142 Leadership Quotes For Inspiration

In the fast-paced world of leadership, finding moments of inspiration can be the key to navigating challenges and empowering your team. Whether you're an experienced leader or just stepping into a leadership role, the wisdom captured in a single quote can provide clarity and motivation. In this post, we've gathered a handpicked selection of 142 leadership quotes that offer profound insights and encouragement. These quotes are not just words but catalysts to ignite your passion and guide you on your leadership journey. Let's delve into this collection and discover the powerful words that have inspired leaders across the ages.

1. “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” - Woodrow Wilson

2. “Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” - George S. Patton

3. “Bailey might not have great intelligence or abilities, but his whole aim, thought and study was that of the born leader--to look out for himself; and he did it with that born-leader's confidence and intensity that draws along the ordinary uncertain man, who soon confuses his own interest and his own safety with that of the leader.” - James Gould Cozzens

4. “In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are.” - Max Depree

5. “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” - Anonymous

6. “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.” - J.K. Rowling

7. “A leader must lead. Where others see obstacles, he must see opportunities. When others see problems, he must see possibilities ... Civilization is not built on a negation but on an affirmation- an affirmation of the bright and promising possibilities that the future holds for those who are enterprising enough to pursue them.” - David J Vaughan

8. “Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Startwith what they know. Build with what they have. But with the bestleaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people willsay 'We have done this ourselves.” - Lao Tzu

9. “Imagine a place where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude every day.” - Stephen C. Lundin

10. “The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “Unless today is well lived, tomorrow is not important.” - Alan Sakowitz

12. “In a team setting, leadership is shared by a community of people, which counters the tendency for pastors to form congregations in their own images.” - Adam S. McHugh

13. “We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” - Whoopi Goldberg

14. “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.” - Theodore M. Hesburgh

15. “Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to a mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on a rock." - Frankenstein p115” - Mary Shelley

16. “A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.” - Brandon Sanderson

17. “They accepted my donation, so they're aware they'd better serve my interests or I'll buy some leadership that will.” - Tom Robbins

18. “El error más grande al caer es quedarnos en el piso.” - Victor Manuel Rivera

19. “¡Mientras más sucia esté tu Biblia, más limpio estará tu corazón!” - Victor Manuel Rivera

20. “Truly powerful people have great humility. They do not try to impress, they do not try to be influential. They simply are. People are magnetically drawn to them. They are most often very silent and focused, aware of their core selves. ... They never persuade, nor do they use manipulation or aggressiveness to get their way. They listen. If there is anything they can offer to assist you, they offer it; if not, they are silent.” - Sanaya Roman

21. “Life of any real value or substance is not formed during good times merely enjoyed.” - John Paul warren

22. “Freedom is not doing what we want, but what we should.” - Victor Manuel Rivera

23. “The dirtier your Bible, the cleaner your heart!” - Victor Manuel Rivera

24. “No great manager or leader ever fell from heaven, its learned not inherited.” - Tom Northup

25. “A leader should demonstrate his thoughts and opinions through his actions, not through his words.” - Jack Weatherford

26. “Be with a leader when he is right, stay with him when he is still right, but, leave him when he is wrong.” - Abraham Lincoln

27. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” - William Arthur Ward

28. “A vision we give to others of who and what they could become has power when it echoes what the spirit has already spoken into their souls.” - Larry Crabb

29. “If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.” - Carl von Clausewitz

30. “Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.” - Peter Drucker

31. “...[I]ron discipline does not preclude but presupposes criticism and contest of opinion within the Party. Least of all does it mean that discipline must be 'blind'. On the contrary, iron discipline does not preclude but presupposes conscious and voluntary submission, for only conscious discipline can be truly iron discipline.” - Joseph Stalin

32. “...A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.” - Brandon Sanderson

33. “Cream always rises to the top...so do good leaders".” - John Paul warren

34. “You accomplish exactly as much as the people who serve you decide you'll accomplish, and nothing more.” - Orson Scott Card

35. “Power isn’t control at all — power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” - Beth Revis

36. “I don't care if you're black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Simple as that.” - Robert Michaels MD - 2007 - Graduation Speaker

37. “I refuse to live life with unsettled differences”.” - John Paul warren

38. “Exercising leadership is an expression of your aliveness... But when you cover yourself up, you risk losing something as well. In the struggle to save yourself, you can give up too many of those qualities that are the essence of being alive, like innocence, curiosity, and compassion.” - Ronald A. Heifetz

