135 Powerful Leaders Quotes

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

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Famous Powerful 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 Powerful Leaders Quotes

  • My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders. — Ella Baker
  • Great leaders encourage and enable others to become great. — Susan McCann
  • Throughout history, great leaders have known the power of humor. — Allen Klein
  • Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination. — Warren G. Bennis
  • Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader. — Tacitus

Powerful Leaders Image Quotes

Powerful leaders quote You have the power to say - This is not how my story will end.
You have the power to say - This is not how my story will end.

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

Powerful 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.

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

Powerful leaders quote You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. Tru
You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic. If words control your that means everyone can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.

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

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 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

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

There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader. — Rudy Giuliani

Successful Leaders Quotes

We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are. — John C. Maxwell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Powerful Leaders

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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 Powerful Leaders Quotes

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

Remember, the best leaders are those who understand that their power flows through them, not from them. — Ken Blanchard

Come the millennium, month 12, In the home of greatest power, The village idiot will come forth To be acclaimed the leader. — Nostradamus

I say to all those leaders, do not look the other way. Do not hesitate... It is within your power to avoid a genocide of humanity. — Nelson Mandela

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

We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly. — Margaret Atwood

Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today. — Robert McKee

The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve. — John Stott

We overthrew democratically elected leaders in the Western hemisphere during the Cold War because we were unhappy with their policies. This is the way great powers behave... We went around the world trying to create liberal democracies. Our main focus, of course, was in the greater Middle East, and you know how well that worked out. Not very well. — John Mearsheimer

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. — Plutarch

There will be three cats, kin of your kin, with the power of the stars in their paws. They will find a fourth, and the battle between light and dark will be won. A new leader will rise from the shadows of his death, and the clan will survive beyond thge memories of his memeries. This is how it has always been and alway will be. — Erin Hunter

In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people... they no longer can lead solely based on positional power. — Ken Blanchard

My heart trembles when I reflect that God is just — Thomas Jefferson

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

The power is detested, and miserable the life, of him who wishes to be feared rather than to be loved. — Cornelius Nepos

A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done. — Ralph Lauren

Now one of the changes that must come to Africa is the idea of limited rule, I mean in term of how long one leader can stay in power. The era of president for life is not gone yet but it is on its way out and that is one of the problems with Mugabe and others. — Chinua Achebe

Never underestimate the power of people who are determined to change life and work with all their might towards it. They are the ones who turn into leaders and revolutionize the world around us. — Peter White

In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don't mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably the most dangerous people seek the power. While in the parlors of indignation the right-thinking citizen brings his heart to a boil. (p. 51) — Saul Bellow

It’s absolutely right that we scrutinise the leaders who after all are going to be in a position of great power. — Liz Truss

For out of such an ungoverned populace one is usually chosen as a leader, someone bold and unscrupulous who curries favor with the people by giving them other men's property. To such a man the protection of public office is given, and continually renewed. He emerges as a tyrant over the very people who raised him to power. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. — Margaret Thatcher

So many idealistic political movements for a better world have ended in mass-murdering dictatorships. Giving leaders enough power to create 'social justice' is giving them enough power to destroy all justice, all freedom, and all human dignity. — Thomas Sowell

The future will belong to the nature-smart-those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need. — Richard Louv

Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. — Rosabeth Moss Kanter

The Iranian leaders describe the American government exactly the way American analysts describe the Iranian one, as an opaque, factionalized system with competing power centers, over which the president exercises very limited authority. — Ali Khamenei

The Muslim leaders swallow the advice of the Western powers and bodies like the IMF and World Bank, even when it is bad for their countries and they know this. — Abu Bakar Bashir

The leader builds dispersed and diverse leadership - distributing leadership to the outermost edges of the circle to unleash the power of shared responsibility. — Frances Hesselbein

The president is the country's scapegoat more than the country's leader; the president has as much power as we think the president has. Whoever has the most money is the puppet master. — Eric Andre

As Ive progressed in my career, Ive come to appreciate -- and really value -- the other attributes that define a companys success beyond the P&L: great leadership, long-term financial strength, ethical business practices, evolving business strategies, sound governance, powerful brands, values-based decision-making. — Ursula Burns

Believe in the power of your own voice. The more noise you make, the more accountability you demand from your leaders, the more our world will change for the better. — Al Gore

True leadership is when you are willing to risk your power and voice so that all of ours can be heard. — Justin Timberlake

The leader is one who can organize the experience of the group ... and thus get the full power of the group. The leader makes the team. This is pre-eminently the leadership quality - the ability to organize all the forces there are in an enterprise and make them serve a common purpose. — Mary Parker Follett

I've always felt fine about Putin. I think he is a strong leader, he's a powerful leader, he's represented his country the way - the country is being represented. — Donald Trump

Leaders have the privilege and responsibility of going first. The most powerful way that anybody can lead is by example. — Michael Hyatt

By their own admission, leaders of the Republican Revolution of 1994 think their greatest mistake was overlooking the power of the veto. They gave the impression they were somehow in charge when they weren't. — Mitch McConnell

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

Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas. — Kurt Vonnegut

When leaders take back power, when they act as heroes and saviors, they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and deeply stressed. — Margaret J. Wheatley

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