40 Leadership Quotes | Examples & Inspiration
Many people find themselves in positions of leadership without consciously seeking them. From there, it can be hard to pinpoint just what exactly makes a great leader, and to fully rise to the occasion.
Whether you’re seeking inspiration or simply looking to explore which specific qualities go into leading well, this list of leadership quotes has it all.
Key takeaways
- This article brings together powerful quotes from influential figures to identify core leadership principles: serving and supporting others, taking responsibility over credit, and inspiring confidence and growth in their teams.
- This compilation of leadership quotes also highlights the importance of vision, action, and leading by example.
- These quotes emphasize that great leaders develop others’ capacity to lead, stay adaptable, and lead with integrity in the face of adversity.
What are leadership quotes?
Leadership quotes often come from great leaders who have overcome obstacles. This list includes insights from coaches, activists, politicians, and generals who have successfully guided those in their charge. Their words continue to inspire people to this day.
Apply these leadership quotes in the workplace, in your community, or on teams to achieve better results no matter the odds.
Quotes about leadership
This curated list of quotes about leadership is sourced from professional coaches, former presidents, ancient emperors, and more. They speak to the qualities that make a great leader and offer some inspiration for how you can become one yourself.
- “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” —John F. Kennedy, former President of the United States
- “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” —Alexander the Great, former King of Macedonia
- “Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” —Harold S. Geneen, businessman
- “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” —Max Lucado, author and minister
- “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” —Margaret Fuller, journalist and editor
- “Leadership consists of picking good men and helping them do their best.” —Chester W. Nimitz, admiral
- “The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.” —Mary Kay Ash, businesswoman
- “Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.” —Jim Rohn, entrepreneur and author
- “Leadership is a two way street loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for your superiors and care for your crew.” —Grace Hopper, computer scientist and mathematician
- “Ultimately, 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, astronaut and engineer
Leadership quotes for work
One of the places you’re most likely to experience the challenges of leadership firsthand is in the workplace. This list of leadership quotes for work speaks to the importance of integrity, hard work, and service to others as key pillars of being a great leader in professional and managerial settings.
- “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” —Simon Sinek, author and inspirational speaker
- “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” —Arnold H. Glasow, businessman
- “The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.” —John Maxwell, author and orator
- “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” —Thomas Sowell, economist
- “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, business magnate
- “Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.” —Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- “Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” —Paul Hawken, economist and entrepreneur
- “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” —Todd Whitaker, educator and writer
- “This is why, in a nutshell, advice is overrated. […] If I can ask you a question and you generate the answer yourself, the odds increase substantially.” ―Michael Bungay Stanier, author
- What if I were coming home, I think,
from doing work that I loved and that was for us all, […]
what if we knew the powers of this country
moved to provide for us and for all people—how
would that be—how would we feel and think and what would we create?
—Karen Brodine, poet
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Inspirational leadership quotes
Inspirational leadership quotes push us to be our best selves, go out of our comfort zones, and act with integrity. Save these inspirational quotes to stay accountable and focused on what truly matters.
- “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” —Brian Tracy, motivational speaker
- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead, anthropologist and author
- “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” —Albert Schweitzer, polymath
- “The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” —Che Guevara, revolutionary
- “Playing it safe is not leadership. To lead, you have to risk that you may not succeed… To lead, you must take risks.” —Muhammad Ali, boxing champion
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” ―Angela Y. Davis, activist and writer
- “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” —Eleanor Roosevelt, activist and former First Lady of the United States
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —Simon Sinek, author and inspirational speaker
- “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” —Theodore M. Hesburgh, priest
- “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” —African proverb
Great leadership quotes
Great leadership quotes focus on the specific qualities that separate people in leadership positions from true leaders that people want to follow—whether they have title or not. In fact, some of what goes into great leadership may even surprise you.
- “To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.” —Andre Malraux, novelist
- “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” —Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader
- “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, philosopher
- “Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.” —Diogenes of Sinope, philosopher
- class=”pb-2″“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, writer
- “A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” —Nelson Mandela, activist and former President of South Africa
- “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” —Bill Bradley, basketball player
- “Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage.” —William Wallace, knight
- “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —John C. Maxwell, leadership author and speaker
- “Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things.” —Peter Drucker, consultant and educator
Frequently asked questions about leadership quotes
- What are examples of humble, inspiring leadership quotes?
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Examples of humble, inspiring leadership quotes include:
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —Simon Sinek, author and inspirational speaker
- “To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.” —Andre Malraux, novelist
- “Lead from the back—and let others believe they are in front.” —Nelson Mandela, activist and former President of South Africa
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