39. “Diplomacy is the delicate weapon of the civilized warrior."- Hun, A. T.” - Robert Lynn Asprin

40. “It seems to me after a fellow has been mutinied against three or four times, there is something to it besides bad luck.” - Naomi Novik

41. “Whoever is under a man's power is under his protection, too.” - David Schwartz

42. “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. ” - Henry Kissinger

43. “There's got to be more to life than just living," Foyle said to the robot."Then find it for yourself, sir. Don't ask the world to stop moving because you have doubts.""Why can't we all move forward together?""Because you're all different. You're not lemmings. Some must lead, and hope that the rest will follow.""Who leads?""The men who must...driven men, compelled men.""Freak men.""You're all freaks, sir. But you always have been freaks. Life is a freak. That's its hope and glory.""Thank you very much.""My pleasure, sir.""You've saved the day.""Always a lovely day somewhere, sir," the robot beamed. Then it fizzed, jangled, and collapsed.” - Alfred Bester

44. “Tis skill, not strength, that governs a ship” - Thomas Fuller

45. “Faith moves mountains, love transforms hearts.” - John Paul warren

46. “Men of God are not just born, they are formed” - John Paul warren

47. “Be your self at your personal best” - John Paul warren

48. “Rulers are not anointed. They are created by the void of self-mastery.” - T.F. Hodge

49. “A critical element in nearly all effective social movements is leadership. For it is through smart, persistent, and authoritative leaders that a movement generates the appropriate concepts and language that captures the frustration, anger, or fear of the group's members and places responsibility where it is warranted.” - David E. Wilkins

50. “Through real-life stories, Kristin Kaufman illustrates the core idea of being present in the moment and opening oneself up to new ideas in order to become an authentic leader in life.” - Stephen R. Covey

51. “Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.” - Warren Bennis

52. “Great Groups need to know that the person at the top will fight like a tiger for them.” - Warren Bennis

53. “I believe it is the duty of each of us to act as if the fate of the world depended on him. Admittedly, one man by himself cannot do the job. However, one man can make a difference. We must live for the future of the human race, and not for our own comfort or success.” - Hyman G. Rickover

54. “Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” - Margaret Thatcher

55. “...There are also those who inadvertently grant power to another man's words by continuously trying to spite him. If a man gets to the point where he can simply say, 'The sky is blue,' and people indignantly rush up trying to refute him saying, 'No, the sky is light blue,' then, whether they realize it or not, he has become an authority figure even to such adversaries.” - Criss Jami

56. “It was not only that he was a great man, but, oh, there was such fun in being led by him.” - Edward Renehan

57. “Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die.” - Frank Herbert

58. “The power to lead is the power to mislead, and the power to mislead is the power to destroy.” - Thomas S. Monson

59. “Engage the enemy more closely.” - Charles Faddis

60. “Leaders lead when they take positions, when they connect with their tribes, and when they help the tribe connect to itself.” - Seth Godin

61. “If you are not extreme, then people will take shortcuts because they don't fear you.” - Marco Pierre White

62. “Humiliation is the only ladder to honoring God's Kingdom.” - Andrew Murray

63. “You have a life; make a success of it.” - Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

64. “You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you're not passionate enough from the start, you'll never stick it out.” - Steve Jobs

65. “The present representative of the Dedlocks is an excellent master. He supposes all his dependents to be utterly bereft of individual characters, intentions, or opinions, and is persuaded that he was born to supersede the necessity of their having any. If he were to make a discovery to the contrary, he would be simply stunned — would never recover himself, most likely, except to gasp and die.” - Charles Dickens

66. “An educator will teach the students. An Educarer will reach the students.” - Tanya R. Liverman

67. “You don't need to go running from pillar to post looking for what God looks like.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

68. “So cheer up Beloved; for your God is able, He is the maker of all things.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

69. “God is not a thief. That which steals, kills and destroys is the devil - not God!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

70. “Man is like a bride unto God. God is jealous when man veers away from Him.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

71. “God wants all man's attention, thoughts and focus to be on Him.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

72. “Don't say negative things about your spouse and children.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

73. “Be a King. Dare to be Different, dare to manifest your greatness.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

74. “Leadership is for those who love the public good and are endowed and trained to administer it.” - Thornton Wilder

75. “How was your day? If your answer was "fine," then I don't think you were leading.” - Seth Godin

76. “Let your passion become a passionate pursuit of Me. And as you follow, the sheep will follow.' (John 21:20-22)” - Swindoll Charles R.

77. “Peter's destiny lay along a different path from John's. And your calling is unlike anyone else's. But the call remains the same: "Follow Me!” - Swindoll Charles R.

