QuoteProject
We've got to figure out a way that we give a private sphere for our public leaders. We're not gonna get the best people in public life if we don't do that.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Public leaders need personal space to thrive and perform effectively in their roles.

Doris Kearns Goodwin emphasizes the importance of creating a private sphere for public leaders, suggesting that without this space, it will be challenging to attract the best individuals to serve in public life. This highlights the necessity of balancing public scrutiny with personal freedom, which is crucial for effective leadership and decision-making.

Themes

LeadershipPublic LifePersonal SpaceBest PeopleService

In practice

Example use cases

During a leadership conference to emphasize the need for privacy in effective governance.

More from Doris Kearns Goodwin

Journalism still, in a democracy, is the essential force to get the public educated and mobilized to take action on behalf of our ancient ideals.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Once a president gets to the White House, the only audience that is left that really matters is history.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
I am a historian. With the exception of being a wife and mother, it is who I am. And there is nothing I take more seriously.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Obama does seem to have what both FDR and Lincoln had, which is the recognition that you have to hold back at times and then wait to come forward.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead

Similar quotes

It's time for male leaders to not only ask for binders of qualified women, but to re-write the definition of 'qualified.' The best man for the job, may in fact, be a woman, whose biography is not traditional, but is rich with experiences and skills that are not necessarily learned either in school or on the job.
Madeleine M. KuninRead
Know what your people are like, and make sure they do their jobs excellently.
Ray DalioRead
The prevailing - and foolish - attitude is that a good manager can be a good manager anywhere, with no special knowledge of the production process he's managing. A man with a financial background may know nothing about manufacturing shoes or cars, but he's put in charge anyway.
W. Edwards DemingRead
Management by results is confusing special causes with common causes.
W. Edwards DemingRead
Our leaders must hear us speaking on behalf of our brothers and sisters in South Sudan. If the moral duty to save lives and work toward peace is not compelling enough to drive decision-makers, we must remind them that we care and will hold them accountable.
Forest WhitakerRead
We do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We see no military - we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can.
Barack ObamaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.