Welcome to our growing collection of the best, most inspirational quotes about leadership and what it means to be a great, effective leader.
We’ve researched over 1000 quotes and analyzed data from Twitter and Tumblr in order to find you the best bits of wisdom from famous leaders, thinkers and trailblazers. Below we have our list of favorite quotes, as well as links to different sub-categories to help you find inspiration in business, sports, and other situations.
Sorted leadership Quotes:
Funny Influence Business Sports Military Women Kids Lincoln Christian
“To lead people, walk behind them.-Lao Tzu
“He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.-Aristotle
“The real leader has no need to lead, he is content to point the way.-Henry Miller
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.-– Theodore M. Hesburgh
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.-John Buchan
“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.-Zig Ziglar
“It’s not about you. It’s about them.-Clint Eastwood
“A leader is a dealer in hope.-Napoleon Bonaparte
“Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.-John F. Kennedy
“If a man hasn’t found anything to die for, he isn’t fit to live.-Martin Luther King Junior
“Too many kings can ruin an army.-Homer
“Leadership does not depend on being right.-Ivan Illich
“To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.-Friedrich Nietzsche
“The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.-Woodrow Wilson
“There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.-Zig Ziglar
“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
“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.-Max Lucado
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.-Lao Tzu
“Every great leader can take you back to a defining moment when they decided to lead.-John Paul Warren
“Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determinations.-John Seaman Garns
“Leaders create a legacy daily.-Steve Gutzler
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.-John C. Maxwell
“Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.-Chinese Proverb
“Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.-Reed Markham
“Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.-Seth Godin
“A leader is one knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.-John C. Maxwell
“There is no “one” way to be a perfect leader, but there are a million ways to be a good one.-Mark W Boyer
“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.-Harold S. Geneen
“In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are.-Max DePree
“When you are just existing, life happens to you… and you manage; when you are truly living, you happen to life… and you lead.-Steve Maraboli
“Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.-Harold S. Geneen
“There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader.-Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.-Tony Blair
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.-Harold R. McAlindon
“The people follow the example of those above them-Chinese Proverb
“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
“When you practice leadership,The evidence of quality of your leadership, Is known from the type of leaders that emerge out of your leadership.-Sujit Lalwani
“Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.-Bo Bennett
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Lead by inspiration, not intimidation.-Rebecca Aguilar
“Real leadership is leaders recognizing that they serve the people that they lead.-Pete Hoekstra
“The essence of leadership is not giving things or even providing visions. It is offering oneself and one’s spirit.-Lee Bolman & Terence Deal
“A leader should demonstrate his thoughts and opinions through his actions, not through his words.-Jack Weatherford
“Together we are better.-John Paul Warren
“Real leadership is being the person others will gladly and confidently follow.-John C. Maxwell
“The price of responsibility is greatness.-Winston Churchill
“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.-Aristotle
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.-Theodore Roosevelt
“A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.-M.D. Arnold
“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.-Norman Schwarzkopf
“To make a decision, all you need is authority. To make a good decision, you also need knowledge, experience, and insight.-Denise Moreland,
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.-Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Startwith what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.-Lao Tzu
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.-Ernest Hemingway
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.-Thomas Jefferson
“Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.-General George Patton
“A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone.-Henry A. Kissinger
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.-Warren G. Bennis
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.-William Arthur Ward
“It is better to have a lion to the head of an army of sheep, than a sheep at the head of an army of lions.-Daniel Defoe
“To lead by example is to offer your life as a living diary for others to read. Never make your life pages blank; make some marks there. Many people are reading you.-Israelmore Ayivor
“If you command wisely, you’ll be obeyed cheerfully.-Thomas Fuller
“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others see.-Leroy Eimes
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.-John F. Kennedy
“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulder of giants.-Isaac Newton
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.-Henry Ford
