The highest of distinctions is service to others. King George VI
Don’t forget to do something for other people. Marc Benioff
One of the quickest ways to gain someone’s trust is to help that person. Justin Bariso
You’ve got to help others. Don’t just think about yourself. Help others. Arnold Schwarzenegger
The leaders who get the most out of their people are the leaders who care most about their people. Simon Sinek
Help your people grow and perform at their highest possible levels. Robert K. Greenleaf
Growing people and helping them to perform at high levels
is a key strategy for long-term success. When employees grow, their
productive capacity increases. When their productive capacity increases,
the capacity of the organization increases–it can do things better, or
it can do things it was not able to do before. Kent M. Keith
The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the
natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious
choice brings one to aspire to lead. Robert K. Greenleaf
It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed. Napoleon Hill
If you want to lead on the highest level, be willing to serve on the lowest. John C. Maxwell
Above all, leadership is a position of servanthood. Max De Pree
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 De Pree
The leader is the servant who removes the obstacles that prevent people from doing their jobs. Max De Pree
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. Aristotle
We cannot ask others to do what we have not done ourselves. Christiana Figueres
Servant leadership pumps up the team with confidence, which leads to high-performance. Marcel Schwantes
When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked
through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you.
You reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped
you succeed. Michelle Obama
I think leadership is service and there is power in that
giving: to help people, to inspire and motivate them to reach their
fullest potential. Denise Morrison
Employees of servant leaders are more helping and
creative than those working with leaders who scored lower on servant
leadership. Marcel Schwantes
You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too. Sam Rayburn
Shine your light and make a positive impact on the world;
there is nothing so honorable as helping improve the lives of others.
Roy T. Bennett
No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you. Althea Gibson
The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)
The teacher who awakens and encourages in students a
sense of possibility and responsibility is, to me, the ultimate leader.
Stanley McChrystal
Knowledge is useless to executives unless it has been translated into deeds. Peter F. Drucker
Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. Rosabeth Moss Kantor
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. Everett Dirksen
Are leaders born or made? This is a false dichotomy –
leaders are neither born nor made. Leaders choose to be leaders. Stephen
R. Covey
Taking charge of your own learning is a part of taking
charge of your life, which is the sine qua non in becoming an integrated
person. Warren Bennis
The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. Harvey S. Firestone
Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others. Roy T. Bennett
For everyone of us that succeeds, it’s because there’s
somebody there to show you the way out. The light doesn’t always
necessarily have to be in your family; for me it was teachers and
school. Oprah Winfrey
It’s not the absence of leadership potential that
inhibits the development of more leaders; it’s the persistence of the
myth that leadership can’t be learned. This haunting myth is a far more
powerful deterrent to leadership development than is the nature of the
person or the basics of the leadership process. James Kouzes and Barry
Posner
Part of company culture is path-dependent – it’s the lessons you learn along the way. Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
Mastery of reading and writing requires a master. Still more so life. Marcus Aurelius
Leaders know the importance of having someone in their
lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth. Warren
Bennis
The teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. Horace Mann
Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be
your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from
everyone else. Sara Blakely
In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who
inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a
world that no longer exists. Warren Bennis
People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be
content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of
standing out. Warren Bennis
Being humble doesn’t mean that you lack self-confidence,
or that you never stand up for your own opinions or principles. It does
mean recognizing that you don’t know everything – and that you’re
willing to learn from others. Justin Bariso
When you put together deep knowledge about a subject that
intensely matters to you, charisma happens. You gain courage to share
your passion, and when you do that, folks follow. Jerry Porras
Inexperience is an asset. Embrace it. Wendy Kopp
Teamwork makes the dream work. John C. Maxwell
It takes two flints to make a fire. Louisa May Alcott
The effective executive does not make staffing decisions to minimize weaknesses but to maximize strength. Peter F. Drucker
Large organization is loose organization. Nay, it would
be almost as true to say that organization is always disorganization. G.
