Great leadership is often shaped by the wisdom and insights of those who have successfully guided teams through challenges and change. To inspire and motivate your own leadership journey, we’ve gathered a curated collection of 36 powerful quotes that capture the essence of effective teamwork and leadership. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting out, these quotes offer valuable lessons and encouragement to help you build stronger, more cohesive teams.
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. “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
3. “Providing the ultimate solution to work/life balance: not escaping from work but living the way you want to at work.” - Stan Slap
4. “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
5. “Your company really has to work for you before you’ll really work for your company.” - Stan Slap
6. “When rewards come from an external source instead of an internal source, they’re unreliable, which means they’re dangerous if you grow to depend on them.” - Stan Slap
7. “Imagine a world where what you say synchs up, not sinks down.” - Stan Slap
8. “Instead of waiting for a leader you can believe in, try this: Become a leader you can believe in.” - Stan Slap
9. “You can stuff yourself with emotional fulfillment until it’s dribbling down your chin & your ego will quickly chomp it down and demand more.” - Stan Slap
10. “The economy is in ruins! Bottom line? Good management will defeat a bad economy.” - Stan Slap
11. “You can’t sell it outside if you can’t sell it inside.” - Stan Slap
12. “The first step to solving any problem is to accept one’s own accountability for creating it.” - Stan Slap
13. “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
14. “The first step out of the gate has to be knowing where you want to end up. What do you really want from your company?” - Stan Slap
15. “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
16. “Let’s get right on top of the bottom line: You must live your personal values at work.” - Stan Slap
17. “Do you think your people struggle with being true to themselves? Do their values match up with their work?” - Stan Slap
18. “The heart of a company’s performance is hardwired to the hearts of its managers.” - Stan Slap
19. “The high quality of a company’s customer experience rarely has anything to do with the high price of their product.” - 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. “To integrate one’s experiences around a coherent and enduring sense of self lies at the core of creating a user’s guide to life.” - Stan Slap
22. “Management controls performance in people because it impacts skills; it’s a matter of monitoring, analyzing and directing.” - Stan Slap
23. “Leadership creates performance in people because it impacts willingness; it’s a matter of modeling, inspiring, and reinforcing.” - Stan Slap
24. “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
25. “Leaders make a lot of mistakes but they admit those mistakes to themselves and change because of them.” - Stan Slap
26. “Managers know what they want most: to be allowed to achieve success by leveraging who they are, not by compromising it.” - Stan Slap
27. “Any expert will tell you that if you want emotionally committed relationships then people must be allowed to be true to who they are.” - Stan Slap
28. “Values are deeply held personal beliefs that form your own priority code for living.” - Stan Slap
29. “Values are the individual biases that allow you to decide which actions are true for you alone.” - Stan Slap
30. “When you don’t know what true for you, everyone else has unusual influence.” - Stan Slap
31. “True leaders live their values everywhere, not just in the workplace.” - Stan Slap
32. “Most managers have plenty of emotional commitment to give to their jobs. If they can be convinced it’s safe and sensible to give it.” - Stan Slap
33. “Emotional commitment is a personal choice. Managers understand this even if their companies don’t.” - Stan Slap
34. “A manager’s emotional commitment is worth more than their financial, intellectual and physical commitment combined.” - Stan Slap
35. “Why live my personal values at work? This is an excellent question to ask. If your attorneys are planning an insanity defense.” - Stan Slap
36. “Work/life balance is not about escaping work. It’s about living exactly the way you want to when you’re at work.” - Stan Slap
