True Leadership Quotes:

True Leadership always begins with the inner person.

- John C. Maxwell

source: John C. Maxwell (2007). “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You”, p.17, Thomas Nelson Inc

topic: True Leader, True Leadership, Persons

True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from Influence.

- John C. Maxwell

source: John C. Maxwell (2007). “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Workbook: Revised and Updated”, p.14, Thomas Nelson Inc

topic: Influence, True Leader, True Leadership

True leadership is measured by what happens after you die.

- Myles Munroe

source: "The Leadership For Social Justice Project In Ghana: Planting Seeds Of Social Change" by Dr. Artika R. Tyner, www.huffingtonpost.com. August 16, 2016.

topic: True Leader, True Leadership, Happens

Jesus said several times, “Come, follow me.” His was a program of “do what I do,” rather than “do what I say.” His innate brilliance would have permitted him to put on a dazzling display, but that would have left his followers far behind. He walked and worked with those he was to serve. His was not a long-distance leadership. He was not afraid of close friendships; he was not afraid that proximity to him would disappoint his followers. The leaven of true leadership cannot lift others unless we are with and serve those to be led.

- Spencer W. Kimball

source: Spencer W. Kimball (1982). “The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”

topic: Leadership, Jesus, Distance, Close Friendship, True Leadership

True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.

- Sheri L. Dew

topic: Leadership, Inspire, Lifting Others, True Leader, True Leadership

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

- Jim Rohn

topic: Leadership, Insperational, Helping Others, Leadership And Service, Leadership Development

Be strong, but not rude; Be kind, but not weak; Be bold, but not bully; Be humble, but not timid; Be prooud, but not arrogant.

- Zig Ziglar

source: FaceBook post by Zig Ziglar from Dec 27, 2013

topic: Leadership, Strong, Humble, True Leader, Leaders Motivational

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.

- Theodore Hesburgh

source: Interview with Philip Scarpino, tobiascenter.iu.edu. January 6, 2009.

topic: Leadership, Business, Blow, True Leader, Innovative Leadership

Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed.... Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.

- Sheryl Sandberg

topic: Perfection, Leader, Individuality, Women Leadership, Woman Leader

Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.

- Tom Peters

topic: Leadership, Business, Insperational, Leadership And Management, Leadership Skills

A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward.

- Ovid

topic: Leadership, Rewards, Should, True Leader, Leadership By Famous Leaders

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

- Theodore Roosevelt

topic: Inspirational, Relationship, Leadership, True Leader, Innovation And Leadership

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

topic: Motivational, Inspiring, Leadership, Pointing, True Leader

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.

- Ronald Reagan

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Wisdom, Top Management, Leaders Motivational

A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.

- John C. Maxwell

topic: Inspirational, Success, Leadership, True Leader, Inspirational Passion

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. Many people who approach the area of vision in leadership have it backwards. They believe that if the cause is good enough, people will automatically buy in and follow. But that's not how leadership works. People don't follow worthy causes; they follow worthy leaders with a cause they can believe in. They buy into the leader first.

- John C. Maxwell

topic: Believe, People, Leader, True Leader, Leadership And Vision

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

- John C. Maxwell

topic: Motivational, Inspiring, Leadership, Top Management, True Leader

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

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Success, True Leader, Funny Leadership

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

- John Quincy Adams

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Top Management, Management Motivation

The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.

- Tony Blair

topic: Motivational, Leadership, Art, True Leader, Funny Leadership

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.

- Andrew Carnegie

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Confidence, Put First Things First, True Leader

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.

- Peter Drucker

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Basketball, True Leader, Inspiring Leader

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

- John C. Maxwell

source: "Leadership 101: 3 Key Lessons on Advancing Racial Equity" by Dr. Artika R. Tyner, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 15, 2015.

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Basketball, Young Entrepreneurs, True Leader

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

topic: Motivational, Leadership, Graduation, True Leader, Funny Leadership

To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.

- Andre Malraux

topic: Leadership, Command, Military Command, Military Leadership, Leadership By Great Leaders

I'm all for ambition and stretch goals. I set them for myself. But  leadership isn't the same as cheerleading. Believing in something is a necessary but absolutely insufficient condition for making it come true.

- Margaret Heffernan

topic: Cheerleading, Believe, Ambition, Believing In Something, True Leadership

Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.

- Woodrow Wilson

topic: Leadership, Doe, Compromise, True Leader, Inspiring Leader

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

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Integrity, Making Tough Decisions, True Leader

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

topic: Leadership, Art, Business, Management Motivation, Funny Leadership

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

topic: Leadership, Strong, Humor, True Leader, Leaders Motivational

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

- John F. Kennedy

topic: Inspirational, Leadership, Educational, Live And Learn, Top Management

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

- Aristotle

topic: Leadership, True Leader, Commanders, Leadership By Great Leaders, Leadership In Education

A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.

- Charles de Gaulle

topic: Leadership, Inspiration, Elements, True Leader, Breathless

Leadership cannot just go along to get along. Leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day.

- Jesse Jackson

topic: Leadership, Challenges, Vision, Getting Along, Effective Leadership

Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.

- Simon Sinek

source: "Why good leaders make you feel safe". Simon Sinek at TED2014, www.ted.com. May 19, 2014.

topic: Inspirational, Sacrifice, Numbers, Great Sacrifice, True Leadership

A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible.

- Polybius

topic: Leadership, Victory, Way, True Leader, Military Leader

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

- Ralph Nader

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Inspiring, Top Management, True Leader

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

source: Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (2010). “My American Journey”, p.52, Ballantine Books

topic: Motivational, Inspiring, Leadership, Inspirational Military, Inspiring Leader

Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.

- Brian Tracy

topic: Leadership, People, Titles, True Leader, Inspiring Leader

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

source: Attributed in "The 101 Greatest Business Principles of All Time" by Leslie Pockell, November 23, 2004.

topic: Motivational, Leadership, Educational, True Leader, Inspirational Self Esteem

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

- Harry S. Truman

topic: Change, Leadership, Men, True Leader, Lack Of Leadership

The building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

- Peter Drucker

topic: Personality, Normal, Building, True Leader, Leadership And Change

Leaders are not born, they're made.

- Vince Lombardi

topic: Leadership, Discipline, Effort, True Leader, Sports Leadership

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

- Winston Churchill

topic: Leadership, Looks, Ears, True Leader, Inspiring Leader

You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.

- Grace Hopper

source: "The Wit and Wisdom of Grace Hopper". The OCLC Newsletter, No. 167, www.cs.yale.edu. March/April 1987.

topic: People, Management, Overboard, Managing People, Inspiring Leader

What chance gathers, she easily scatters. A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

topic: Business, People, Together, True Leader, Inspiring Leader

Inventories can be managed, but people must be led.

- Ross Perot

topic: Leadership, Business, People, Managing People, True Leader