140 Leaders Quotes

Following is our list of leaders quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about strong leaders.

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Famous Leaders Quotes

Strong leaders understand that action cures indecision — Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Leaders are focused on using their vision and courage to do great things. — Lewis Howes

Leaders make things possible. Exceptional leaders make them inevitable. — Lance Morrow

The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. — J. Arthur Thomson

Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker. — Adam Grant

Great leaders are not proverbial fence sitters. They judge. They opine. They challenge. They fight for their vision. — Gad Saad

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

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

Leaders make decisions that create the future they desire. — Mike Murdock

Strong beliefs win strong men, and then make them stronger. — Walter Bagehot

A country without a strong leader will go down. — Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The best leaders... almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols. — Thomas J. Peters

Great leaders are not afraid to challenge the status quo and embrace change. — Michael Abrashoff

The most powerful person in the world is the story teller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come. — Steve Jobs

A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear. — Edward Abbey

Short Leaders Quotes

  • Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems. — Brian Tracy
  • Be your own leader, be your own self, step out of my shadows and be your own person. — Snoop Dogg
  • Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard. — Genghis Khan
  • You see things and you say, 'Why?'. But I dream things and I say, 'Why not?'. — George Bernard Shaw
  • The more responsibility the Scoutmaster gives his patrol leaders, the more they will respond. — Robert Baden-Powell
  • It's not for me. I tried human flesh and it's too salty for my taste. — Idi Amin
  • He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. — Aristotle
  • We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are. — John C. Maxwell
  • Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders. — Diane Nash
  • Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. — George S. Patton
Leaders quote A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compas
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.

Powerful Quotes

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses. — Malcom X

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. — Marcus Aurelius

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. — Abraham Lincoln

Leaders quote Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.
Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.

A very wise quote is a spectacular waterfall! When you see it, you feel its power! — Mehmet Murat Ildan

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. - Nelson Mandela

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. — Nelson Mandela

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas. — Josef Stalin

Leaders quote The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sa
The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.

A waterfall cannot be silent, just as the wisdom! When they speak, the voice of power speaks! — Mehmet Murat Ildan

Allow failure to teach you A supreme lesson: Each sunset is the beginning Of a very, very bright And powerful sunrise. — Sri Chinmoy

Love is man's natural endowment, but he doesn't know how to use it. He refuses to recognize the power of love because of his love of power. — Dick Gregory

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. — Marcus Aurelius

Strong Leaders Quotes

My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders. — Ella Baker

You didn't see me on television, you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders. — Ella Baker

Producing major change in an organization is not just about signing up one charismatic leader. You need a group - a team - to be able to drive the change. One person, even a terrific charismatic leader, is never strong enough to make all this happen. — John P. Kotter

Leaders quote Leaders don't force people to follow. They invite others on a journey.
Leaders don't force people to follow. They invite others on a journey.

Leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving. — Jesse Jackson

Women are leaders everywhere you look - from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes. — Nancy Pelosi

Be strong, but not rude; Be kind, but not weak; Be bold, but not bully; Be humble, but not timid; Be prooud, but not arrogant. — Zig Ziglar

Leaders quote A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.
A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.

Internationally, President Obama has adopted an appeasement strategy. He believes America's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe a strong America must - and will - lead the future. — Mitt Romney

You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington. — Grace Hopper

A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit. — John Wooden

By the time I stepped down as Xerox's CEO in 2009 - and as chairman in January 2010 - Xerox had become the vibrant, profitable and revitalized company that it still is today. What made the difference was a strong turnaround plan, dedicated people and a firm commitment from company leaders. — Anne M. Mulcahy

Successful Leaders Quotes

If you're going to be thinking anyway, think big! — Donald Trump

...The final secret is that there is no secret. Devote yourself to your leader. Work hard. Be grateful. Act boldly. Some may deride such suggestions as commonplace, and they'd be right: They are common. But to see them successfully enacted in this world is rare indeed. — Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Add to this the pride of achievement; the desire to rank among the successful souls on earth, and we have the factors which have brought some of the ablest of human beings into the limelight that revealed them to an admiring world, as leaders and examples. — Lewis Howard Latimer

Leaders quote He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.

