Quotes about leadership

"The lead dog gets the best view. The rest of the dogs view is butt ugly. Of course, the lead dog is also the first to fall into the ravine."

Saunders, Richard on leadership   

"The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist. They turn to each other and say We did it ourselves."

Saying, Zen on leadership   

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

Schorr, James on leadership   

"When placed in command -- take charge."

Schwarzkopf, Norman on leadership   

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

Schwarzkopf, Norman on leadership
5 fans of this quote   

"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy."

Schwarzkopf, Norman on leadership   

"The world cannot be governed without juggling."

Selden, John on leadership   

"The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says I; The leader says WE. The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says, GO; the leader says lets, GO!"

Selfridge, H. Gordon on leadership
3 fans of this quote   

"He who dreads hostility too much is unfit to rule."

Seneca on leadership   

"When the leadership is right and the time is right, the people can always be counted upon to follow -- to the end at all costs."

Seymour, Harold J. on leadership   

"The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests."

Sheehy, Gail on leadership   

"To be omnipotent but friendless is to reign."

Shelley, Percy Bysshe on leadership   

"What you cannot enforce, do not command."

Sophocles on leadership
3 fans of this quote   

"It is a great pity when the one who should be the head figure is a mere figure head."

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon on leadership   

"The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same."

Stendhal, Henri B. on leadership   

"Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm."

Syrus, Publilius on leadership
3 fans of this quote   

"Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader."

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius on leadership   

"No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor."

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius on leadership   

"I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep."

Talleyrand, Charles Maurice De on leadership   

"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 on leadership   

"Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate towards some goal which they come to find desirable and which motivates them over the long haul."

Tead, Orway on leadership   

"If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you."

Thatcher, Margaret on leadership   

"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 on leadership
11 fans of this quote   

"A good leader needs to have a compass in his head and a bar of steel in his heart."

Townsend, Robert on leadership   

"True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders."

Townsend, Robert on leadership   

"I learned that a great leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do and like it."

Truman, Harry S on leadership   

"I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum."

Tutu, Bishop Desmond on leadership   

"A leader has been defined as one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"The well being of the people is the supreme law."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"The best leader is the one who has the sense to surround himself with outstanding people and self-restraint not to meddle with how they do their jobs."

Unknown, Source on leadership
3 fans of this quote   

"Successful leaders have the courage to take action where others hesitate."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"People try so hard to believe in leaders now, pitifully hard. But we no sooner get a popular reformer or politician or soldier or writer or philosopher --a Roosevelt, a Tolstoy, a Wood, a Shaw, a Nietzsche, than the cross-currents of criticism wash him away. My Lord, no man can stand prominence these days. It's the surest path to obscurity. People get sick of hearing the same name over and over."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"Outstanding leaders appeal to the hearts of their followers -- not their minds."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"Leadership is like the old galley ships. 100s are rowing, but only one (the captain) knows where they are going"

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"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!"

Unknown, Source on leadership
5 fans of this quote   

"Every leader needs to look back once in a while to make sure he has followers. Source Unknown Effective leaders are known by the questions they ask rather than the statements they make."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"Do your best to be the lead dog otherwise the view never changes."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"Efficiency tends to deal with Things. Effectiveness tends to deal with People. We manage things, we lead people"

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"If you want to be comfortable -- take an easy job. If you aspire to leadership, take off your coat."

Unknown, Source on leadership   

"A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world."

Updike, John on leadership