350 Powerful Leadership Quotes To Inspire Success (2023)

1. “The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.” Ken Blanchard

2. So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work. —Peter Drucker

3. The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground. —Sir Winston Churchill

4. “Leadership is the capacity to transform vision into reality.” Warren G. Bennis

5. “As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.” —Himanshu Bhatia, CEO of Chesterfield

6. “Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” Eleanor Roosevelt

7. “Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” —Mary D. Poole, author

8. The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. —Warren Bennis

9. 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

10. Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. —Stephen Covey

11. Good leaders focus on the possibilities of the future instead of the problems of the past. As a leader, have a vision for what you want to achieve, and create goals as your stepping stones to get there. Great leaders also keep an eye on trends and make educated predictions of future opportunities that will put them ahead of the competition.

12. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. –George Patton

13. “The key responsibility of leadership is to think about the future. No one else can do it for you.” Brian Tracy

14. “Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people.” Brian Tracy

15. “Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

16. “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” —Sara Blakely, founder & CEO of Spanx

17. “Leadership is about the team – the culture they keep and embrace; it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business; it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.” —Kat Cole, COO & President of FOCUS Brands

18. “The glue that holds all relationships together–including the relationship between the leader and the led–is trust, and trust is based on integrity.” Brian Tracy

19. Earn your leadership every day. –Michael Jordan

20. Don’t miss these success quotes that will make you even more successful.

21. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” —Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist

22. “My own definition of leadership is this: the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” —General Montgomery, British Army Officer

23. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

24. He who has learned how to obey will know how to command. —Solon

25. If you want to get different results from what you are getting now, you must change something. Change requires taking risks by stepping out into the unknown. And that requires courage. The best leaders take risks and develop the courage to do so. Once you develop that habit of courageously trying the unknown, you will most often find the experience is not as bad as you feared it would be and the results are worth the effort.

26. What you do has far greater impact than what you say. —Stephen Covey

27. “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

28. “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” Orrin Woodward

29. “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.” Oprah Winfrey

30. No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. —Abraham Lincoln

31. “Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You can’t come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.” —Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers

32. “Power isn’t control at all—power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” —Beth Revis, author

33. “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” —Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author

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

35. When we are satisfied with our past accomplishments, we cease to grow. Encourage those you lead to progress by setting high yet reasonable expectations. Give others challenges that will put them out of their comfort zone and reach for the next level of success. Great leaders celebrate and reward the achievements of those they lead while also encouraging them to continue to reach higher.

36. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams

37. “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Bob Marley

38. “It’s okay to admit what you don’t know. It’s okay to ask for help. And it’s more than okay to listen to the people you lead – in fact, it’s essential.” —Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors

39. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” —Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady, American writer, and activist

40. You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. —Ken Kesey

41. “We need to accept that we don’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes. Understand that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” —Arianna Huffington, founder & CEO, Thrive Global

42. If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities. —Maya Angelou

43. “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” —Dolly Parton, musician

44. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. —Ralph Nader

45. Never give an order that can't be obeyed. —General Douglas MacArthur

46. “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” George Patton

47. “Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles; Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances. Courage breeds creativity; Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it. Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

48. “Stay connected to feel empathy, compassion, and understanding for yourself and others.” Vanessa Tucker

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

50. A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. —Max Lucado

51. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. —John Maxwell

52. “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” Brian Tracy

53. Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish. —Sam Walton

54. “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.” —Dianne Feinstein, Senior United States Senator

55. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. —Max DePree

56. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” Ralph Nader

57. You manage things; you lead people. —Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

58. “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” —Orrin Woodward, entrepreneur and author

59. “Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience.” James Freeman Clark

60. “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulder of giants.” —Isaac Newton, English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer

61. “Practice Golden Rule Management in everything you do. Manage others the way you would like to be managed.” Brian Tracy

62. A good leader will learn how to harness those gifts toward the same goal.” —Ben Carson, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

63. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. —John Quincy Adams

64. Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them. —John C. Maxwell

65. The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision. —Ken Blanchard

66. “Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it … Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.” David Ogilvy

67. “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” Carl Jung

68. The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes. —Tony Blair

69. “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” William Falkner

70. Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts. —Erskine Bowles

71. Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. —Harry S. Truman

72. “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” John C. Maxwell

73. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.” —Brian Tracy, Canadian-American motivational public speaker

