Leadership quotes. I’m not a big fan of them.
Most of them seem unmemorable to me; possibly because it’s difficult to say anything worthwhile in just one sentence. And then every once in a while I come across a quote that is inspirational, or simply makes sense.
M2 magazine recently published it’s ‘Best 100 Leadership Quotes Ever’. Hmmm. Strangely enough, most of them seem unmemorable to me.
Still, there are a few gems in there. So, based on what they’ve published, here’s my Top 10 Leadership Quotes. You may find several of them thought provoking.
| 1. | Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 2. | “In organisations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles and positions.” – Margaret Wheatly |
| 3. | “The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organisation.” – Fred Fiedler and Martin Chemers |
| 4. | “To lead people, walk beside them… As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honour and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate… When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, “We did it ourselves!” – Lao-tsu |
| 5. | “A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralise the best of troops.” – John J Pershing |
| 6. | “Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be lead.” – Ross Perot |
| 7. | “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echos are truly endless.” – Mother Theresa |
| 8. | “In war, three quarters turns on personal character and relations; the balance of manpower and materials counts only for the remaining quarter.” – Napolean Bonaparte |
| 9. | “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 |
| 10. | “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill |