Do you wish to rise?. Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?. Lay first the foundation of humility.
—Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Roman-African Christian Philosopher
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.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Education is the mother of leadership.
—Wendell Willkie (1892–1944) American Politician, Lawyer
There is great force hidden in a gentle command.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same.
—Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) (1783–1842) French Writer
Telling people I can’t lose weight may make me eat more—to prove myself right. Perhaps if I told people, “‘I’m gonna lose 20.”
—Marty Nemko (b.1950) American Career Coach
Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people—that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
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.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Christian Professional Speaker, Author, Clergyman
When we think we lead we are most led.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
Leaders are people who do the right thing. Managers are people who do things right … a profound difference.
—Warren Bennis (1925–2014) American Business Academic, Author
Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you’re ready to play as tough as you’re able to, you’d better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got. Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.
—Larry Bird (b.1956) American Basketball Player
Leaders don’t inflict pain—they share pain.
—Max De Pree (1924–2017) American Businessman
Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Florentine Political Philosopher
Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
The well being of the people is the supreme law.
—Indian Proverb
Tell a person they are brave and you help them become so.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Right or wrong, the customer is always right.
—Marshall Field (1834–1906) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson, Philanthropist
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.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
He who dreads hostility too much is unfit to rule.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
In the great mass of our people there are plenty individuals of intelligence from among whom leadership can be recruited.
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) 31st American President
Successful leaders have the courage to take action while others hesitate.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Christian Professional Speaker, Author, Clergyman
Popularity is not leadership.
—Richard Marcinko (1940–2021) American Navy Officer
No man has ever risen to the real stature of spiritual manhood until he has found that it is finer to serve somebody else than it is to serve himself.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
It is the Vague and Elusive. Meet it and you will not see its head. Follow it and you will not see its back.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
We praise old times, but show no curiosity about modern events.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.
—Warren Bennis (1925–2014) American Business Academic, Author
I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
I’ve always found that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
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