78. “After Peter came to recognize his own inadequacy, his utter inability to fulfill his destiny apart from obedience to his only true responsibility, he became a rock-solid leader. As his story unfolds in the book of acts, we can clearly see that when Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and followed Him, others followed to. And they followed by the thousands. Needed today: more Peters.” - Swindoll Charles R.

79. “Winning requires reaching inside of yourself for that extra gear to accelerate challenges.” - Orrin Woodward

80. “A person who cannot handle setbacks will never handle victories either.” - Orrin Woodward

81. “If I have to dangle myself in the water like a freaking minnow, I will. Those people don't deserve this type of treatment. ~Willow Mosby (Exposing ELE)” - Rebecca Gober

82. “Strategy was first used in Athens (508 BC) to describe the art of leadership used by the ten generals on the war council. Some argue for the more creative, human side, while others argue for the more analytic side of strategy.” - Max Mckeown

83. “A visitor asked Lincoln what good news he could take home from an audience with the august executive. The president spun a story about a machine that baffled a chess champion by beating him thrice. The stunned champ cried while inspecting the machine, "There's a man in there!"Lincoln's good news, he confided from the heights of leadership, was that there was in fact a man in there.” - Shelby Foote

84. “You show me a school with a principal behind the desk, and I'll show you a school without principal leadership. (Quoting Baruti Kafele)” - William Sterrett

85. “If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone being cruel to another human being, take it personally. Take it personally because it is personal!” - Brené Brown

86. “A true leader is not meant to be greeted with unanimous praise by his people. A leader is meant to be questioned, to be suspect, to be hated. If he is not, then one can easily assume that either he has not challenged his abilities as a leader by making a decision that creates a split between the people, or he is forcing his subjects to bow before him.” - Evan Meekins

87. “The only way to follow your path is to take the lead.” - Joe Peterson

88. “Every age fraught with discord and danger seems to spawn a leader meant only for that age, a political giant whose absence, in retrospect, seems inconceivable when the history of that age is written.” - Dan Simmons

89. “Church leaders raised on rationalism lead ministries where the supernatural, the Vertical, is suppressed and where God Himself is at best an observer and certainly seldom, if ever, and obvious participant in church.” - James MacDonald

90. “If you don’t know the men at your back by name, don’t be surprised if they won’t follow you into battle. On the other hand, don’t be surprised if they will, either, because there are countless other factors you must take into account. Leadership is a slippery commodity, not easily manufactured or understood.” - Richard K Morgan

91. “Each day you are leading by example. Whether you realize it or not or whether it's positive or negative, you are influencing those around you.” - Rob Liano

92. “Give up the idea that by ruling over others you can do any good to them. But you can do just as much as you can in the case of the plant: you can supply the growing seed with the materials for the making up of its body, bringing to it the earth, the water, the air, that it wants. It will take all that it wants by its own nature, it will assimilate and grow by its own nature.” - Swami Vivekananda

93. “Since then, I've observed that a charismatic personality who's willing to take risks only for personal gain does not make a good leader. Principle-centered leadership is based on selfless courage, practical wisdom and moral objectives. It's based on honesty and focused on achieving what is best for others, whether they understand it or not. Consequently, great leaders are not always popular, but they are consistent.” - Kenneth E. Behring

94. “Every coach, every executive, every leader: They all know right from wrong. Even those Enron guys. When someone uncovers a scandal in their company, I don't think they can say, "I didn't know that was going on." They're just saying they're too dumb to do their job! And if they really are too dumb, then why are they getting paid millions of dollars to do it? They know what's going on.” - Bo Schembechler

95. “Today’s headlines and history’s judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter” - Condoleezza Rice in her memoir No Higher Honour

96. “Recognizing and accepting both the responsibilities and the opportunities leadership offers you is a significant step in your development as a leader.” - Kevin Eikenberry

97. “Teamwork is the secret that make common people achieve uncommon result.” - Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

98. “An average man is egoistic, proud and has strong self esteem. They always require partners who massage their ego not those who will drag their ego to the mud.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

99. “Ladies, get confident bout yourselves, build up your self-worth and esteem, love yourself and be proud of your achievements and your man will adore you for life.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

100. “Courage is the ability to execute tasks and assignments without fear or intimidation.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

101. “A responsible woman is one who sees opportunities of service and responds to them quickly. In her dwells the ability to see and respond to opportunities.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

