169 Personal Leadership Quotes

Following is our list of personal leadership quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about inspirational.

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Famous Personal Leadership Quotes

Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them. — Stephen Covey

The very exercise of leadership fosters capacity for it. — Cyril Falls

The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example. - John Wooden

The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example. — John Wooden

One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment. — Robert E. Quinn

Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself. — Thomas J. Watson

You must manage yourself before you can lead someone else. — Zig Ziglar

Leadership is the sum of those qualities of intellect, human understanding, and moral character that enables a person to inspire and control a group of people successfully. — John A. Lejeune

Leadership is demonstrated at the moment of need. You learn to be a leader by acting, by doing — Carlos Ghosn

If your leadership is ample, you will be a great example. - Daniel Evans

If your leadership is ample, you will be a great example. — Daniel Evans

Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting and, most importantly, a way of communicating. — Simon Sinek

Great leaders encourage leadership development. By openly developing themselves — Marshall Goldsmith

Great leadership is by definition relentlessly developmental. — Bill Hybels

The most important ingredient of leadership is character. Most of the proficiencies can be learned, but what's inside you is something that's difficult to change. — Jesse Robredo

Leadership is about persuasion, presentation and people skills. — Shiv Khera

All leadership is appreciative leadership. It's the capacity to see the best in the world around us, in our colleagues, and in the groups we are trying to lead. — David Cooperrider

Short Personal Leadership Quotes

  • Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average. — Jim Rohn
  • Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. — Warren G. Bennis
  • Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. — Margaret J. Wheatley
  • Character matters; leadership descends from character. — Rush Limbaugh
  • Leadership is defined by results not attributes. — Peter Drucker
  • The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. — Peter Drucker
  • Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses. — John C. Maxwell
  • Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do it. — Frances Hesselbein
  • Leadership is hard. It's a skill. It's a technique. — Jocko Willink

Personal Leadership Image Quotes

Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right. - Lao Tzu quote

Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right. — Lao Tzu

Be the compromise you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi quote

Be the compromise you want to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi

Personal leadership quote Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Leadership Quotes

Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. — Colin Powell

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly. — Jim Rohn

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. - Peter Drucker

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. — Peter Drucker

Personal leadership quote To love a person is to see all of their magic, and to remind them of it when they have forgotten.
To love a person is to see all of their magic, and to remind them of it when they have forgotten.

Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could. — Steve Jobs

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. — Nelson Mandela

Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people-motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered. — Colin Powell

Personal leadership quote Intelligent people tend to have less friends than the average person. The smarter you are, the more
Intelligent people tend to have less friends than the average person. The smarter you are, the more selevtive you become.

You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. — Harry S. Truman

You see things and you say, 'Why?'. But I dream things and I say, 'Why not?'. — George Bernard Shaw

Leadership is no longer about your position. It's now more about your passion for excellence and making a difference You can lead without a title — Robin Sharma

Inspirational Quotes

Religion is for people who fear hell, spirituality is for people who have been there. — David Bowie

One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life. — Kahlil Gibran

Life is short. Kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly - Paulo Coelho

Life is short. Kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly — Paulo Coelho

Personal leadership 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.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. — Helen Keller

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds — Paul the Apostle

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

Personal leadership quote Don't confuse my personality with my attitude... My personality is who I am, my attitude depends on
Don't confuse my personality with my attitude... My personality is who I am, my attitude depends on who you are...

If God is for us, who can be against us? — Paul the Apostle

The POSITIVE THINKER sees the INVISIBLE, feels the INTANGIBLE, and achieves the IMPOSSIBLE. — Winston Churchill

I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them. — Madam C. J. Walker

Every day may not be good... but there's something good in every day — Alice Morse Earle

What Is Leadership Quotes

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. — Nelson Mandela

People who are role models for the principles and values of the organization, who buy in and understand the vision of what the organization is trying to accomplish, and have the personality to inspire other people to the vision. You know, that’s what team chemistry and leadership is all about. — Nick Saban

One of the recurring themes in Marcus' handbook is leadership's responsibility to work intelligently with what it is given and not waste time fantasizing about a world of flawless people and perfect choices. — Marcus Aurelius

Personal leadership quote Life has a way of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having every
Life has a way of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once.

The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail. — Lou Holtz

You can't run a government from one single person. What instead matters is that leadership be about gathering around extraordinary individuals and getting the best out of them. — Justin Trudeau

Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful. Leadership and AdversityZig Ziglar

Personal leadership quote A strong person loves, forgives, walks away, lets go, tries again, perseveres... No matter what life
A strong person loves, forgives, walks away, lets go, tries again, perseveres... No matter what life throws at them.

Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right. — Ezra Taft Benson

If you wish to know what a man is, make him king. — Icelandic Proverbs

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

The most important thing in coaching is communication. It's not what you say as much as what they absorb. — Red Auerbach

Leadership Role Quotes

You know, I've never believed, in anything, that you had to have role models who looked like you to do something. If I'd been waiting for a black, female, soviet specialist role model, I'd be still waiting. — Condoleezza Rice

After the Shah's departure from Iran, I will not become a president nor accept any other leadership role. Just like before, I limit my activities only to guiding and directing the people. — Ruhollah Khomeini

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

Personal leadership quote A person who feels appreciated will always do more than is expected.
A person who feels appreciated will always do more than is expected.

In organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions. — Margaret J. Wheatley

Among my activities was membership in the Boy Scouts; I rose each year through the ranks, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and undertaking leadership roles in the organization. — Frederick Reines

One of the problems in the biotech world is the lack of women in leadership roles, and I'd like to see that change by walking the walk. — Jennifer Doudna

Personal leadership quote Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer give a damn.
Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer give a damn.

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

Every great leader knows that his or her role comes with responsibility for those who follow him or her, and in ensuring they provide value in return for their loyalty. — Lewis Howes

The real role of leadership in education ... is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control, creating a climate of possibility. — Ken Robinson

A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there. — David Gergen

Personal Development Quotes

True motivation comes from achievement, personal development, job satisfaction, and recognition. — Frederick Herzberg

We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us. — Jean-Paul Sartre

Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high. — Jim Rohn

Personal leadership 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.

It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self. — Donald Woods Winnicott

What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do. — Tim Ferriss

Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop. — Dorothy Height

Personal leadership quote Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.
Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. — Lao Tzu

Individual style is the correct balance of knowing who you are, what works fro you, and how to develop your own personality — Giorgio Armani

Happiness is a choice and a skill and you can dedicate yourself to learning that skill and making that choice. — Naval Ravikant

The questions you ask yourself will determine the course of your life. — Tom Bilyeu

Personal Growth Quotes

In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth? — Carl Rogers

You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. — Deepak Chopra

Every time you make a mistake, don’t bring up everything that’s wrong with yourself; tell yourself that you’re paying the price for growth and that you will learn to do better next time. Every positive thing you can say to yourself will help. — John C. Maxwell

Without enough wilderness America will change. Democracy, with its myriad personalities and increasing sophistication, must be fibred and vitalized by regular contact with outdoor growths - animals, trees, sun warmth and free skies - or it will dwindle and pale. — Walt Whitman

Sometimes you have to kind of die inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself and become a new person. — Gerard Way

Be grateful for your difficulties and challenges, for they hold blessings. In fact... Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health personal growth, individuation and self-actualisation. — Carl Jung

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

You don't get character because you're successful; you build character because of the hardships you face. — Herman Edwards

Never be afraid to tread the path alone. Know which is your path and follow it wherever it may lead you; do not feel you have to follow in someone else's footsteps. — Eileen Caddy

I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be. — Albert Einstein

Leadership Development Quotes

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. - Stevie Wonder

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. — Stevie Wonder

The most valuable "currency" of any organization is the initiative and creativity of its members. Every leader has the solemn moral responsibility to develop these to the maximum in all his people. This is the leader's highest priority. — W. Edwards Deming

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. — Warren G. Bennis

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

The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. - Harvey S. Firestone

The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. — Harvey S. Firestone

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

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. — Max De Pree

People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives. — Stedman Graham

Leaders are people who can discern the inevitable and act accordingly. When people talk about business acumen, discernment is a big part of it. It's a bit like gut instinct, but a little more developed. — Donald Trump

A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment. — Dean Smith

Effective Leadership Quotes

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. — Peter Drucker

Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience. — Colin Powell

The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led. This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness. — Omar N. Bradley

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome. — John P. Kotter

To manage a system effectively, you might focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behavior taken separately. — Russell L. Ackoff

The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I'. They don't think 'I'. They think 'we'; they think 'team'. — Tom Peters

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command. — Solon

In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. — Harry S. Truman

History has shown that a country most effectively speaks with one voice. When nationally elected officials work together, build consensus, and provide leadership, the American people will follow. — Chuck Hagel

Build what you want to see in the world. — Jack Dorsey

Leadership Skills Quotes

Those who are skilled in combat do notbecome angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win. — Zhuge Liang

