42 Definitions Of Leadership Quotes

In the ever-evolving landscape of personal development and organizational growth, the concept of leadership remains a pivotal cornerstone. Understanding what true leadership entails can be guided by the wisdom encapsulated in quotable insights from thought leaders and influencers across various fields. In this blog post, we've curated a comprehensive collection of the top 42 definitions of leadership quotes. These pearls of wisdom offer nuanced perspectives and timeless advice designed to inspire and enlighten. Dive in and explore these quotes to deepen your understanding of what it means to lead effectively.

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. “Providing the ultimate solution to work/life balance: not escaping from work but living the way you want to at work.” - Stan Slap

5. “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

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

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

8. “Your dreams and the dreams of your company may be different, but they are in no way incompatible.” - Stan Slap

9. “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

10. “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

11. “Human behavior is only unpredictable and dangerous if you don’t start from humanity in the first place.” - Stan Slap

12. “Your company really has to work for you before you’ll really work for your company.” - Stan Slap

13. “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

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

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

16. “Here’s what you need to know most about leadership: Lead your own life first. The only thing in this world that will dependably happen from the top down is the digging of your grave.” - Stan Slap

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

18. “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

19. “The economy is in ruins! Bottom line? Good management will defeat a bad economy.” - Stan Slap

20. “Your company is its own competition and can deliver itself debilitating blows the competition only dreams of.” - Stan Slap

21. “The first step to solving any problem is to accept one’s own accountability for creating it.” - Stan Slap

22. “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

23. “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

24. “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

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

26. “Do you think your people struggle with being true to themselves? Do their values match up with their work?” - Stan Slap

27. “The heart of a company’s performance is hardwired to the hearts of its managers.” - Stan Slap

28. “The high quality of a company’s customer experience rarely has anything to do with the high price of their product.” - Stan Slap

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

30. “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

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

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

33. “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

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

35. “Managers know what they want most: to be allowed to achieve success by leveraging who they are, not by compromising it.” - Stan Slap

36. “Values are the individual biases that allow you to decide which actions are true for you alone.” - Stan Slap

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

38. “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

39. “Emotional commitment is a personal choice. Managers understand this even if their companies don’t.” - Stan Slap

40. “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

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

42. “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