8,953 Quotes About Leadership

Heroes don't stand in line, they set out alone into the unknown and lines form behind them.

To lead you need to empathise, to empathise you need to genuinely understand, to understand you need to be willing to have difficult conversations.

The key to having fewer disappointments in life is to stop pleasing people. Your true calling is to please God.

861 Each individual person is a mystery. If you wish to be a leader, you will need to know all your co-workers, their needs, their interests, their temperaments, and their reactions. You will also need to make an exact assessment of their abilities and determine the right position for each one.

863 Try to put yourself in the position of your co-workers. Exchange points of view with them as a friend, treat them warmly, let them see that you are interested in them, and that you understand them. Such a kindly attitude will inspire them to love and trust you.

864 The honors you receive will not be medals to hang on your chest, citations to frame for your walls, or laudatory speeches. Your work as a leader will be etched in the hearts and on the faces of your co-workers.

865 If you win the hearts of your co-workers they will follow you energetically and devotedly, because they know that you love them sincerely and deeply, and that you would willingly make sacrifices for them. If you do not lead them with love you will have to employ the worst method - force.

866 To win over the hearts of co-workers, the leader must dare to allow them to share closely in his or her work, and have the confidence in his or her authority. The leader must be humble with co-workers, yet retain the dignity of his or her position, mix with them informally while retaining their respect, and request obedience from all when decisions have been made.

At its essence, good leadership isn't about being indispensable; it's about helping others be prepared to possibly step into your shoes -- giving them access to your own decision making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve, and, as I've had to do, sometimes being honest with them about why they're not ready for the next step up.