K. Chesterton
In leadership writ large, mutually agreed upon purposes
help people achieve consensus, assume responsibility, work for the
common good, and build community. Joseph Rost
The most effective leaders aren’t extraverts or
introverts. They’re ambiverts: people who strike a balance of talking
and listening. Adam Grant
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. Ryunosuke Satoro
Leadership and management are not synonymous. Travis Bradberry
A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Leaders come in two flavors, expanders and containers. The best leadership teams have a mix of both. Barbara Corcoran
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to
pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from
meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. Henry Ford
If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton
My jobs as a leader is to make sure everybody in the
company has great opportunities, and that they feel they’re having a
meaningful impact. Larry Page (Google)
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. Michael Jordan
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then, you have to play it better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
Motivation comes from working on things we care about. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)
In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your
conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your
soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about
business. Marcus Aurelius
Highly engaged employees make the customer experience. Disengaged employees break it. Timothy R. Clark
All employees have an innate desire to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Jag Randhawa
Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. Stephen R. Covey
Everyone enjoys doing the kind of work for which he is best suited. Napoleon Hill
Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. Kenyan Proverb
I know of no single formula for success. But over the
years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal
and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their
efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their
inspiration to work together. Queen Elizabeth II
Culture is about performance, and making people feel good about how they contribute to the whole. Tracy Streckenbach
My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take
these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.
Steve Jobs
Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what
makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilisation work.
Vince Lombardi
The strength of the team is each member. The strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson
Everyone talks about building a relationship with your
customer. I think you build one with your employees first. Angela
Ahrendts
The lightning spark of thought generated in the solitary mind awakens its likeness in another mind. Thomas Carlyle
No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. H.E. Luccock
Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up. Oliver Wendell Holmes
No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team. Reid Hoffman
Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it. Rosemary Brown
When people talk, listen completely. Ernest Hemingway
Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess. Richard Branson
I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. Mahatma Gandhi
You who are journalists, writers, citizens, you have the
right and duty to say to those you have elected that they must practice
mindfulness, calm and deep listening, and loving speech. This is
universal thing, taught by all religions. Thich Nhat Hanh
Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. Marian Anderson
I have no methods. All I do is accept people as they are. Joan Rivers
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and
you help them become what they are capable of being. Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. Epictetus
The art of communication is the language of leadership. James Humes
One of the toughest things for leaders to master is
kindness. Kindness shares credit and offers enthusiastic praise for
others’ work. It’s a balancing act between being genuinely kind and not
looking weak. Travis Bradberry
Your number one customers are your people. Look after employees first and then customers last. Ian Hutchinson
Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world. Francis Hesselbein
I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the
greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a man
is by appreciation and encouragement. Charles Schwab
Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly. Tony Robbins
Even in a crowded room, likable leaders make people feel
like they’re having a one-on-one conversation, as if they’re the only
person in the room that matters. And, for that moment, they are. Likable
leaders communicate on a very personal, emotional level. Travis
Bradberry
People want to know they matter and they want to be treated as people. That’s the new talent contract. Pamela Stroko
Being a good leader requires remembering that you’re
there for a reason, and the reason certainly isn’t to have your way.
High-integrity leaders not only welcome questioning and criticism – they
insist on it. Travis Bradberry
There are only three measurements that tell you nearly
everything you need to know about your organization’s overall
performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow.
Jack Welch
“Turned on” people figure out how to beat the
competition, “Turned off” people only complain about being beaten by the
competition. Ben Simonton
Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals
of the organization. When people see that connection, they get a lot of
energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in
their job. Ken Blanchard
The way your employees feel is the way your customers
will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your
customers. Sybil F. Stershic
Don’t blow off another’s candle for it won’t make yours shine brighter. Jaachynma N.E. Agu
You must unite your constituents around a common cause and connect with them as human beings. James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Power isn’t control at all–power is strength, and giving
that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to
make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to
others that they may have the strength to stand on their own. Beth Revis
I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize.
The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is
humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle
and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting
yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.” Lao Tzu
Sharing emotions builds deeper relationships. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)
Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret. Mary Kay Ash
When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. Donald Miller
Change before you have to. Jack Welch
Leadership is an ever-evolving position. Mike Krzyzewski
In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. Max De Pree
Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing. Warren Bennis
Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow. Warren Bennis
Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would,
but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will – then your
life will flow well. Epictetus
In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital. Warren Bennis
The higher you want to climb, the more you need
leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your
influence needs to be. John C. Maxwell
The things we fear most in organizations – fluctuations,
disturbances, imbalances – are the primary sources of creativity.
Margaret Wheatley
We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)
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
There’s nothing more demoralizing than a leader who can’t
clearly articulate why we’re doing what we’re doing. James Kouzes and
Barry Posner
The domain of leaders is the future. The leader’s unique
legacy is the creation of valued institutions that survive over time.