102. “Seek the Blame; Give Away the Fame” - Miles Anthony Smith

103. “Selfish Apologies Aren’t Apologies at All” - Miles Anthony Smith

104. “Smaller Is Smarter: Hint, Bigger Is Not” - Miles Anthony Smith

105. “I regularly invite educators and leaders to send me their questions, and hundreds of them do so every month. The most common question, however, is one to which my response is probably most disappointing. The question is “How do I get better buy-in from my staff before I implement some critically needed changes?” The answer is “You don’t.” - Douglas B. Reeves

106. “Ladies, get confident about yourselves, build up your self-worth and esteem, love yourself and be proud of your achievements and your man will adore you for life.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

107. “Address the solvable first, instructs the father by way of teaching his son crisis management. That way, he counsels, there is less distraction to tackle more daunting issues.” - Brian Herbert

108. “A leader must inspire or his team will expire.” - Orrin Woodward

109. “Doing nothing requires effort. Over time, that effort is greater than the effort necessary to improve, or move somewhere better. The trick is to redirect energy.” - Max Mckeown

110. “Leaders must see the dream in their mind before they will accomplish the dream with their team.” - Orrin Woodward

111. “The day you are not solving problems or are not up to your butt in problems is probably a day you are no longer leading. If your desk is clean and no one is bringing you problems, you should be very worried. It means that people don't think you can solve them or don't want to hear about them. Or, far worse, it means they don't think you care.” - Colin Powell

112. “Leaders know that the fruit of life is out on a limb.” - Orrin Woodward

113. “Leaders always choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong.” - Orrin Woodward

114. “Your greatest area of leadership often comes out of your greatest area of pain and weakness.” - Wayde Goodall

115. “Leaders speak truth into people who believe lies about themselves.” - Orrin Woodward

116. “You don't feel like a winner and then do; you do like a winner and then feel.” - Orrin Woodward

117. “One thing I've learned in life is that I can speak for myself, that I can fight my own battles. I don't like anyone telling me how I'm supposed to feel or think or what I'm supposed to say.” - Hope Solo

118. “If people are not making mistakes, they are not trying new things. If they are making the same mistake twice, they are not learning new things!” - Walter C. Wright Jr.

119. “The first job of a leader—at work or at home—is to inspire trust. It’s to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships, and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility.” - Stephen M.R. Covey

120. “Leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a process, not an outcome. (quoting John Donahoe)” - Bill George

121. “The more varied the environments in which you exercise your leadership gift, the stronger that gift will become. You will become a far more effective leader.” - Bill Hybels

122. “Being willing to listen to others and let them speak into our lives is a critical attitude leaders must have. It is not weakness to get good advice - it is strength to seek it out.” - Wayde Goodall

123. “Leadership is not a solo sport; if you lead alone, you are not leading.” - D.A. Blankinship

124. “Sustainable change, after all, depends not upon compliance with external mandates or blind adherence to regulation, but rather upon the pursuit of the greater good.” - Douglas B. Reeves

125. “If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat! Just get on.” - Sheryl Sandberg

126. “Open Leadership: the act of engaging others to influence and execute a coordinated and harmonious conclusion. ” - Dan Pontefract

127. “God takes us through life`s journey. Always nudging our Spirits to go for plus and shun the minus.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

128. “Ride higher in life unto the higher life.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

129. “Move forward for forward is progress but circles are movement.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

130. “Life is beautiful if you take the best option.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

131. “Decide to be rich! Hate poverty strong.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

132. “Avoid conflicts, Embrace cordiality.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

133. “Have the best course for all your actions.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

134. “Desire to give and not always receive.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

135. “The giver is the blessed! The receiver stands still.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

136. “Without growth, organizations struggle to add talented people. Without talented people, organizations struggle to grow.” - Ray Attiyah

137. “Leadership is all about caring, daring and sharing!Caring for people, Daring to Act fearlessly,& Sharing the success with all!” - Sujit Lalwani

138. “African leaders should not turn the continent into a giant collector of donations and loans from wealthy nations—they must find other plausible means to help established their economic security so as to minimize poverty. This incoherent blunder on the mainland must be scrutinized.” - Duop Chak Wuol

139. “Divorce = Rebirth: forget the past, replan your life, improve your appearance & REJUVENATE!” - Rossana Condoleo

140. “Divorce is the start point for a brand new life. Don't lose the chance to redesign it upon your dreams!” - Rossana Condoleo

141. “There is no better manager than a natural born one.” - Rossana Condoleo

142. “People. Products. Profits. In that order.” - Ken Goldstein