quotations about leadership
The man fit to command may be compared with the architect, who adjusts the plan and directs its execution. His skill must extend to every part of the work; that of his workmen is limited by their respective tasks.
ARISTOTLE
Politics
True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can't be mandated. It must be earned. The only thing a title can buy is a little time -- either to increase your level of influence with others or to erase it.
JOHN C. MAXWELL
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
When one sheep leads the way all the rest follow.
CHINESE PROVERB
The best boss is the one who bosses the least.
RALPH MOODY
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
There is no such thing as a perfect leader.... If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inserting scallions into its nose in an effort to look like an elephant.
LIU SHAOQI
attributed, Mao and China: From Revolution to Revolution
Real leadership is not about calling yourself "leader"; rather, it's about taking up the cause to change some piece of the world for the better. Real leadership, in other words, is an extreme act rooted in love and motivated by a desire to create a better world--whether it's the world of your company, team, neighborhood, or family.
STEVE FARBER & MATTHEW KELLY
Greater Than Yourself
Leading means running fast enough to keep ahead of your people.
S. M. STIRLING
The Sunrise Lands
True leadership strengthens the followers. It is a process of teaching, setting an example, and empowering others. If you seek to lead, your ability will ultimately be measured in the successes of those around you.
DAVID NIVEN
100 Simple Secrets of Successful People
Who aspires to remain leader must keep in advance of his column. His fear must not play traitor to his occasions. The instant he falls into line with his followers, a bolder spirit may throw himself at the head of the movement initiated, and in that moment his leadership is gone.
CHRISTIAN NESTELL BOVEE
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
Leadership is about mobilising people to tackle tough changes and thrive, while authority simply looked at protection, direction and order and can be a strait jacket if not used correctly.
KIRK HUMPHREY
"The Time for Adaptive Leadership is Right Now", Barbados Advocate, April 24, 2016
Good leadership is largely invisible. When everything runs smoothly, no one notices.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON
Dune: House Harkonnen
Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job. That takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure.
ARLEIGH BURKE
attributed, Naval Leadership: Voices of Experience
I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.
ROBERT E. LEE
attributed, Dictionary of Military and Naval Quotations
The leader continually passes on the vision to those who come around, knowing that dreams, if presented right, are contagious.
JOHN C. MAXWELL
Developing the Leader Within You
At the heart of leadership is the leader's relationship with followers. People will entrust their hopes and dreams to another person only if they think the other is a reliable vessel.
DAVID GERGAN
Eyewitness to Power
If you command wisely, you'll be obeyed cheerfully.
THOMAS FULLER
Gnomologia
What was leadership, after all, but the blind choice of one route over another and the confident pretense that the decision was based on reason.
ROBERT HARRIS
Pompeii
I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.
DESMOND TUTU
The Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 20, 1984
While managers focus on the task to be completed, the process to complete it, and supervising a set of people to get there, the leaders role is more ambiguous. They must envision, set new directions, and inspire and value their team. To be a leader, it is absolutely essential to listen to people and understand their needs.
JACOB MORGAN
"What Does Leadership Look Like In The Future Of Work?", Forbes, March 28, 2016
The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
ERIC HOFFER
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements