Leadership Quotes

"A great leader is one who serves others, not himself."

- Harold S. Geneen

"As a leader, it's a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow."

- Himanshu Bhatia

"We need leaders who can meet and adapt to new challenges, build strategic partnerships, build and sustain human capital in their organizations, and have the courage to act and react to the challenges."

- Thomas Narofsky

"Successful leaders have the courage to take action while others hesitate."

- John Maxwell

"Leadership is not a popularity contest; it's about leaving your ego at the door. The name of the game is to lead without a title."

- Robin S. Sharma

"You have to enable and empower people to make decisions independent of you. As I've learned, each person on a team is an extension of your leadership; if they feel empowered by you they will magnify your power to lead. Trust is a great force multiplier."

- Tom Ridge

"Leadership is something you earn, something you're chosen for. You can't come in yelling, 'I'm your leader!' If it happens, it's because the other guys respect you."

- Ben Roethlisberger

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal."

- Vince Lombardi

"Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down."

- Grace Murray Hopper

"The role of leadership is to transform the complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them."

- Carlos Ghosn

"The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground."

- Winston Churchill

"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier."

- Roy E. Disney

"To have long-term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way."

- Pat Riley

"Always remember, son, the best boss is the one who bosses the least. Whether it's cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government."

- Ralph Moody

"I've always tried to coach people the way I would like to be coached; positively and encouragingly rather than with criticism and fear…I've tried to be as fair as possible."

- Tony Dungy

"A true leader has confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and patience to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the quality of his actions and integrity of his intention."

- Anil Sinha

"Courageous leaders embrace difficult challenges."

- Reed Markham

"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."

- George Patton

"I believe in a quiet, strong, and grounded leadership. I think some of the best leaders are those whose work is widely known and respected but who, themselves, are relatively unknown."

- Rachael Chong

"I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men."

- Lao Tzu

"A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason."

- J.P. Morgan

"Coaches must be critical thinkers, not protectors of the status quo."

- Mike Herbert

"A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be."

- Tom Landry

"How do you win? By getting average players to play good and good players to play great. That's how you win."

- Bum Phillips

"Coaching is not how much you know. It's how much you can get players to do."

- Bum Phillips

"One of the fundamental aspects of leadership, I realized more and more, is the ability to instill confidence in others when you yourself are feeling insecure."

- Howard Schultz

"The essence of leadership is essentially taking the responsibility of trying to interpret the future to the present."

- Paul Keating

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head —that's assault, not leadership."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It's about impact, influence, and inspiration."

- Robin S. Sharma

"To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence … When the best leader's work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves!"

- Lao Tzu