Quotes about leadership
138 quotes from 99 people
A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice.
James Callaghan1912–2005The Harvard Business Review (1 November 1986)
William Shakespeare1564–1616Henry IV, Part 2 (1597-8), Act III, scene i.
Confucius551–479 BCAnalects, Chapter IIA leader has to appear consistent. That doesn’t mean he has to be consistent.
James Callaghan1912–2005The Harvard Business Review (1 November 1986)I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot control himself.
Robert E. Lee1807–1870Comment regarding officers who became inebriated, as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1874) by John William Jones, p. 170
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 71Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.
George Washington1732–1799Letter to Lord Stirling (5 March 1780)The real leader has no need to lead—he is content to point the way.
Henry Miller1891–1980“The Wisdom of the Heart”, p. 46Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
Nelson Mandela1918–2013Speech at the Chief Albert Luthuli Centenary celebrations, KwaDukuza, South Africa (25 April 1998)Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King Jr.1929–1968“A Proper Sense of Priorities”, speech in Washington, D.C. (6 February 1968)Decide, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.
Ambrose Bierce1842–1914The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
Henry James1843–1916The Portrait of a Lady (1881), Ch. XVI
Laurence J. Peter1919–1990Entry for September 24; as quoted in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1993), ed. Suzy Platt, Library of Congress, , p. 78
Woodrow Wilson1856–1924From a letter to Mary A. Hulbert (21 September 1913)