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

What distinguishes the greatest leaders of our time it’s that success is very rarely a goal for them; it’s a byproduct of other goals that they have. — Adam Grant

Engage, educate, equip, encourage, empower, energize, and elevate. Those are the methods for maximizing the potential of any individual, team, organization, or institution for ultimate success and significance. Those are the methods of a mentor leader. — Tony Dungy

Leaders quote Successful leaders understand that true power comes not from exercising control, but from empowering
Successful leaders understand that true power comes not from exercising control, but from empowering others.

Poor leaders motivate those following them with false promises of promotions, success, and a great tomorrow but rarely deliver on those promises. — Lewis Howes

I can't give you the sunset, but I can give you the night. — Erin McCarthy

The temptation to take the easy road is always there. It is as easy as staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team. — Jocko Willink

You are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped. — Melinda Gates

Wise Leaders Quotes

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

It is not wise, or even possible, to divorce private behavior from public leadership.... By its very nature, true leadership carries with it the burden of being an example. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them. — Diogenes

Leaders quote A leader is someone who demonstrates what's possible.
A leader is someone who demonstrates what's possible.

Leadership is a group project, and all of us are necessary to fill it. Wise leaders will realize this and encourage their groups to develop their own evolving leadership potential. — Arnold Mindell

People imitate their leader. Lead by example. — Barbara Corcoran

Wise leaders understand that the single greatest determinant of whether followers will ever own a vision deeply is the extent to which whose followers believe the leader will own it. — Bill Hybels

Leaders quote Leaders aren't born. They are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.
Leaders aren't born. They are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.

Wise leaders should have known that the human heart cannot exist in a vacuum. If Christians are forbidden to enjoy the wine of the Spirit they will turn to the wine of the flesh....Christ died for our hearts and the Holy Spirit wants to come and satisfy them. — Aiden Wilson Tozer

The future lies with those wise political leaders who realize that the great public is interested more in government than in politics. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

We need to seek wise leaders who will seek common ground among Americans instead of dividing us further for political gain. As citizens, we must embrace those who embrace ideas, thoughtfulness, civility and kindness to others no matter what their political beliefs. — James McGreevey

You are keeping the possibility [of peace] open. No wise leader would do anything less — Patrick Ness

Outstanding Leaders Quotes

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

Appraisals are where you get together with your team leader and agree what an outstanding member of the team you are, how much your contribution has been valued, what massive potential you have and, in recognition of all this, would you mind having your salary halved. — Theodore Roosevelt

Appraisals are where you get together with your team leader and agree what an outstanding member of the team you are, how much your contribution has been valued, what massive potential you have and, in recognition of all this, would you mind having your salary halved. — Guy Browning

Leaders quote Victims love entertainment. Leaders love education.
Victims love entertainment. Leaders love education.

If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following, then you are just taking a walk. — Benjamin Hooks

You can't blow an uncertain trumpet. - Theodore Hesburgh

You can't blow an uncertain trumpet. — Theodore Hesburgh

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

Leaders quote Victims love entertainment, leaders love education.
Victims love entertainment, leaders love education.

Earn your leadership every day. — Michael Jordan

My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better. — Steve Jobs

It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good. — Pope Francis

The leader works in the open and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives. — Theodore Roosevelt

Good Leader Quotes

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed. — Nelson Mandela

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

He who neither drinks, nor smokes, nor dances, he who preaches & even occasionally practice piety, temperance and celibacy, is generally a saint, or a mahatma or more likely a humbug but he certainly won't make a leader or for that matter a good soldier — Sam Manekshaw

Good leaders must first become good servants. - Robert K. Greenleaf

Good leaders must first become good servants. — Robert K. Greenleaf

Good leaders must first become good servants. — Robert Greenleaf

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 C. Maxwell

Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader. — Indra Nooyi

A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. - Witter Bynner

A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. — Witter Bynner

A leader leads by example not by force. - Sun Tzu

A leader leads by example not by force. — Sun Tzu

Hate is too great a burden to bear. - Coretta Scott King

Hate is too great a burden to bear. — Coretta Scott King

Weak Leaders Quotes

Confident and courageous leaders have no problems pointing out their own weaknesses and ignorance. — Thom S. Rainer

