quotations about leadership
People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
JOHN C. MAXWELL
Developing the Leader Within You
You don't become an effective leader by default.
JOHN C. MAXWELL
Leadership Gold
A good leader makes a good follower.
BION
attributed, Day's Collacon
The most enthusiastic man in a cause is rarely chosen as the leader.
ARTHUR HELPS
Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd
Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.
JOHN H. ZENGER & JOSEPH FOLKMAN
The Extraordinary Leader
A leader is a dealer in hope.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
attributed, And I Quote
If becoming a high performing organization is the destination, leadership is the engine.
KEN BLANCHARD
Leading at a Higher Level
It is very comforting to believe that leaders who do terrible things are, in fact, mad. That way, all we have to do is make sure we don't put psychotics in high places and we've got the problem solved.
TOM WOLFE
"Jonestown", In Our Time
Take the ideas of the masses and concentrate them, then go to the masses, persevere in the ideas and carry them through ... such is the basic method of leadership.
MAO ZEDONG
"Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership", Jun. 1, 1943
The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.
WALTER LIPPMANN
The Essential Lippmann
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.
WALTER LIPPMANN
The Essential Lippmann
Leadership is love made visible.
DARYA FUNCHES
attributed, Speak the Truth and Point to Hope
He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
ARISTOTLE
Politics
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
GEORGE S. PATTON
"Reflections and Suggestions", War As I Knew It
"Safety first" has been the motto of the human race for half a million years; but it has never been the motto of leaders. A leader must face danger. He must take the risk and the blame, and the brunt of the storm.
HERBERT N. CASSON
The Office Economist
Because our desire for a coherent vision of the world is bottomless, our hunger for leadership is insatiable, too. Leaders make the world more sensible, but never sensible enough.
JOSHUA ROTHMAN
"Shut Up and Sit Down", The New Yorker, February 29, 2016
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
The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.
KEN BLANCHARD
Leading at a Higher Level
Good leadership is largely invisible.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON
Dune: House Harkonnen
A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people.
FRANK HERBERT
Dune