The most significant contribution leaders make is not simply to today’s
bottom line; it is to the long-term development of people and
institutions so they can adapt, change, prosper, and grow. James Kouzes
and Barry Posner
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor
the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles
Darwin
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing
you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is
nothing you cannot achieve. Lao Tzu
Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have. Margaret Mead
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. Michael Porter
The time is always right to do what is right. Martin Luther King Jr
Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. Stephen R. Covey
The term ‘power’ comes from the Latin posse: to do, to be
able, to change, to influence or effect. To have power is to possess
the capacity to control or direct change. All forms of leadership must
make use of power. The central issue of power in leadership is not Will
it be used? But rather Will it be used wisely and well? Al Gini
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain
Effectiveness is a habit. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives do not make a great many decisions. They concentrate on what is important. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives […] try to find the constants in a
situation, to think through what is strategic and generic rather than to
‘solve problems’. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives […] want impact rather than technique. And they want to be sound rather than clever. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives do not start out with their tasks.
They start out with their time. And they do not start out with planning.
They start by finding out where their time actually goes. Peter F.
Drucker
All one has to do is to learn to say “no” if an activity
contributes nothing to one’s own organization, to oneself, or to the
organization for whom it is to be performed. Peter F. Drucker
It is more productive to convert an opportunity into
results than to solve a problem – which only restores the equilibrium of
yesterday. Peter F. Drucker
Above all, effective executives treat change as an
opportunity rather than a threat. They systematically look at changes,
inside and outside the corporation, and ask, “How can we exploit this
change as an opportunity for our enterprise?”. Peter F. Drucker
What we need is a way to identify the areas of
effectiveness (of possible significant results), and a method for
concentrating on them. Peter F. Drucker
What is the manager’s job? It is to direct the resources
and the efforts of the business toward opportunities for economically
significant results. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives put their best people on opportunities rather than on problems. Peter F. Drucker
Every analysis of actual allocation of resources and
efforts in business that I have ever seen or made showed clearly that
the bulk of time, work, attention, and money first goes to problems
rather than to opportunities, and, secondly, to areas where even
extraordinarily successful performance will have minimal impact on
results. Peter F. Drucker
An executive who makes many decisions is both lazy and ineffectual. Peter F. Drucker
Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed. Peter F. Drucker
I have never encountered an executive who remains effective while tackling more than two tasks at a time. Peter F. Drucker
Problem solving, however necessary, does not produce
results. It prevents damage. Exploiting opportunities produces results.
Peter F. Drucker
The focus on contribution is the key to effectiveness. Peter F. Drucker
The knowledge worker cannot be supervised closely or in
detail. He can only be helped. But he must direct himself, and he must
direct himself toward performance and contribution, that is, toward
effectiveness. Peter F. Drucker
The focus on contribution by itself supplies the four
basic requirements of effective human relations: communications;
teamwork; self-development; and development of others. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time. Peter F. Drucker
There seems to be little correlation between a man’s
effectiveness and his intelligence, his imagination or his knowledge.
Peter F. Drucker
Working on the right things is what makes knowledge work effective. Peter F. Drucker
Effective executives do not race. They set an easy pace but keep going steadily. Peter F. Drucker
The less an organization has to do to produce results, the better it does its job. Peter F. Drucker
To be effective every knowledge worker, and especially
every executive, therefore needs to be able to dispose of time in fairly
large chunks. To have small dribs and drabs of time at his disposal
will not be sufficient even if the total is an impressive number of
hours. Peter F. Drucker
Without an action plan, the executive becomes a prisoner
of events. And without check-ins to reexamine the plan as events unfold,
the executive has no way of knowing which events really matter and
which are only noise. Peter F. Drucker
The people who get nothing done often work a great deal
harder. In the first place, they underestimate the time for any one
task. They always expect that everything will go right. Yet, as every
executive knows, nothing ever goes right. The unexpected always
happens—the unexpected is indeed the only thing one can confidently
expect. Peter F. Drucker
“Is this still worth doing?” And if it isn’t, he gets rid
of it so as to be able to concentrate on the few tasks that, if done
with excellence, will really make a difference in the results of his own
job and in the performance of his organization. Peter F. Drucker
If there is any one “secret” of effectiveness, it is concentration. Peter F. Drucker
A boss loves power; a leader loves people. Amit Kalantri
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
A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others,
but someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on
with their jobs. Robert Townsend
A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them. M. D. Arnold
There is a difference between being a leader and being a
boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a
leader earns his authority through understanding and trust. Klaus
Balkenhol
I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying
attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we
get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it
results in bad government and politics. Barack Obama
I don’t think you lead by pessimism and cynicism. I think you lead by optimism and enthusiasm and energy. Patricia Ireland
A boss says “you do it”, a leader says “Let’s do it”. Amit Kalantri
Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing. Warren Bennis
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives. Theodore Roosevelt
Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Warren Bennis
You can’t sell it outside if you can’t sell it inside. Stan Slap
It is so easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build. Nelson Mandela
A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and
thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be
closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are
arrogant, superficial, and uninformed. Nelson Mandela
The cynics may be the loudest voices – but I promise you, they will accomplish the least. Barack Obama
Few things kill likeability as quickly as arrogance.