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

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

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

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

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

Vocational education programs have made a real difference in the lives of countless young people nationwide; they build self-confidence and leadership skills by allowing students to utilize their unique gifts and talents. — Conrad Burns

He that cannot obey, cannot command. — Benjamin Franklin

Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job. That takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure. — Arleigh Burke

My height doesn't define my skill set. To be a great quarterback, you have to have great leadership, great attention to detail and a relentless competitive nature - and I try to bring that on a daily basis. — Russell Wilson

Business Leadership 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

Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. — James A. Baldwin

I didn't follow the policies of those already in the business. If I had, I would never have made a go of it. Instead, I started out with the determination to make a better nickel chocolate bar than any of my competitors made, and I did so. — Milton S. Hershey

Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to. — Richard Branson

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. — Andrew Carnegie

There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. — Pat Riley

You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. — Steve Jobs

Leadership is not for the faint of heart - Bill Hybels

Leadership is not for the faint of heart — Bill Hybels

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. - Henry Ford

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. — Henry Ford

If you see a bandwagon, it's too late. — James Goldsmith

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More Personal Leadership Quotes

Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed. — Mwai Kibaki

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

The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first. — Robert K. Greenleaf

The best leaders are clear. They continually light the way, and in the process, let each person know that what they do makes a difference. The best test as a leader is: Do those served grow as persons; do they become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become leaders? — Robert K. Greenleaf

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. — Lao Tzu

Africans and persons of African descent must assume the primary responsibility and leadership in historical research....if we are to continue to leave practically all important historical research and writing concerning the black race to the white man, then we must be prepared to accept, uncomplainingly, the white man's point of view. — Chancellor Williams

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off. — Colin Powell

Observing many companies in action, I am unable to point to a single instance in which stunning results were gotten without the active and personal leadership of the upper managers. — Joseph M. Juran

No person among us desires any other reward for performing a brave and worthy action, but the consciousness of having served his nation. — Joseph Brant

Leadership is not magnetic personality--that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people --that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. — Peter Drucker

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

I had known, number one, that there would never be any role for me in the leadership capacity with SCLC. Why? First, I'm a woman. Also, I'm not a minister. And second, I am a person that feels that I have to maintain some degree of personal integrity and be my own barometer of what is important and what is not. — Ella Baker

Far too many people are looking for the right person, instead of trying to be the right person. — Gloria Steinem

Servant leadership always empathizes, always accepts the person, but sometimes refuses to accept some of the person's effort or performance as good enough. — Robert K. Greenleaf

When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. — Steve Jobs

I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a 'transformer' in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader. — Stephen Covey

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

Personally, I can think of no greater privilege than to lead the party I joined when I was just 16. — Nicola Sturgeon

How do you know you have won? When the energy is coming the other way and when your people are visibly growing individually and as a group. — John Harvey-Jones

A person who sins neither in thought nor deed, and is fair and just, gains enormous courage and strength. As a leader, you need courage born of integrity in order to be capable of powerful leadership. To achieve this courage, you must search your heart, and make sure your conscience is clear and your behavior is beyond reproach. — Konosuke Matsushita

Be the trouble you want to see in the world. — Joey Comeau

But the person who scored well on an SAT will not necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman. These tests do not measure character, leadership, creativity, perseverance. — William Julius Wilson

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back upon himself. — Charles De Gaulle

A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others. By John Maxwell — John C. Maxwell

I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office. — George W. Bush

I believe no amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not dishonest or greedy, people are. Thus, a business, successful or not, is merely a reflection of the character of its leadership. — S. Truett Cathy

The only job security you have today os your commitment to continuous personal improvement. — Ken Blanchard

Leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room; it’s about being open-minded and willing to learn from others. — Michael Abrashoff

The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in doing so will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price. — Eugene Habecker

I’m absolutely convinced that positive, personal reinforcement is the essence of effective leadership. — Michael Abrashoff

And the whole world, the whole world that believes in freedom, whether you're talking about personal freedom, economic freedom, religious freedom, they look to the United States for leadership; and you're part of that leadership. — Don Nickles

Every single person has leadership ability. Some step up and take them. Some don't. My answer was to step up and lead. — Wilma Mankiller

No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him. — W. H. Auden

The best thing you can give as a leader is a reason to trust. People want to trust. They're hungry for it. But they're selective. They'll only give it to a motivator, a communicator, a teacher, a real person. Someone who in good times and bad always does the right thing. — Jeffrey R. Immelt

It's true that charisma can make a person stand out for a moment, but character sets a person apart for a lifetime. — John C. Maxwell

In Conclusion

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