Leadership quotes

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

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.

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

A leader is great not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.

Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.

People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.

The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own.

Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.

Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things, but the one who gets people to do the greatest things.

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists.

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.

You don't need a title to be a leader.

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.

Great leaders are willing to sacrifice their own personal interests for the good of the team.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.

The price of greatness is responsibility.

Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur.

Earn your leadership every day.

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.

You don't lead by hitting people over the head — that's assault, not leadership.