60+ Leadership Quotes To Inspire Greatness In 2024

Leadership quotes are statements from experienced and celebrated leaders that encapsulate their wisdom, insights, and philosophies on leadership. These quotes are important because they provide inspiration, guidance, and motivation. They allow us to learn from successful leaders' experiences and apply their wisdom to our own situations.

Leaders often share such quotes with coworkers to inspire them, promote a positive work culture, and spur productivity and creativity. Leadership quotes can serve as powerful tools for boosting motivation and inspiration, as they provide insights into the mindset and strategies that have led to success.


Top Leadership Quotes

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge." - Simon Sinek

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things." - Ronald Reagan

"To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." - Ralph Nader

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." - Jack Welch

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them." - M. D. Arnold

"The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have not been." - Henry Kissinger

"Leadership is a choice, not a position." - Stephen Covey

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson

"The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are." - John C. Maxwell

"Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position." - Brian Tracy

"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves." - Ray Kroc


Most Powerful Leadership Quotes

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis." - Brian Tracy

"The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." - Ken Blanchard

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." - Max Lucado

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"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

"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others." - Douglas MacArthur

"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes." - Peter Drucker

"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly." - Jim Rohn

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." - Lao Tzu

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things." - Ronald Reagan

"To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less." - Andre Malraux

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." - Arnold H. Glasow

Discover What is leadership, and what leaders do?


Top Quotes from Famous Leaders

"The only safe ship in a storm is leadership." - Faye Wattleton2. "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams

"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people." - Mahatma Gandhi

"Don't find fault, find a remedy." - Henry Ford

"I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through–then follow through." - Edward Rickenbacker

"A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit." - John C. Maxwell

"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." - Henry David Thoreau

"My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence." - General Montgomery

"The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership." - Nelson Mandela

"A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers." - Simon Sinek

"Leadership is an action, not a position." - Donald McGannon

"Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people." - Brian Tracy

Related: Top 10 leadership books.


Top Quotes from 21st Century Leaders

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." - Bill Gates

"I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of 'Wow, I'm not really sure I can do this,' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough." - Marissa Mayer

"In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders." - Sheryl Sandberg

"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

"You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case." - Ken Kesey

"If you're changing the world, you're working on important things. You're excited to get up in the morning." - Larry Page

"The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are." - John C. Maxwell

"True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection." - Sheryl Sandberg

"Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers." - Simon Sinek

"Leadership is not about the next election, it's about the next generation." - Simon Sinek

"Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." - Sam Walton

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Richard Branson

"Believe you can change the world." - Carly Fiorina

"The speed of the boss is the speed of the team." - Lee Iacocca

Related: What are the top leadership styles and how to find yours?


Top Short Leadership Quotes

"Lead from the heart, not the head." - Princess Diana

"Leadership is influence." - John C. Maxwell

"A boss has the title, a leader has the people." - Simon Sinek

"The leader is the servant." - Mother Teresa

"Leadership is action, not position." - Donald H. McGannon

"Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower." - Steve Jobs

"Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin



Key Takeaways

  1. Leadership is about influence: Many quotes emphasize that leadership is less about power and more about the ability to inspire and motivate others.
  2. Leaders face challenges: Leadership often involves making difficult decisions and facing challenges head-on.
  3. Leaders are lifelong learners: Many leadership quotes highlight the importance of continuous learning and growth.

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