October 18 2022

101 Leadership Quotes | A Study on Obstacles and How to Overcome Them

Yiannis Kalliantas Quotes business motivation, career, leadership

Commitment, search for success, persistence & courage are some of the characteristics of leaders. Not everyone is suitable for this role – showing the way, being clear with your targets, focusing on purpose and being generous with the ones that follow you are just a few of the gifts one should have to take on this task.

Here is our collection of leaderships quotes, so feel free to share them, tweet them & spread the word.

Leadership Quotes for Presentations

Inspirational Leadership Quotes
Quotes about Leadership and Teamwork
Famous Leadership Quotes

Short Leadership quotes
Funny Leadership quotes
True Leadership quotes
Leadership quotes for Kids

Leadership Quotes On Images

Leadership Quotes for Presentations

Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing. Peter F. Drucker
Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. Harry Truman
The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow. Seth Godin

No guts, no story. Chris Brady
The best form of saying is being. Unknown
The first key to leadership is self-control. Jack Weatherford
Leaders always choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong. Orrin Woodward

Imagine a place where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude every day. Stephen C. Lundin
Always try to associate yourself with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you do, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you. Dwight D. Eisenhower
I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different results, we must change the way we do things. Tom Northup

Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. Jack Welch
Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work. Seth Godin

Inspirational Leadership Quotes

It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse. Adlai E. Stevenson II
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

Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others. Robert Louis Stevenson
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Eleanor Roosevelt
A bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation: as you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think. Joseph Campbell
It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William Arthur Ward
I don’t care if you’re black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Simple as that. Robert Michaels
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. Margaret Thatcher
If you have a strong purpose in life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there. Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others… Gordon B. Hinckley
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
We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark. Whoopi Goldberg
He that thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk. John C. Maxwell
Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow. Vince Lombardi

Quotes about Leadership and Teamwork

Remember teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability. Patrick Lencioni
Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words. Roy T. Bennett
A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them. Brandon Sanderson
You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand. Woodrow Wilson
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Holy Bible

Your first and foremost job as a leader is to take charge of your own energy and then help to orchestrate the energy of those around you. Peter F. Drucker
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death. Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Tend to the people, and they will tend to the business. John C. Maxwell
Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them. John C. Maxwell
Equality and respect are woven into the fabric of the conduct and performance of iconic organizations and leaders. Period. Scott McKain

Workplace respect quote to inspire you. — Equality and respect are woven into the fabric of the conduct and performance of iconic organizations and leaders. Period. Scott McKain

Famous Leadership Quotes

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men. Lao Tzu
Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. John F. Kennedy
If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see. Henry David Thoreau
Be with a leader when he is right, stay with him when he is still right, but, leave him when he is wrong. Abraham Lincoln
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

He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people. Nelson Mandela

Leadership quote by Nelson Mandela to inspire you. — Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people. Nelson Mandela

Leadership quote. — Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. Margaret Thatcher

Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. John C. Maxwell
Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. Albert Schweitzer
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

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt
Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas. Margaret Thatcher
Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die. Frank Herbert
Anybody will do for you, but not for me. I must have somebody. Abraham Lincoln
The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own. Ralph Waldo Emerson

When eagles are silent, parrots begin to chatter. Winston S. Churchill

Short Leadership quotes

A leader is a dealer in hope. Napoléon Bonaparte
Great leaders create more leaders, not followers. Roy T. Bennett
What you stay focused on will grow.
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. Aristotle

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John F. Kennedy
Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way. George S. Patton Jr.
If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. Tom Peters
Life’s short. Live passionately. Marc A. Pitman
Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important.

The key to successful leadership is influence, not aujothority. Kenneth H. Blanchard
Leaders live by choice, not by accident. Mark Gorman
You get in life what you have the courage to ask for. Nancy D. Solomon
A leader with integrity is unbreakable. Sabrina Horn
Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. Roy Bennett

Too many kings can ruin an army. Homer
Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. Stephen Covey
Tis skill, not strength, that governs a ship Thomas Fuller
What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership. Bob Iger

Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you'll be able to see farther. — Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.

Funny Leadership quotes

Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes. Lewis Grizzard
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, Bossypants

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women. Groucho Marx
Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. Michael Scott, The Office
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you really want the key to success, start by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Brad Szollose

The problem with being a leader is that you’re never sure if you’re being followed or chased. Claire A. Murray
Some people say, ‘Never let them see you cry.’ I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone. Tina Fey
The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided. Casey Stengel
When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat. Ronald Reagan
Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too. Robert Half

The question, ‘Who ought to be boss?’ is like asking, ‘Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?’ Obviously, the man who can sing tenor. Henry Ford
If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you. If you really make them think, they’ll hate you. Don Marquis

True Leadership quotes

It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to , We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. Steve Jobs
Always remember people who have helped you along the way, and don’t forget to lift someone up. Roy T. Bennett
Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. George S. Patton Jr.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter F. Drucker
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
Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off. Colin Powell
Great leaders don’t tell you what to do. They show you how it’s done. Unknown
I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself. Robert E. Lee

When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. Roy E. Disney
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams
You don’t know what you can get away with until you try. Colin Powell
In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it. Seth Godin
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

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles. Carl von Clausewitz
Real leadership is being the person others will gladly and confidently follow. John C. Maxwell
Leadership means firmness, not harshness or bullying; understanding, not weakness; justice, not irresponsible freedom; humaneness, not intolerance; generosity, not selfishness; pride, not egotism. Omar N. Bradley

Leadership quote to inspire you. — Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

Leadership quotes for Kids

Don’t blow off another’s candle for it won’t make yours shine brighter. Jaachynma N.E. Agu
What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely.

Just keep swimming. Nemo
You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality. Walt Disney
Why fit in when you were born to stand out? Dr. Seuss
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Always remember, Son, the best boss is the one who bosses the least. Whether it’s cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government. Ralph Moody

You must be willing to give up what you are, to become what you want to be. Orrin Woodward
It’s everybody’s duty to give the world a reason to dance. Kid President
Only surround yourself with people who will lift you higher. Oprah Winfrey
If there is no wind, row. Latin Proverb