Top Leadership Quotes You Should Know

by / ⠀Career Advice / September 7, 2022
leadership quotes on wall

Being a leader means that people are going to want to hear you talk. Whether it’s about your business or the weather, people are interested in what you have to say. But leadership quotes, no matter who they are from, can inspire and motivate us to do better. Whether to better ourselves, the world, or everything, quotes, especially those in leadership positions can make us seek improvement in our lives.

Here are some famous quotes that will get and keep you motivated.

Leadership Quotes

1. “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

2. “Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership.” —James Humes

3. “I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?” —Benjamin Disraeli

4. “You manage things; you lead people.” —Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

5. “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

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

7. “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” —General George Patton

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

9. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Bonaparte

10. “Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50 percent of your time in leading yourself—your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, and conduct. Invest at least 20 percent leading those with authority over you and 15 percent leading your peers.” —Dee Hock

More Quotes

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

12. “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

13. “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

14. “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

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

16. “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

17. “To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.” —Andre Malraux

18. “He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” —Aristotle

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

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

Conclusion

So, use these leadership quotes as a means of inspiration. Additionally, you don’t always have to hoard these words yourself. Instead, take them to your bosses and co-workers and ask to have them printed and hanging around the office space.

You’ll certainly be surprised by what the power of words can do for you and the world.

About The Author

Tristan Anderson

Hello! My name is Tristan Anderson and I live in Manhattan, Kansas. I enjoy being in nature and animals. I am also a huge geek who loves Star Wars and has a growing collection.

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