadership is a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility.
81. Leadership is both something you are and something you do.
82. Leadership is developed not discovered.
83. Leadership is influence.
84. Leadership is not a right – it’s a responsibility.
85. Leadership is not wielding authority – it’s empowering people.
86. Leadership is seldom official.
87. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
88. Leadership is the transference of vision.
89. Leadership means not having to be completely in harmony with everyone else.
90. Leadership only functions on the basis of trust.
91. Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
92. Learn to say “no” to the good so you can say “yes” to the best.
93. Love and respect do not automatically accompany a position of leadership. They must be earned.
94. Most people who succeed in the face of seemingly impossible conditions are people who simply don’t know how to quit.
95. My greatest concern is not whether you have failed but whether you are content with your failure.
96. Nearly all men stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
97. Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
98. Ninety-five percent of achieving anything is knowing what you want and paying the price to get it.
99. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.
100. No matter what size the bottle, the cream always came to the top.
101. Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.
102. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
103. Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they determined to be so.
104. Nothing is more common than unfulfilled potential.
105. Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
106. One of the burdens of leadership is to be unpopular when necessary.
107. One of the greatest gifts leaders can give others is hope.
108. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
109. Outstanding leaders appeal to the hearts of their followers not their minds.
110. Pay now, play later; play now, pay later.
111. People are like rubber bands: they must be stretched to be effective.
112. People buy into the leader before they but into the vision.
113. People do not follow programs, but leaders who inspire them.
114. People support what they help create.
115. People tend to stay motivated when they see the value to them of the things they are asked to do.
116. Present choices determines future consequences.
117. Proper prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance.
118. Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.
119. Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.
120. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man, and I will show you a failure.
121. Some people change jobs, mates and friends, but never think of changing themselves.
122. Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one twice.
123. Successful leaders have the courage to take action while others hesitate.
124. The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.
125. The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
126. The boss depends on authority – the leader depends on good will.
127. The boss says “go” – the leader says “let’s go”.
128. The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in other people the convictions and the will to carry on.
129. The first rule of winning: Don’t beat yourself.
130. The highest compliment leaders can receive is the one that is given by the people who work for them.
131. The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.
132. The leader who sells principles for popularity will soon become bankrupt.
133. The man who follows the crowd will never be followed by a crowd.
134. The man who gets the most satisfactory results is not always the brilliant single mind, but rather the man who can best co-ordinate the brains and talents of his associates.
135. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading.
136. The most important thing about having goals is having one.
137. The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision.
138. The only person that can stop you from becoming what God intends for your life is YOU!
139. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
140. The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.
141. The question is not “how much does this person work” but “how much does this person accomplish?”
142. The right man is the one who seizes the moment.
143. The successful leader is the one who makes the right move at the right moment with the right motive.
144. The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.
145. The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important the will to prepare.
146. There are no victories at bargain prices.
147. There are two quick ways to disaster: taking nobody’s advice and taking everyone’s advice.
148. There is great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.
149. There is no success without s successor.
150. There’s no gain without pain.
151. Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.
152. To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing.
153. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others use your heart.
154. To lead others to do right is wonderful. To do right and lead them is wonderful…and harder.
155. To lead people walk behind them.
156. Today a reader – tomorrow a leader.
157. Too many people in leadership positions prepare to answer questions that nobody is asking.
158. True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders.
159. Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.
160. We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.
161. We see things not as they are, but as we are.
162. We teach what we know; we reproduce what we are.
163. When rejecting the ideas of another, make sure you reject only the idea and not the person.
164. When you get right down to it, one of the most important tasks of a leader is to eliminate his people’s excuses for failure.
165. When you’re though improving, you’re though.
166. Words show a man’s wit, but action shows his meaning.
167. You are the same today that you are going to be in fives years from now except: the people with you associate and the books you read.
168. You can have brilliant ideas, but if you  can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.
169. You can not push anyone the ladder unless he is willing to climb a little.
170. You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.
171. You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
172. You cannot lead anyone else farther than you have been able to go yourself.
173. You manage thing; you lead people.
174. You must live with people to know their problems, and live with God in order to solve them.
175. You never conquer a mountain. Mountains can’t be conquered; you conquer yourself – your hopes, your fears.
176. You will MAXimize your potential when you are willing to give up at any moment all that you are to receive all that you can become.
177. You will never be a leader unless you first learn to follow and be led.
178. You’re only as good as the people you hire.