Never do that by proxy which you can do yourself.
—Italian Proverb
No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.
—Tacitus (56–117) Roman Orator, Historian
Public sentiment is everything, with it nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
What you cannot enforce, do not command.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.
—Henry Kissinger (b.1923) American Diplomat, Academician
The right man comes at the right time.
—Italian Proverb
The well being of the people is the supreme law.
—Indian Proverb
I don’t think that a leader can control to any great extent his destiny. Very seldom can he step in and change the situation if the forces of history are running in another direction.
—Richard Nixon (1913–94) American Head of State, Lawyer
Perhaps in His wisdom the Almighty is trying to show us that a leader may chart the way, may point out the road to lasting peace, but that many leaders and many peoples must do the building.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
The higher men climb,
the longer their working day.
There are no office hours for leaders.
—James Gibbons (1834–1921) American Catholic Religious Leader, Clergyman
It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead—and find no one there.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Florentine Political Philosopher
‘Tis a dainty thing to command, though ’twere but a flock of sheep.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: “we did it ourselves.”
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
Effective leaders are known by the questions they ask rather than the statements they make.
—Unknown
Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.
—Denis Diderot (1713–84) French Philosopher, Writer
Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.
—Tom Peters (b.1942) American Management Consultant, Author
The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.
—John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) American Oil Magnate, Philanthropist
Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people—that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.
—Sam Walton (1918–92) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
No affection and a great brain, these are the people to command the world.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
No man has ever risen to the real stature of spiritual manhood until he has found that it is finer to serve somebody else than it is to serve himself.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
Outstanding leaders appeal to the hearts of their followers—not their minds.
—Unknown
If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
I’ve always found that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
To be omnipotent but friendless is to reign.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
It is the cause and not merely the death that makes the martyr.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Do your best to be the lead dog otherwise the view never changes.
—Unknown
Education is the mother of leadership.
—Wendell Willkie (1892–1944) American Politician, Lawyer
If you want to be comfortable—take an easy job. If you aspire to leadership, take off your coat.
—Indian Proverb
The high sentiments always win in the end, the leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is king.
—John Wanamaker (1838–1922) American Merchant, Civil Servant
It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.
—Pope John XXIII (1881–1963) Italian Catholic Religious Leader, Pope
Leaders don’t inflict pain—they share pain.
—Max De Pree (1924–2017) American Businessman
I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
Eagles don’t flock—you have to find them one at a time.
—Ross Perot (1930–2019) American Businessman
Telling people I can’t lose weight may make me eat more—to prove myself right. Perhaps if I told people, “‘I’m gonna lose 20.”
—Marty Nemko (b.1950) American Career Coach
Those that rule must hear and be deaf, must see and be blind.
—German Proverb
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
—H. Norman Schwarzkopf (1934–2012) United States Army General
Among the blind the one eyed is king.
—Common Proverb
It is the Vague and Elusive. Meet it and you will not see its head. Follow it and you will not see its back.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Doing what’s right isn’t the problem. It is knowing what’s right.
—Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–73) American Head of State, Political leader
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 Updike (1932–2009) American Novelist, Poet, Short-Story Writer
The person who renders loyal service in a humble capacity will be chosen for higher responsibilities, just as the biblical servant who multiplied the one pound given him by his master was made ruler over ten cities.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Sportsperson
A good leader needs to have a compass in his head and a bar of steel in his heart.
—Robert C. Townsend (1920–98) American Businessman
I don’t believe in just ordering people to do things. You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them.
—Harold S. Geneen (1910–1997) British-American Businessman
Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.
—Robert Half