Likable leaders don’t act as though they’re better than you because
they don’t think that they’re better than you. Rather than being a
source of prestige, they see their leadership position as bringing them
additional accountability for serving those who follow them. Travis
Bradberry
Kindness is weak when you use it in a self-serving
manner. Self-serving kindness is thin – people can see right through it
when a kind leader has an agenda. Travis Bradberry
If you want to be a leader whom people follow with
absolute conviction, you have to be a likable leader. Tyrants and
curmudgeons with brilliant vision can command a reluctant following for a
time, but it never lasts. They burn people out before they ever get to
see what anyone is truly capable of. Travis Bradberry
The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. Warren Bennis
The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. Warren Bennis
What you do has far greater impact than what you say. Steven R. Covey
Good leaders see more in people than people see in themselves. Mark Sanborn
Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. Albert Schweitzer
What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan. Jason Fried
That one can truly manage other people is by no means
adequately proven. But one can always manage one’s self. Indeed,
executives who do not manage themselves for effectiveness cannot
possibly expect to manage their associates and subordinates. Management
is largely by example. Peter F. Drucker
Disagreement, especially if forced to be reasoned,
thought through, documented, is the most effective stimulus we know.
Peter F. Drucker
The best way to lead people into the future is to connect with them deeply in the present. James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Real leadership is leaders recognizing that they serve the people that they lead. Pete Hoekstra
Inspiring conduct has so much more of an impact than coercing it. Thomas Friedman
A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can’t. Jack Ma (alibaba.com)
It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you
through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not
explicate. Robert Greene
Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determinations. John Seaman Garns
Great Groups need to know that the person at the top will fight like a tiger for them. Warren Bennis
Courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own. Michelle Obama
Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. Harold S. Geneen
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. John Wooden
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
True leadership lies in guiding others to success–in
ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they
are pledged to do and doing it well. Bill Owens
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain. Maya Angelou
If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right.
But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let
them see. Henry David Thoreau
It’s impossible to engage people when you’re not engaged
yourself, and if you’re not engaged then why should they be. Gordon
Tredgold
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
Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions. Tony Robbins
To have long-term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way. Pat Riley
True leaders don’t give consoling answers, they take constructive actions. Amit Kalantri
A true leader leads by empowering not by enslaving. Debasish Mridha
I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself. Robert E. Lee
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you. Lao Tzu
Consistency is the true foundation of trust. Either keep your promises or do not make them. Roy T. Bennett
Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work. Warren Bennis
Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability. Patrick Lencioni
If people believe you have a plan, that you know where you are going, they will follow you instinctively. Robert Greene
True leaders actually do very little leading. Instead,
they create and maintain a framework that allows others to lead, create,
and grow. Neil Strauss
Humans are ambitious and rational and proud. And we don’t
fall in line with people who don’t respect us and who we don’t believe
have our best interests at heart. We are willing to follow leaders, but
only to the extent that we believe they call on our best, not our worst.
Rachel Maddow
Leaders must always put their people before themselves.
If you do that, your business will take care of itself. Sam Walton
(Walmart)
Divorced from ethics, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique. James MacGregor Burns
The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me,
never say ‘I.’ And that’s not because they have trained themselves not
to say ‘I.’ They don’t think ‘I.’ They think ‘we’; they think ‘team.’
They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept
responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit. This is
what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done. Peter F.
Drucker
It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies. Noam Chomsky
A leader takes people where they would never go on their own. Hans Finzel
A man can only lead when others accept him as their
leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him.
All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no
one will listen to them. Brandon Sanderson
One of the best ways to influence people is to make them feel important. Roy T. Bennett
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that
goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his
heart. Nelson Mandela
In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t
necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most
fearless heretic behind it. Seth Godin
I don’t see myself being special; I just see myself
having more responsibilities than the next man. People look to me to do
things for them, to have answers. Tupac Shakur
Leaders can conceive and articulate goals that lift
people out of their petty preoccupations and unite them in pursuit of
objectives worthy of their best efforts. John Gardner
It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Kenneth Blanchard