Organizations exist to make people's strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant. And this is the work of effective leaders. — Frances Hesselbein

Misfortunes, untoward events, lay open, disclose the skill of a general, while success conceals his weakness, his weak points. — Horace

When the leader is morally weak and his discipline not strict, when his instructions and guidance are not enlightened, when there are no consistent rules, neighboring rulers will take advantage of this. — Sun Tzu

And the propensity of weak and empty people to follow a leader into the darkness from which there is no return is still flourishing, as ever. — Mary McGrory

During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions — Mike Krzyzewski

I have never been over concerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. I think a leader who is, is a weak leader. Between being loved and being feared, I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, I'm meaningless. — Lee Kuan Yew

Weak leaders of churches blame people and circumstances. Breakout church leaders accept responsibility and see God's possibilities in even difficult situations. — Thom S. Rainer

Strong leaders cannot tolerate weak leaders above them. — Tom Krause

Acknowledging weakness doesn't make a leader less effective. On the contrary, in most cases it is simply a way of expressing that he understands what everyone else has known for some time. When you acknowledge your weaknesses to the rest of your team, it is never new information. — Andy Stanley

People Writing About Leaders

Name Quotes Likes
Read quotes by Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi
quotes on friendship, love and leadership

18 471
Read quotes by Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes
quotes on leadership, life and love

126 95
Read quotes by Lance Morrow

Lance Morrow
quotes on education, ai and culture

31 234
Read quotes by Adam Grant

Adam Grant
quotes on leadership, rethinking and learning

92 220
Read quotes by Gad Saad

Gad Saad
quotes on happiness, evolutionary psychology and education

138 83
Read quotes by Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard
quotes on servant leadership, leadership

123 1534

More Leaders Quotes

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. - Ralph Nader quote

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. — Ralph Nader

A leader is a dealer in hope. - Napoleon Bonaparte quote

A leader is a dealer in hope. — Napoleon Bonaparte

The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. - Peter Drucker quote

The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. — Peter Drucker

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. - Steve Jobs quote

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. — Steve Jobs

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. - Martin Luther King, Jr. quote

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

Throughout history, great leaders have known the power of humor. - Allen Klein quote

Throughout history, great leaders have known the power of humor. — Allen Klein

Great leaders encourage and enable others to become great. - Susan McCann quote

Great leaders encourage and enable others to become great. — Susan McCann

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. - Margaret J. Wheatley quote

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. — Margaret J. Wheatley

A good leader has a compass in their head and a magnet in their heart. - Howard G. Hendricks quote

A good leader has a compass in their head and a magnet in their heart. — Howard G. Hendricks

What you do has far greater impact than what you say. - Stephen Covey quote

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

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men--the other 999 follow women. - Groucho Marx quote

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men--the other 999 follow women. — Groucho Marx

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

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

A society with too few independent thinkers is vulnerable to control by disturbed and opportunistic leaders. A society which wants to create and maintain a free and democratic social system must create responsible independence of thought among its young. — John Dewey

There is nothing I dread so much as the division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our constitution. — John Adams

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas. — Joseph Stalin

He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such. — Ibn Khaldun

The first step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other. — Bertrand Russell

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

The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow. — Colin Powell

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. — Hermann Goring

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind is closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and do it gladly so. — Julius Caesar

The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening. — Edgar Schein

We want women leaders today as never before. Leaders who are not afraid to be called names and who are willing to go out and fight. I think women can save civilization. Women are persons. — Emily Murphy

Truly remarkable leadership is not just about motivating others to follow, it's about inspiring them to become leaders themselves and setting the stage for even greater opportunities for future generations. — Condoleezza Rice

Politics is when you say you are going to do one thing while intending to do another. Then you do neither what you said nor what you intended. — Saddam Hussein

I am the leader of one country which has two alphabets, three languages, four religions, five nationalities, six republics, surrounded by seven neighbours, a country in which live eight ethnic minorities. — Josip Broz Tito

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