Motivational Quotes

Leadership

Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good.

- Schwarzkopf, Norman

Best Quotes about Leadership

Tell a person they are brave and you help them become so.

Carlyle, Thomas

Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.

Machiavelli, Niccolo

Show me the leader and I will know his men. Show me the men and I will know their leader.

Newcomb, Arthur W.

Keep cool and you will command everyone.

Justinian

We will make them think it's their idea. That's how all great leaders fool people.

Laura Preble

Every private in the French army carries a Field Marshall wand in his knapsack.

Bonaparte, Napoleon

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.

Walton, Sam

Impatience is the cause of most of our irregularities and extravagances Command by obeying.

Motto

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

10.

Leadership is not a position. You are not a leader because you have the title of manager. Leadership is something that we earn from followers on a day to day basis.

The EMS Manager Newsletter

11.

Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.

Ward, William A.

12.

Some men must follow, and some command, though all are made of clay.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

13.

A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under.

Ervin, Sam

14.

Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.

Bennis, Warren

15.

The penalty of leadership is loneliness.

Robinson, H. Wheeler

16.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.

Lao-Tzu

17.

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.

Marx, Groucho

18.

Every ruler is harsh whose laws are new.

Aeschylus

19.

He is the richest man who enriches his country most; in whom the people feel richest and proudest; who gives himself with his money; who opens the doors of opportunity widest to those about him; who is ears to the deaf; eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. Such a man makes every acre of land in his community worth more, and makes richer every man who lives near him.

Marden, Orison Swett

20.

The well being of the people is the supreme law.

21.

Faith in the ability of a leader is of slight service unless it be united with faith in his justice.

George Goethals

22.

The world of the 90s and beyond will belong to managers or those who make the numbers dance, as we used to say, or those who are conversant with all the business jargon we used to sound smart. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders -- people who not only have an enormous amount of energy but who can energize those whom they lead.

Welch, John

23.

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.

Galbraith, John Kenneth

24.

No affection and a great brain, these are the people to command the world.

Disraeli, Benjamin

25.

You do not lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

26.

You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think.

Parker, Dorothy

27.

The minute a person whose word means a great deal to others dare to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.

Anderson, Marian

28.

When we think we lead we are most led.

Byron, Lord

29.

Leadership has to do with direction. Management has to do with the speed, coordination and logistics in going in that direction. The WORKERS are chopping their way through the jungle. The MANAGERS are coordinating, making sure the tools are sharp, etc. The LEADERS climb a tree and shout Wrong jungle!! The MANAGERS shout back Be quiet! We're making progress!

30.

Certainly a leader needs a clear vision of the organization and where it is going, but a vision is of little value unless it is shared in a way so as to generate enthusiasm and commitment. Leadership and communication are inseparable.

Taylor, Claude

31.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Bennis, Warren

32.

When firmness is sufficient, rashness is unnecessary.

Bonaparte, Napoleon

33.

Great leaders understand human behavior rather than the cybernetics of any function.

Schorr, James

34.

A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. A boss is interested in himself or herself, a leader is interested in the group.

Ewing, Russell H.

35.

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.

Lombardi, Vince

36.

That is no use at all. What I want is men who will support me when I am in the wrong.

Melbourne, Lord

37.

Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.

Ford, Henry

38.

The best leaders... almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols.

Peters, Thomas J.

39.

The first thing a great person does, is make us realize the insignificance of circumstance.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

40.

Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

Patton, George S.

41.

The chief executive who knows his strengths and weaknesses as a leader is likely to be far more effective than the one who remains blind to them. He also is on the road to humility -- that priceless attitude of openness to life that can help a manager absorb mistakes, failures, or personal shortcomings.

Adair, John

42.

The wealth of kings is in the affections of their subjects.

Motto

43.

Leaders are readers.

Jones, Charles ''Tremendous''

44.

Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.

Syrus, Publilius

45.

When a blind man bears the standard, pity those who follow.