74. “If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.” Jim Rohn

75. “Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes.” —Margaret Wheatley, writer, teacher, and speaker

76. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

77. “The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then guide the horse with loose reins and seldom use the spurs.” Sandra Day O’Connor

78. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” John F. Kennedy

79. The supreme quality of leadership is integrity. –Dwight Eisenhower

80. “I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” —Ginni Rometty, Executive Chairman of IBM

81. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. —Peter Drucker

82. The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly. —Jim Rohn

83. “There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.” —Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author

84. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas A. Edison, American inventor

85. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller, author, activist, and lecturer

86. Where there is no vision, the people perish. —Proverbs 29:18

87. “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” —George Patton, general in the United States Army

88. “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

89. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

90. Good leaders make things happen — both by taking action themselves and by motivating others to take action. The greatest leaders mobilize others to do the small and simple things that will accumulate to create great things. Having a good idea is the beginning of progress, but only by taking the necessary steps to make it happen will you and those you lead achieve success. Success comes from doing.

91. “The key to success is action.” Brian Tracy

92. “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” —Maya Angelou, civil rights activist and poet

93. 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

94. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?” —Ayn Rand, author

95. “The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.” Oprah Winfrey

96. “You can be a leader in your workplace, your neighborhood, or your family, all without having a title.” —Travis Bradberry, author

97. Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. —General George Patton

98. “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” —Bill Bradley, American politician and former professional basketball player

99. “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, former U.S. President

100. “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” —Karen Lamb, author

101. A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops. —John J Pershing

102. “A good leader must hate the wrong thing more than they hate the pain of doing the right thing.” —Angela Jiang, product manager

103. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” Brian Tracy

104. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton

105. “A star wants to see himself rise to the top. A leader wants to see those around him rise to the top.” Simon Sinek

106. A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward. —Ovid

107. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Warren Bennis

108. “The outward expression of empathy is courtesy.” Stewart Butterfield

109. To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult. —Friedrich Nietzsche

110. I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be. —Warren Bennis

111. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch, American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer

112. It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself. —Latin Proverb

113. “You are never too small to make a difference.” —Greta Thunberg, environmental activist

114. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

115. When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out. —Napoleon Bonaparte

116. “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” Warren Buffet

117. “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” —Sheryl Sandberg, American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist

118. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa, Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary

119. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward.

120. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” —Peter F. Drucker, author and educator

121. “Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion, and a shared vision of the good.” —Joanne Ciulla, American philosopher

122. “You have to look at your career and personal life at the big-picture level: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Doing that helps me feel OK during the weeks when one part of my life overwhelms the other.” —Joanna Horsnail, partner at Mayer Brown LLP

123. The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on. —Walter Lippman

124. “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

125. “Measure your impact in humanity, not in the likes, but the lives you touch; not in popularity, but in the people you serve. I found that my life got bigger when I stopped caring about what other people thought about me. You will find yours will too. Stay focused on what really matters. There will be times when your resolve to serve humanity will be tested. Be prepared. People will try to convince you that you should keep your empathy out of your career. Don’t accept this false premise.” Tim Cook

126. “‘Restore connection’ is not just for devices, it is for people too. If we cannot disconnect, we cannot lead.” —Arianna Huffington, founder & CEO, Thrive Global

127. “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 Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor

128. “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” Vince Lombardi

129. “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” —Peter F. Drucker, Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author

130. “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” —Joe DiMaggio, former New York Yankees outfielder & Hall of Fame baseball player

131. "Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” Peter Drucker

132. “Leaders walk a fine line between self-confidence and humility.” —Stanley McChrystal, retired United States Army General

133. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams, former U.S. President

134. “You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” —Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple

135. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. —Margaret Mead

136. I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn't. —Dee Dee Myers

137. Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. —General Dwight Eisenhower

138. My responsibility is getting all my players playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back. –Unknown

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

140. “People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.” —Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue

141. “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” Peter Drucker

142. “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.” —Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Independence Movement leader

143. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” —Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple

144. Check out these patience quotes that will remind you that all things worthwhile take time.

145. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. —Warren Bennis

146. “Superior leaders are willing to admit a mistake and cut their losses. Be willing to admit that you’ve changed your mind. Don’t persist when the original decision turns out to be a poor one.” Brian Tracy

