Elderly Excellence: Leadership Quotes to Spark Inspiration and Action
1. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” —John C. Maxwell
2. “Leadership is the capacity to translate a vision into reality.” —Warren Bennis
3. “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
4. “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
5. “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” —Brian Tracy
6. “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else—through hard work.” —Vince Lombardi
7. “Education is the mother of leadership.” —Wendell Willkie
8. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” —Margaret Fuller
9. “The art of communication is the language of leadership.” —James Humes
10. “Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” —Tom Peters
11. “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success. Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” —Stephen Covey
12. “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” —Peter Drucker
13. “The greatest gift of leadership is a boss who wants you to be successful.” —Jon Taffer
14. “The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.” —Ken Blanchard
15. “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” —George Washington Carver
16. “You don’t manage people, you manage things. You lead people.” —Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
17. “The test of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” —James Buchanan
18. “Earn your leadership every day.” —Michael Jordan
19. “Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.” —Donald Rumsfeld
20. “Leadership is an action, not a position.” —Donald McGannon
21. “In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.” —Thomas Jefferson
22. “Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.” —David Joseph Schwartz
23. “A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men.” —Stephen King
24. “A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone.” —Henry Kissinger
25. “What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” – Stephen Covey
26. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
27. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy
28. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
29. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
30. “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
31. “Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.” – Unknown
32. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – President Abraham Lincoln
33. “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
34. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
35. “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain
36. “I learned that things are never as complicated as we imagine them to be. It is only our arrogance which seeks to find complicated answers to simple problems.” – Muhammad Yunus
37. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” – Gen. Colin Powell
38. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward
39. “Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain
40. “Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.” – U.S. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf
41. “Leadership is the capacity to transform vision into reality.” – Warren G. Bennis
42. “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.” – Walter Lippmann
43. “The led must not be compelled. They must be able to choose their own leader.” – Albert Einstein
44. “You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too.” – Sam Rayburn
45. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” —William Arthur Ward
46. “Don’t follow the crowd. Let the crowd follow you.” —Margaret Thatcher
47. “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”—John Maxwell
48. “Do not be afraid to make decisions. Do not be afraid to make mistakes.” —Carly Fiorina
49. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.” —Brian Tracy
50. “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” —Publilius Syrus
51. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he wants to do it.”—Dwight D. Eisenhower
52. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” —Warren Bennis
53. “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.” —Warren Bennis
54. “Leadership is about the team—the culture they keep and embrace, it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees, and the communities where you do business, it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.” —Kat Cole
55. “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.” – Gertrude Stein
56. “Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
57. “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
58. “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-Exupery
59. “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” – Albert Schweitzer
60. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder
61. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
62. “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
63. “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
64. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch
65. “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” – John Maxwell
66. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward
67. “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
68. “Good leaders build products. Great leaders build cultures. Good leaders deliver results. Great leaders develop people. Good leaders have vision. Great leaders have values. Good leaders are role models at work. Great leaders are role models in life.” – Adam Grant
69. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
70. “He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.” – Sun Tzu
71. “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” – Bruce Lee
72. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
73. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that count.” – Winston Churchill
74. “The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.” – Ken Blanchard
75. “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” – Thomas Sowell
76. “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” – Steve Jobs
77. “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
78. “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.” – Bernard Baruch
79. “Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.” – George W. Bush
80. “Clarity affords focus.” – Thomas Leonard
81. “Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.” – Henry J. Kaiser
82. “Leadership – leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.” – Mitt Romney
83. “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” – Brian Trac
84. “Without initiative, leaders are mere occupants of leadership positions.” – Bo Bennett
85. “Taking action is a substantial leap from mere imagination.” – Barbara Sher
86. “I have always supported measures and principles, not individuals.” – Davy Crockett
87. “Obstacles are distractions that arise when one loses sight of their goal”. – E. Joseph Cossman
88. “Great actions are often preceded by strong convictions.” – James Freeman Clarke
89. “The key to effective management is keeping those who harbor resentment away from those who are undecided.” – Casey Stengel
90. ” A true leader does not seek to lead but is satisfied with guiding the way.” – Henry Miller
91. “It’s preferable to have a strong leader guiding a group of followers than a weak leader leading a group of strong individuals. “- Daniel Defoe
92. “Prioritizing the connection with your true self should be your foremost concern.” – Tom Hopkins
93. “An employer usually attracts employees who reflect their own character.” – J. Paul Getty
94. “I focus on identifying tasks that need to be accomplished because that’s how the universe organizes itself.” – R. Buckminster Fuller
95. “Everyone who’s ever had a shower has had an idea. But it’s the one who acts upon it after drying off who truly makes a difference.” – Nolan Bushnell
96. “It is crucial to engage, trust, and reward individuals whose perspectives, abilities, and judgments differ significantly from your own. However, such individuals are rare, as they require exceptional humility, tolerance, and wisdom.” – Dee Hock
97. “Finding a business partner who is genuinely selfless is a rarity. If you’re fortunate, you may encounter such a partner once in a lifetime.” – Michael Eisner
98. “If you wish to maximize productivity from your team, allow them occasional respite! Micromanagement leads to minimal effort, but understanding fosters exceptional dedication.” – Chesty Puller
99. “Lead, follow, or step aside.” – Laurence J. Peter
100. “Leadership does not depend on being right.” – Ivan Illich
