Quotes on Leadership

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Persevere in thy quest and thou shalt find what thou seekest. Pursue thy aim unswervingly and thou shalt gain victory. Struggle earnestly and thou shalt triumph.

If your company disappeared, would it leave a gaping hole that could not easily be filled by any other enterprise on the planet?

One of the things we know is that you cannot motivate other people, but you can remove the obstacles that stop them from motivating themselves. All motivation is self-motivation.

A leader is a coach, not a judge.

The only test of leadership is that somebody follows.

If the modern leader doesn't know the facts, he is in grave trouble, but rarely do the facts provide unqualified guidance.

Leadership of a world-economy is an experience of power which may blind the victor to the march of history.

I say no body of men are fit to make Presidents, judges and generals, unless they themselves supply the best specimens of the same; and that supplying one or two such specimens illuminates the whole body for a thousand years.

He is greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

Great leaders and great organizations are good at seeing what most of us can’t see. They are good at giving us things we would never think of asking for.

Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.

It takes a lot of people to create a success. That's why I say that few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be.

Perhaps our greatest power in life is the power to choose. Without question, choices are the most determining factor in how our lives turn out.

The great leaders in history were great not because of what they owned or earned but because of what they gave their lives to accomplish. They made a difference!

Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.

Our days are like identical suitcases. Even though they are all the same size, some people are able to pack more into them then others. The reason? They know what to pack.

Find something you like to do so much that you would gladly do it for nothing; then learn to do it so well that people are happy to pay you for it.

What I had been taught all my life was not true: experience is not the best teacher! Some people learn and grow as a result of their experience; some people don't. Everybody has some kind of experience. It's what you do with that experience that matters.

Not everyone will become a great leader, but everyone can become a better leader.