147. “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.” —Tom Landry, former Dallas Cowboys coach

148. “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” —E. Joseph Cossman, inventor and businessman

149. “The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.” —Faye Wattleton, American reproductive rights activist

150. “Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey.” —Charles S. Lauer, author and businessman

151. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” —Muriel Strode, poet

152. “The three ‘C’s’ of leadership are consideration, caring, and courtesy. Be polite to everyone.” Brian Tracy

153. “A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men.” —Stephen King, author

154. “I believe in a quiet, strong and grounded leadership. I think some of the best leaders are those whose work is widely known and respected but who, themselves, are relatively unknown.” —Rachael Chong, founder and CEO of Catchafire

155. The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. —Harvey Firestone

156. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” —Gen. Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State

157. “Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower, former U.S. President

158. “Leadership distilled down to 3 words: Make a difference.” —Robin Sharma, Canadian writer

159. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia

160. We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity. —Marco Rubio

161. “A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.” Jim Rohn

162. “The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis.” Brian Tracy

163. “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” Albert Schweitzer

164. Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. —Colin Powell

165. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” John C. Maxwell

166. Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems. —Brian Tracy

167. Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths. —John Zenger

168. “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” —Tony Blair, British politician

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

170. People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. —John Maxwell

171. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell

172. Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. —Vince Lombardi

173. “As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.” —Toni Morrison, author

174. “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” Bill Bradley

175. “You don’t need a title to be a leader.” —Unknown

176. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. —Arnold Glasow

177. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” —Margaret Fuller, American journalist and editor

178. “The best leaders have a high consideration factor. They really care about their people” Brian Tracy

179. In order for people to truly follow you, especially in times of adversity and uncertainty, they must know you care. We all need to feel valued, understood, and cared for. As a leader, one of your greatest qualities will be the authentic concern you have for the lives of those who work for you. Take time to get to know them, what is important to them, what their needs are, and what their concerns are. You will find productivity will increase, and integrity and loyalty will prosper.

180. Sign up here to get top career advice delivered straight to your inbox every week.

181. A person with integrity is honest, responsible, loyal, inclusive, kind, hard-working, and respectful. People will follow you when you consistently exhibit these qualities, regardless of your official job title. When you have integrity, you admit when you make mistakes and use the experiences to learn and grow. Others will respect you for your honesty and learn from your example.

182. Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. —Peter Drucker

183. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln

184. “Leaders set high standards. refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” Brian Tracy

185. “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.” —Herbert Swope, American editor and journalist

186. How to Wash Wool Sweaters and Blankets So You Don’t Ruin Them

187. “A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.” M.D. Arnold

188. “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” John Maxwell

189. These good morning quotes will help you kick off the day on a positive note.

190. Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. —Stephen Covey

191. “No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” Andrew Carnegie

192. Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better. —Bill Bradley

193. Make sure you repeat these positive affirmations every day if you need that extra boost.

194. “The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first.” —Iyanla Vanzant, American inspirational speaker, author, and lawyer

195. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand. —General Colin Powell

196. Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. —Norman Schwarzkopf

197. “If you always put a limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” Bruce Lee

198. “Leading people is the most challenging and, therefore, the most gratifying undertaking of all human endeavors.” —Jocko Willink, American author, podcaster, and retired United States Navy Officer

199. Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow. —Chinese Proverb

200. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” Jessica Jackley

201. He who has great power should use it lightly. —Seneca

202. Great leaders are concerned citizens who desire to create change for the common good. Integrity in the workplace is essential to effective teamwork, advancement in your career, and truly leading yourself and others to greatness.

203. “One of the most important things for any leader is to never let anyone else define who you are. And you define who you are. I never think of myself as being a woman CEO of this company. I think of myself as a steward of a great institution.” —Ginni Rometty, Executive Chairman of IBM

204. “The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them.” John Maxwell

205. “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” —Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister

206. Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing. —Tom Peters

207. “The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” —Brandon Sanderson, author

208. A leader is a dealer in hope. —Napoleon Bonaparte

209. The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. —Kenneth Blanchard

210. “Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” Stephen Covey

211. True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well. —Bill Owens

212. My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. —General Montgomery

213. “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another.” John C. Maxwell

214. “When you delegate tasks, you create followers. When you delegate authority, you create leaders.” Craig Groeschel

215. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position. —Brian Tracy

216. “The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special.” Bill Taylor

217. To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less. —Andre Malraux

218. “Good leaders build products. Great leaders build cultures. Good leaders deliver results. Great leaders develop people. Good leaders have vision. Great leaders have values. Good leaders are role models at work. Great leaders are role models in life.” —Adam Grant, American psychologist and author

219. “Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” —Sam Walton, founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club

220. “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

221. “It only takes one person to mobilize a community and inspire change. Even if you don’t feel like you have it in you, it’s in you. You have to believe in yourself. People will see your vision and passion and follow you.” Teyonah Parris

222. “Leadership is not something that is done to people, like fixing your teeth. Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” Bill Bradley

223. “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, revolutionary, statesman, and philanthropist

224. “Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.” Diogenes of Sinope

225. To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way. —Pat Riley

226. You don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership. –Dwight Eisenhower

227. “Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” Napoleon Hill

228. “We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children.” —Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat

229. “Don’t be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.” Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense

230. Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. —John F. Kennedy

231. “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” —Harry Truman, former U.S. President

232. “Leaders never use the word failure. They look upon setbacks as learning experiences.” Brian Tracy

233. “Leaders are innovative, entrepreneurial, and future-oriented. They focus on getting the job done.” Brian Tracy

234. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” Jack Welch

235. Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led. —Ross Perot

236. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” —Malala Yousafzai, activist

237. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. —Thomas Jefferson

238. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

239. Leadership cannot just go along to get along. Leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day. —Jesse Jackson

240. “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” —Max Lucado, author and pastor

241. A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. —John Maxwell

242. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Bonaparte, French military leader and emperor

243. Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise. —Woodrow Wilson

244. “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” —Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady

245. “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, economist and diplomat

246. “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” Ronald Reagan

247. The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist. —Eric Hoffer

248. “No one is going to make you a leader. Take the reins, create your own opportunity, and build the career that you deserve.” Devin Bramhall

249. “Hire character. Train skill.” —Peter Schutz, former president and CEO of Porsche

250. I must follow the people. Am I not their leader? —Benjamin Disraeli

251. “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.” —Padmasree Warrior, CEO & founder of Fable

252. “There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust.” Klaus Balkenhol

253. “As a leader, you should always start with where people are before you try to take them where you want them to go.” Jim Rohn

254. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” —Warren Buffett, investor

255. “When you delegate work to a member of the team, your job is to clearly frame success and describe the objectives.” Steven Sinofsky

256. “No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely – all your skills, gifts and energies – in order to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming.” —Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author

257. This Is Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year

258. “Leadership is an action, not a position.” —Donald McGannon, broadcasting executive

259. “The effective leader recognizes that they are more dependent on their people than they are on them. Walk softly.” Brian Tracy

260. “Leadership is not just about giving energy… it’s unleashing other people’s energy.” —Paul Polman, Dutch businessman

261. Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership. —Donald Rumsfeld

262. “People who take a long view of their lives and careers always seem to make much better decisions about their time and activities than people who give very little thought to the future.” Brian Tracy

263. You don’t need a title to be a leader. –Multiple Attributions

264. “If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” —Thomas Aquinas, Italian philosopher

265. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” —Barack Obama, former U.S. President

266. “Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion, and a shared vision of the good.” —Joanne Ciulla, author and educator

267. “Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration — of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” Lance Secretan

268. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

269. “Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.” —Tina Fey, actress, comedian, and writer

270. “Emotional intelligence is a way of recognizing, understanding, and choosing how we think, feel, and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It defines how and what we learn; it allows us to set priorities; it determines the majority of our daily actions. Research suggests it is responsible for as much as 80 percent of the “success” in our lives.” Joshua Freedman

271. “If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings — and put compensation as a carrier behind it — you almost don’t have to manage them.” Jack Welch

272. I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody. —Herbert Swope

273. “All leaders are readers.” —Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur

274. A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. —Douglas MacArthur

275. “Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention, and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.” Edward de Bono

276. “Learning is not a one-time event or a periodic luxury. Great leaders in great companies recognize that the ability to constantly learn, innovate, and improve is vital to their success.” Amy Edmondson

277. Check out these uplifting quotes that will stay with you long after you read them.

278. If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. —Benjamin Franklin

279. “Real leadership is leaders recognizing that they serve the people that they lead.” Pete Hoekstra

