Famously Said Random quote

Quotes about leadership

138 quotes from 99 people

Most readBy personPage 9 of 10

No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.
Tacitus55–120
Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
Tacitus55–120
When conflicted between two choices, take neither.
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 71
- Decisions
Always to be right, always to trample forward, and never to doubt, are not these the great qualities with which dullness takes the lead in the world?
William Makepeace Thackeray1811–1863Vanity Fair (1848), Chapter XXXVIn context
- Character
Being a leader is like being a lady, if you have to go around telling people you are one, you aren’t.
Margaret Thatcher1925–2013
To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.
Margaret Thatcher1925–2013Speech to the Conservative Party Conference, Brighton (10 October 1980)
- Decisions
- Politics
No one can depute authority. It comes too much from personal accidents, and too little from reason or law to be handed over to others.
Anthony Trollope1815–1882The Duke’s Children (1879), Ch. 66
- Power
The President of the United States hears a hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world. He must listen carefully to hear the one voice that tells him he’s not.
Harry S. Truman1884–1972
I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:
“All right, then, I’ll go to hell”
Mark Twain1835–1910Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Chapter XXXIIn context
- Decisions
- Morality
Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.
Sun Tzu544–496 BCThe Art of War, Chapter V · Forces, Paragraph 1
- Business
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
Sun Tzu544–496 BCThe Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter XIn context
A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world.
John Updike1932–2009“They Thought They Were Better” in TIME magazine (21 July 1980)
Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.
George Washington1732–1799Letter to Lord Stirling (5 March 1780)
There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington1769–1852Reply to William Huskisson, who said his letter offering to resign had been a mistake
- Decisions
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won
Walt Whitman1819–1892O Captain! My Captain! (1865)In context
- Life & Death