31 Leadership Class Quotes

In the dynamic world of leadership, inspiration and wisdom often come from those who have walked the path before us. Whether you’re stepping into a new leadership role or seeking to refine your current skills, a powerful quote can offer a fresh perspective, ignite your motivation, and provide guidance when challenges arise. This post brings together a curated collection of the top 31 leadership class quotes, each carefully selected to resonate with both emerging and experienced leaders. Prepare to be inspired, enlightened, and equipped with timeless insights that can transform your approach to leadership.

1. “A manager’s emotional commitment is the ultimate trigger for their discretionary effort, worth more than financial, intellectual & physical commitment combined.” - Stan Slap

2. “Emotional commitment means unchecked, unvarnished devotion to the company and its success; any legendary organizational performance is the result of emotionally committed managers.” - Stan Slap

3. “What companies want most from their managers is what they most stop their managers from giving. What managers want most from their jobs is what they most stop themselves from getting.” - Stan Slap

4. “A company can’t buy true emotional commitment from managers no matter how much it’s willing to spend; this is something too valuable to have a price tag. And yet a company can’t afford not to have it.” - Stan Slap

5. “The company may have captured their minds, their bodies and their pockets, but that doesn’t mean it’s captured their hearts.” - Stan Slap

6. “Try not to take this the wrong way, but your brain is smarter than you are.” - Stan Slap

7. “The worst thing in your own development as a leader is not to do it wrong. It’s to do it for the wrong reasons.” - Stan Slap

8. “The purpose of leadership is to change the world around you in the name of your values, so you can live those values more fully.” - Stan Slap

9. “Imagine a world where what you say synchs up, not sinks down.” - Stan Slap

10. “The myth of management is that your personal values are irrelevant or inappropriate at work.” - Stan Slap

11. “When you’re a manager, you work for your company. When you’re a leader, your company works for you.” - Stan Slap

12. “Instead of waiting for a leader you can believe in, try this: Become a leader you can believe in.” - Stan Slap

13. “Being relevant to your customers only when you’re trying to sell something means choosing to be irrelevant to them for the rest of the time.” - Stan Slap

14. “You don't have to fear your own company being perceived as human. You want it. People don't trust companies; they trust people.” - Stan Slap

15. “There will be plenty of other problems in the future. This is as good a time as any to get ahead of them.” - Stan Slap

16. “Success means: I want to know the work I do means something to somebody and helps make the world, if not a Better place, not a worse one.” - Stan Slap

17. “Success for Managers means: I want to be in healthy relationships. I want a real connection with people I spend so much time with.” - Stan Slap

18. “Hard-core results come from igniting the massive power of emotional commitment. Are your people committed?” - Stan Slap

19. “Your values are your essence: an undistorted mirror showing you at your pure, attractive best.” - Stan Slap

20. “Careful now: even a financially rewarding, intellectually stimulating work environment isn’t the same as living your own values.” - Stan Slap

21. “Management controls performance in people because it impacts skills; it’s a matter of monitoring, analyzing and directing.” - Stan Slap

22. “Leadership creates performance in people because it impacts willingness; it’s a matter of modeling, inspiring, and reinforcing.” - Stan Slap

23. “Leaders are people who know exactly who they are. They know exactly where they want to go. They’re hell-bent on getting there.” - Stan Slap

24. “Leaders make a lot of mistakes but they admit those mistakes to themselves and change because of them.” - Stan Slap

25. “When you’re not on your own agenda, you’re prey to the agenda of others.” - Stan Slap

26. “When you don’t know what true for you, everyone else has unusual influence.” - Stan Slap

27. “True leaders live their values everywhere, not just in the workplace.” - Stan Slap

28. “A manager’s emotional commitment is worth more than their financial, intellectual and physical commitment combined.” - Stan Slap

29. “This is your one and only precious life. Somebody’s going to decide how it’s going to be lived and that person had better be you.” - Stan Slap

30. “What managers want most from companies they stop themselves from getting.What companies want most from managers they stop them from giving.” - Stan Slap

31. “It’s impossible for a company to get what it wants most if managers have to make a choice between their own values and company priorities.” - Stan Slap