Leadership requires the courage to make decisions that will benefit the next generation. — Alan Autry
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
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
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
If a group of people - leaders - can convince a group of folk who barely have a pot to piss in that the rich shouldn't be taxed-- THAT is leadership! — Lewis Black
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. — Warren G. Bennis
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
Character matters; leadership descends from character. — Rush Limbaugh
Leadership is about persuasion, presentation and people skills. — Shiv Khera
The leader sees leadership as responsibility rather than as rank and privilege. — Peter Drucker
The ultimate test of practical leadership is the realization of intended, real change that meets people's enduring needs. — James MacGregor Burns
The very exercise of leadership fosters capacity for it. — Cyril Falls
Leadership is an elusive concept, hard to describe and impossible to prescribe. It is more evident in its absence, so that when leadership is needed, its lack is sorely felt. — Patrick Dodson
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
Strong leaders understand that action cures indecision — Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Short Political Leadership Quotes
Preparing our city to achieve its destiny will require strong leadership. — Thomas Menino
Leadership is not for the faint of heart — Bill Hybels
Education is the mother of leadership. — Wendell L. Willkie
Leaders make things possible. Exceptional leaders make them inevitable. — Lance Morrow
The only safe ship in a storm is leadership. — Faye Wattleton
Leaders can be wrong - but they can not be unclear. — Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Leaders make decisions that create the future they desire. — Mike Murdock
Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy — Sun Tzu
Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts. — Erskine Bowles
Communication is the real work of leadership. — Nitin Nohria
You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it. — Boris Yeltsin
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.
Leadership Political Leader Quotes
We're not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth - not most days, but every day. — Ann Richards
Trump's biggest failure as a political leader is that he sees the worst in people, and he encourages the worst in people. — James David Vance
As a woman leader, I thought I brought a different kind of leadership. I was interested in women's issues, in bringing down the population growth rate... as a woman, I entered politics with an additional dimension - that of a mother. — Benazir Bhutto
Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.
I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics. — Barack Obama
When a leader is in the Democratic Party he's a boss. When he's in the Republican Party he's nothing but a leader. — Harry S. Truman
Defeat in itself was part and parcel of the great gambling game of politics. A man who could not accept it and try again was not of the stuff of which leaders are made. — Agnes Sligh Turnbull
Leadership is an action, not a position.
The urgent need today is to develop and support leaders on every level of government who are independent of the bossism of every political machine - the big-city machine, the liberal Democrat machine, and the Republican kingmaker machine. — Phyllis Schlafly
We don't have good leadership. We don't have the right people. Everything's politically correct. We have a country that's lost its way. It's going to change. — Donald Trump
True leadership will not be measured by the ability to muzzle dissent, or to intimidate and harass political opponents at home. The people of the world want change. They will not long tolerate those who are on the wrong side of history. — Barack Obama
We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not. — Ralph Peters
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
Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.
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
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 simply begins with the courage to be yourself. So everyone else can be, too.
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
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
You see things and you say, 'Why?'. But I dream things and I say, 'Why not?'. — George Bernard Shaw
Political Leaders Quotes
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
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
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
Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America. — Bernie Sanders
All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing. — Moliere
Harvard is first and foremost a university and not a consulting operation, and our job here is to teach and to research and to create knowledge on Asia in conjunction and in cooperation with scholars as well as with political, intellectual, and cultural leaders in Asia. — William C. Kirby
Harvard is first and foremost a university and not a consulting operation, and our job here is to teach and to research and to create knowledge on Asia in conjunction and in cooperation with scholars as well as with political, intellectual, and cultural leaders in Asia. — William Kirby
People listen to what their political leaders are telling them, and my view is both that Trump is tapping into some racially ugly attitudes, but also that he is leading people to racially ugly attitudes. — James David Vance
We must unite. Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any government. — Ban Ki-moon
Democratic Leadership Quotes
The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the ear down. — Huey Long
Is the Labour Party to remain a democratic party in which the right of free criticism and free debate is not merely tolerated but encouraged? Or are the rank and file of the party to be bludgeoned or cowed into an uncritical subservience towards the leadership? — Michael Foot
We had the opposition of virtually the entire Democratic leadership in every state in this country. — Bernie Sanders
The national Democratic leadership is going so far left, they've left America. Don't let them bury the American dream in their graveyard of gloom and envy. — Ronald Reagan
I believe that the will of the people is resolved by a strong leadership. Even in a democratic society, events depend on a strong leadership with a strong power of persuasion, and not on the opinion of the masses. — Yitzhak Shamir
The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is legitimate only to the degree that it serves defensible poltical goals. Thus implies a constant exercise of due diligence. — Michael Ignatieff
From a parent's right to know what their children are doing, to protecting citizens across the country from the growing threat of gang violence, the House Democrat leadership is simply out to lunch. — Virginia Foxx
In short, there are certain fundamental requisites for wise and resolute democratic leadership. It must build on hope, not on fear; on honesty, not on falsehood; on justice, not on injustice; on public tranquility, not on violence; on freedom, not on enslavement. — Edmund Ezra Day
When Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990, I felt America's post-Cold War commitment to national principles and international leadership was on the line. I was dismayed by the wide opposition among my fellow Democrats. To me, their position was wrong. — Joe Lieberman
I speak directly to the people, and I know that the people of California want to have better leadership. They want to have great leadership. They want to have somebody that will represent them. And it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, young or old. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
Good Leadership Quotes
Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. — Stevie Wonder
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
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
Good generals select intelligent officers, thoughtful advisors, and brave subordinates. They oversee their troops like a fierce tiger with wings. — Zhuge Liang
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
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
True 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
The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence. — Walt Disney
Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders. — Diane Nash