280. “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” Tom Peters

281. Personal-Development-Plan-template-OG-image

282. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. — General George Patton

283. “Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. ‘Here, open it, it’s perfect. You’ll love it.’ Opportunities – the good ones – are messy, confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.” —Susan Wojcicki, CEO of Youtube

284. “Leadership is not about men in suits. It is a way of life for those who know who they are and are willing to be their best to create the life they want to live.” —Kathleen Schafer, CEO of Human Being Store

285. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. —Eleanor Roosevelt

286. The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet. —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

287. Education is the mother of leadership. —Wendell Willkie

288. “Education is the mother of leadership.” —Wendell Willkie, lawyer

289. “The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.” —Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author

290. “Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.” Reed Markham

291. “Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led.” Ross Perot

292. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” —Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker

293. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” General Dwight Eisenhower

294. “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” —Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand

295. “Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.” General Colin Powell

296. “A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.” —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, German poet, playwright, and novelist

297. Whether you are a business owner, an executive for a company, or hold a leadership position at your job, the most efficient and effective way to achieve great things is to delegate. Delegating tasks and authority to others helps them grow professionally. It also gives you more time and energy to devote to the things that will advance your professional and personal goals while helping others do the same.

298. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” —Warren Buffett, investor

299. “True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

300. “Good leaders organize and align people around what the team needs to do. Great leaders motivate and inspire people with why they’re doing it.” Marillyn Hewson

301. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” —William Arthur Ward, writer

302. “One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” Arnold Glasow

303. “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” W. Clement Stone

304. “The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” Brian Tracy

305. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer, poet, and aristocrat

306. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Rosalynn Carter

307. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

308. It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. —Nelson Mandela

309. “Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.” Brian Tracy

310. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead, anthropologist

311. “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” Bill George

312. Read up on these self-love quotes that will make you feel like a million bucks.

313. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” —Stephen R. Covey, American educator

314. A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

315. Leadership is influence. —John C. Maxwell

316. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader, American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney

317. A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. —Rosalynn Carter

318. 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 Maxwell

319. Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway. —Eleanor Roosevelt

320. A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible. —Polybius

321. “Respect is the key determinant of high-performance leadership. how much people respect you determines how well they perform.” Brian Tracy

322. To be a good leader, help people acquire the skills they need to accomplish what you are asking of them. Give your staff or team members opportunities to take courses, attend seminars, and earn certifications that will help them become more qualified in their position or profession. Organize senior or more experienced staff to mentor others, allowing one to develop leadership skills and the other to gain valuable knowledge. Giving others the tools they need to succeed will not only empower them to flourish but the team or company will prosper as well.

323. “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” Harvey Mackay

324. “What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” Stephen Covey

325. “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.” Brian Tracy

326. “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

327. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —John Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor

328. “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” —Peter F. Drucker, Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author

329. “Leadership is the ability to guide others without force into a direction or decision that leaves them still feeling empowered and accomplished.” —Lisa Cash Hanson, author and entrepreneur

330. Don’t miss these Monday motivation quotes for an inspirational start to the week.

331. Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. —Publilius Syrus

332. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Bill Gates

333. There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage. —Fuchan Yuan

334. Whatever you are, be a good one. —Abraham Lincoln

335. “The test of leadership is, is anything or anyone better because of you?” —Mark Sanborn, author, professional speaker, and entrepreneur

336. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” Mary Tyler Moore

337. “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” —Lao Tzu, philosopher and writer

338. “If you really want to grow as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to learn to delegate.” Richard Branson

339. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela

340. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader

341. “Always choose the future over the past. What do we do now?” Brain Tracy

342. These quotes about change will inspire you to make a difference ASAP.

343. 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. —Theodore Roosevelt

344. “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. Oprah Winfrey

345. “Entrepreneurial leadership requires the ability to move quickly when opportunity presents itself.” Brian Tracy

346. “If ‘leadership’ has come to be known as something much bigger than us, aligned to changing the world, then we are spending way too much time celebrating things that hardly anyone can do and not celebrating things we can do every day.” —Drew Dudley, founder of Day One Leadership

347. A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men. —Stephen King

348. “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” —Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State

349. “Earn your leadership every day.” Michael Jordan

350. “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” —Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor and radio preacher