Best 10 Leadership Quotes

Here are 10 powerful quotes about leadership.

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

Ronald Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States. The above quote sheds light on the aspect of greatness. It explains that greatness isn’t something that can only be displayed by a leader; in fact, a great leader does not necessarily require to be great even. If he wants to see greatness, he can actually see it in his own subordinates. According to Ronald, a great leader is one who can empower others to do great things and enable them to spread it as well. 

For example, Elon Musk isn’t the sort of techie guy who could build rockets and commercialize space program. But, he had a sheer will and a strong determination to do that. So, he put together a team of tech specialists who could help him build his dream. He brought together a team that was destined to do great things. A few years down the line, they are sending rockets to space. All thanks to Elon’s dream. There are countless other similar examples like Elon Musk of Space X and Tesla out there. 

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is trying to display a powerful message here. She believes that words are mere fragments used to conversate and are easily forgettable. In fact, actions don’t persist for long either, the favors you render for someone can easily slip their mind too. If there is one thing that a person never forgets is how you make them feel altogether. Great leaders know just how to tap in that. 

Many businesses are now focusing on personalizing user-experiences. It is in the wake to optimize the overall experience of a person interacting with their business. Great leaders ensure that the quality of service rendered or the deliverance of product is done in such a way, that the customer never forgets. Therefore, they tap into the emotions of their audience through audio/visual and written content. Focusing on feelings can dramatically help businesses to grow at a remarkable pace.

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

Jack Welch is an American business author and a chemical engineer. He served as the chairman and CEO of General Electric. During his tenure at GE, he rose the company’s value up by 4000%. 

According to Jack Welch, leadership has two phases. The initial phase is the phase before when you are a leader. And when you are on the path to becoming a great leader, your entire focus is to grow yourself. You work hard to overcome barriers and hurdles, and you work hard to achieve objectives. 

The second phase is when you become a leader; it is one you shift your perception from growing yourself to growing others. Success is all about growth and if you have somehow broken that myth, it is now time for you to breathe the same essence in the personality of others who are working for you.

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

Jim Rohn was an American entrepreneur, an author, and a motivational speaker. To him, leadership was a challenge, where one should display strength, but never get rude when displaying that strength. A good leader can be kind but nobody should ever take his kindness as a weakness. To Jim Rohn being proud is rightly justified unless it is not turned to arrogance. Such traits are not easily cultivated.

To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. – Eleanor Roosevelt

The heart rules over the mind and it’s a myth that Eleanor Roosevelt broke a long time before his leadership tenure came into effect. Great leaders are great because they can handle themselves. They use their head when it came to handling tasks for which they were responsible, and when it comes to handling the tasks for others, they would put their efforts from their heart because they really do care. 

Great leaders resolve the problems of their sub-ordinates by putting their heart and soul in it. It’s what sets them apart from the rest of the world. It’s what makes them stand ten feet tall off the ground.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult. – Warren Bennis

When it comes to leadership, Warren Bennis holds a different school of thought. To him, leadership is all about getting to know who you really are. However, knowing who you are and what you can do is like a two-edged sword. It is simple as well as at the same time difficult. By knowing your own traits in leadership, you have more massive exposure to your own pros and cons. It helps you self-analyze yourself better. It enables you to make more effective decisions and enable you to achieve more. 

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

Rosalyn Carter has a different mindset when it comes to leadership. In her believes, a leader is the sort of a person who guides people in the direction they want to be directed in. But to be a great leader she holds a different belief. In her opinion, a great leader is one who carves the pathway for his/her sub-ordinates through their own goal. The idea is to motivate people to tread the same steps she follows, but it’s his/her duty to make sure that the path is like a bed of roses so they can easily walk it. 

The sign of a great leader is that he or she makes it easier for her subordinates to achieve the goals.

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

An Austrian born American management consultant and educator, Peter Drucker has made significant contributions in creating the philosophical and practical foundation of modern business corporations. With his vast amount of experience in the field of management, he has created some real standards of leadership. According to Peter, management is all about doing things the right way; however, when management engulfs itself into the arms of leadership, it is not just limited to doing things the right way, but it becomes a matter of doing the right thing, the right way for everlasting results.

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

There aren’t many individuals who exude the perfect essence of leadership in our society; however, some among ourselves have successfully found the true meaning. One among many who has sought the true meaning of leadership is none other but Lao Tzu. According to him, great leaders never take credit for what they do; but in fact, these are the people who work hard to empower their sub-ordinates so they are capable to do big things in life themselves. They only like to lead from behind the curtain.

Such are the leaders who displays the perfect essence of leadership. And when the time of success comes their way, they simply step aside and let their sub-ordinates take the podium.

It’s because they understand. It was their sub-ordinates hard-work what lead them there. So they best allow them to commemorate the moment and feel joyous. They show that they are the true leaders.

There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment. – Orison Swett Marden

Orison is a man of honor. During his time, he discussed a lot of principles surrounding common-sense and virtues. He made a man of himself who is well-rounded and quite successful in life. The quote shows a side of his that he seldom showed. In his beliefs, good leadership helps spread the sunshine, a cheerful resentment and a whole lot more. To him, good leadership is a powerful investment that can create a remarkable impact if it’s brewed up with the right ingredients of positivity.