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. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. — Douglas MacArthur
The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. — Warren G. Bennis
The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. — Warren G. Bennis
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
Leadership is standing with your people. People say you have to live to fight another day, but sometimes you have to show you are a true leader. — Leymah Gbowee
In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. — Harry S. Truman
True leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. — J. Oswald Sanders
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
A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. — Witter Bynner
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
I can't give you the sunset, but I can give you the night. — Erin McCarthy
Build what you want to see in the world. — Jack Dorsey
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
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
Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right. — Lao Tzu
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
He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. — Lao Tzu
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
Definition Of Leadership Quotes
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. — Bernard Law Montgomery
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. — Max De Pree
Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned. — Harold Geneen
A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him. — Lao Tzu
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
To me, a leader is a visionary that energizes others. This definition of leadership has two key dimensions: a) creating the vision of the future, and b) inspiring others to make the vision a reality. — Vince Lombardi
Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success — Stephen Covey
The leader works in the open and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives. — Theodore Roosevelt
Continuing to believe the same thing, even in the face of new evidence to the contrary, is the definition of insanity - except in politics where it's called leadership. — Scott Adams
I definitely wasn’t cool in high school. I really wasn’t. I did belong to many of the clubs and was in leadership on yearbook and did the musical theater route, so I had friends in all areas, but I certainly did not know what to wear, did not know how to do my hair, all those things. — Dianna Agron
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. — Colin Powell
A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible. — Polybius
Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down. — James Mattis
Following is one of the most underrated aspects of leadership.... I have seen many a good [military unit] underachieve, because someone...thought the commander was incompetent, and quietly worked to undermine his authority. — William H. McRaven
Our military deserves leadership that matches their service and patriotism. Getting our troops the pay raise they deserve is the very least we can do to show how much we value everything they do for us. — John F. Kerry
It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority. — Benjamin Franklin
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man. — Pat Paulsen
When we get a chance to take part in elections, I am ready to fight for leading positions, including in the presidential vote. — Alexei Navalny
I think we're due for younger presidents. I'm tired of them always being in their 70s. — MrBeast
If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system. — Marie Lu
The best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. — Harry S. Truman
To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men. — Ella Wheeler Wilcox
It is the first time in the history of Rwanda that political change in the highest leadership of the country has taken place in peace and security. — Paul Kagame
I'm absolutely, utterly, and completely certain that God wouldn't be homophobic. I'd much rather go to hell - I really would much rather go to hell - than go to a homophobic heaven. — Desmond Tutu
To use the dollar as a tool of foreign policy struggle is one of the biggest strategic mistakes made by the U.S political leadership. It is a stupid mistake. Does anyone in the United States realize this? What are you doing? You are cutting yourself off. Even the United States allies are now downsizing their dollar reserves. — Vladimir Putin
We are not seeking revolution. We just want democracy. — Joshua Wong
Divorced from ethics, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique. — James MacGregor Burns
I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he'd taken a poll in Egypt? What would Jesus Christ have preached if he'd taken a poll in Israel? Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll? — Harry S. Truman
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. — Simon Sinek
Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals, the society in which they live and the economy in which they work. Most critically, our responsibility in this parliament is how that power is used: whether it is used for the benefit of the few or the many. — Kevin Rudd
Comrade Deng Xiaoping - along with other party elders - gave the party leadership their firm and full support to put down the political disturbance using forceful measures. — Li Peng
Standardized tests are an indicator of the kind of service taxpayers are receiving - and whether schools, educators and policymakers are doing their jobs. In the United States, taxpayers spend almost $600 billion annually on public education, so it's not unreasonable to ask what all that money is producing. In fact, it's irresponsible not to know. — Michelle Rhee
Power tends to corrupt. But the power in Washington resides in Congress, if it wants to use it. It can do anything-it can stop the Vietnam War. It can make its will felt, if it can ever get its act together to do anything. — Antonin Scalia
Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation's highest office. — James David Vance
Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly. — Nelson Mandela
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. — Molly Ivins
Some things transcend politics and policy and the lust for power. Truth, honesty, integrity, decency and fairness are immutable values. They are the ethical substance of life. They ought to be cherished. To sell them out is to sell one's soul. — Michael Short
Our policy is simple: We are not going to betray our friends, reward the enemies of freedom, or permit fear and retreat to become American policies — especially in this hemisphere. None of the four wars in my lifetime came about because we were too strong. — Ronald Reagan
...there are some who are naturally fitted for philosophy and political leadership, while the rest should follow their lead and let philosophy alone. — Plato
There is one lesson from the past, in particular, that we cannot afford to ignore: You cannot make progress on gender equality or broader human development, without safeguarding women's reproductive health and rights. — Hillary Clinton
I don't like people who are in politics for themselves and not for others. You want that, you can go into show business. — Elvis Presley
There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud. — Edward Kennedy
Patriots don't go to Russia. They don't seek asylum in Cuba. They don't seek asylum in Venezuela. They fight their cause here. Edward Snowden is a coward. He is a traitor. And he has betrayed his country. And if he wants to come home tomorrow to face the music, he can do so. — John F. Kerry
We're at the end of an era of failed leadership. We have been led by a divider [Barack Obama] who has sliced and diced the electorate, pitting American against American for political purposes. — Rick Perry
If you care about real change, deep structural change, that involves politics, and all politics is friction. It takes leadership, and the willingness to create that friction, that leads to social change. — Nick Hanauer
There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away. The British people can face peril or misfortune with fortitude and buoyancy, but they bitterly resent being deceived or finding that those responsible for their affairs are themselves dwelling in a fool's paradise. — Winston Churchill
The things journalists should pay attention to are the issues the political leadership agrees on, rather than to their supposed antagonisms. — Michael Pollan
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