Leadership Quotes

"When we think about being the most customer-centric organization, we (also) want to be the most safety-centric organization in the world."

- Marla Corson, director, Amazon North America

"The greatest responsibility of a leader is to give the people in your span of care grounded sense of hope for the future"

- Bob Chapman

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."

- Sun Tzu

"The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born."

- Warren Bennis

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do."

- Steve Jobs

"Hire people who are smarter than you are—whose talents surpass yours—and give them opportunities for growth. It’s the smart thing to do and it is a sign of high personal humility."

- Bruna Martinuzzi

"If you can hire tough, you can manage easy."

- Sue Tetzlaff

"If you’re good to your staff when things are going well, they’ll rally when times go bad."

- Mary Kay Ash

"I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way."

- Lee Iacocca

"It is our goal to really have America show up, this is not about issues for one group or one ethnic group. It’s about Americans. It’s about creating a climate for America to fulfill its true promise for all of its citizens."

- Martin Luther King III

"The ultimate gift we can give the world is to grow our tiny humans into adult humans who are independent thinkers, compassionate doers, conscious questioners, radical innovators, and passionate peacemakers. Our world doesn't need more adults who blindly serve the powerful because they've been trained to obey authority without question. Our world needs more adults who challenge and question and hold the powerful accountable."

- L.R. Knost

"If you have the attention of an audience, you’re already a leader. And great leaders plan, listen, observe, inspire, and then give direction."

- Brian Clark

"Leaders must be released from the idea that they must be great prayer warriors before they can begin to call others to prayer."

- David Bryant

"While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give."

- Mufasa

"A true king’s power is his compassion."

- Sarabi

"There’s more to being a king than getting your way all the time."

- Mufasa

"Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out."

- Stephen Covey

"The key to coaching is love. It's not knowledge; it's not discipline. If you love 'em, you can discipline them. If you love 'em, you can yell at them and laugh about it later."

- Dabo Swinney

"Leadership is lonely ... I'm not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. There's a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that's just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."

- Kobe Bryant

"The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues."

- Kobe Bryant

"Leadership is lonely. I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go."

- Kobe Bryant

"There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."

- Kobe Bryant

"Someone will declare, 'I am the leader!' and expect everyone to get in line and follow him or her to the gates of heaven or hell. My experience is that it doesn't happen that way. Others follow you based on the quality of your actions rather than the magnitude of your declarations."

- Bill Walsh

"The more we learn about effective communication, the better we’ll be at leading, as our directives will be better understood."

- Paul Jarvis

"My mother had a definite influence on my leadership style. She would say that whenever you run into challenges or you’re trying to make things happen, you’ve got to understand what makes people tick, what motivates them."

- Shellye Archambeau

"Something counterintuitive that I have observed is that showing vulnerability as a leader can often be a sign of strength."

- Anjali Sud

"Safety is a leadership issue – it starts at the top and works its way down."

- Unknown

"It Takes Leadership to Improve Safety"

"Your voice is powerful. Use it to speak your truth, advocate for change, and inspire others."

"Your voice is your instrument. Use it to sing your truth, advocate for change, and inspire others to find their voice."