Leadership is an inspiring journey that takes courage, vision, and determination. Along the way, many great leaders have shared words of wisdom that motivate and encourage us to bring out the best in ourselves and others.
In this post, we’ll highlight 77 of the most inspirational leadership quotes to provide insight and perspective for your own leadership path.
From historical figures to modern-day CEOs, these quotes capture the essence of effective, values-driven leadership. Read on for quotes to inform, inspire and ignite the leader within you.
77 Leadership Journey Quotes For Great Leaders
1. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell
2. “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another.” – John C. Maxwell
3. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu
4. “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” – Albert Schweitzer
5. “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” – Bill Bradley
6. “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
7. “The best leaders are clear. They continually light the way, and in the process, let each person know that what they do makes a difference.” – Robin S. Sharma
8. “Courage is knowing what not to fear.” – Plato
9. “My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” – Steve Jobs
10. “Leadership is not wielding authority–it’s empowering people.” – Becky Brodin
11. “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” – Aristotle
12. “The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” – Brandon Sanderson
13. “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” – Simon Sinek
14. “A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
15. “My job is to make decisions, not to make mistakes.” – Teddy Roosevelt
16. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
17. “A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.” – M.D. Arnold
18. “The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.” – Dwight Eisenhower
19. “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still.” – Harry S. Truman
20. “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Theodore M. Hesburgh
21. “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” – Nelson Mandela
22. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
23. “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
24. “A great leader is not driven by power but by compassion.” – Socrates
25. “Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader. They set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role–always about the goal.” – Lisa Haisha
26. “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” – John Maxwell
27. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn
28. “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.” – John F. Kennedy
29. “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” – Robert F. Kennedy
30. “You manage things; you lead people.” – Grace Hopper
31. “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” – Tony Robbins
32. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
33. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton
34. “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” – Douglas MacArthur
35. “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” – Warren G. Bennis
36. “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” – John Kenneth Galbraith
37. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
38. “You don’t need a title to be a leader.” – Multiple Attributions
39. “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” – Publilius Syrus
40. “A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others so that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” – Beth Revis
41. “Don’t blow off another’s candle for it won’t make yours shine brighter.” – Jaachynma N.E. Agu
42. “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” – Peter Drucker
43. “The true mark of a leader is to empower others to discover the wisdom within themselves.” – Unknown
44. “A good leader not only sees the way but leads the way.” – Spotted Tail, Oglala Lakota Sioux chief
45. “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” – Ken Kesey
46. “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell
47. “Leadership is stirring people’s hearts, minds, and souls to a greater purpose.” – Wilma Mankiller, first female Cherokee Nation chief
48. “True leadership stems from individuality in the council, not from the influence of the council upon the individual.” – Hinmatóowyalahtq’it, Nez Perce chief
49. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” –John F. Kennedy
50. “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
51. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” –General Colin Powell
52. “Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” –Stephen Covey
53. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” –Warren Bennis
54. “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” – General George Patton
55. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William A. Ward
56. “A vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a waste of time, but vision with action can change the world.” – Namegosky, Anishinaabe leader
57. “I am more afraid of an army of one hundred sheep led by a lion than an army of one hundred lions led by a sheep.” – Charles Maurice
58. “Earn your leadership every day.” – Michael Jordan
59. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max DePree
60. “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
61. “Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.” – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader, and advocate
62. “Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led.” – Ross Perot
63. “The best leaders… almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols.” – Thomas Peters
64. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” – John C. Maxwell
65. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” – Rosalynn Carter
66. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” – Julius Caesar
67. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – Unknown
68. “It takes a wise man to recognize the wisdom in others.” – Unknown
69. “A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward.” – Ovid
70. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it” – Andrew Carnegie
71. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
72. “Taking responsibility for your life does not mean blaming yourself for the things that aren’t your fault. It means identifying areas that need improvement and making the necessary changes.” – Dr. Jordan Petersen
73. “The mark of a good leader is somebody who is able to empower other people. So often we think of leadership as somebody at the top who is ordering other people around…But it turns out, for me at least, what made me understand leadership was when I could see somebody who thought they didn’t have a voice, thought they didn’t have influence, or didn’t think they were good enough, and teach them how to speak up on the things that mattered to them.” – Barack Obama
74. “A good leader is a good follower. You’ve got to follow somebody first to be a good leader. Leadership is a skill set that is developed over time, not born with.” – Patrick Bet-David
75. “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan
76. “Leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.” – Chris Hadfield
77. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” – Sheryl Sandberg
Leadership requires wisdom, courage, and compassion.
Which quote resonated most with you?
What are your words of wisdom to pass on to future leaders? Share this post with aspiring leaders in your life who can gain perspective from these insightful quotes.
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