Wise Words
Leadership
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton), (1834–1902), English historian
“A leader knows what's best to do; a manager knows merely how best to do it.”
Ken Adelman, American diplomat, political writer, & policy analyst
“Tasks must be delegated without responsibilities being abdicated.”
Anonymous
“History is filled with undistinguished leaders who succeeded because they had a flair for selecting sound counselors.”
George Ball, (1909–1994), American diplomat
“A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn't go by yourself.”
Joel A. Barker, American scholar, futurist, & author
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”
John Buchan, (1875–1940), Scottish-born British novelist & politician
“Great leadership arises out of great conflict.”
James MacGregor Burns, American presidential biographer & scholar
“Leadership is generally defined as the capacity to make things happen that would otherwise not happen.”
Thomas Cronin, noted political scientist and educator
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
Peter F. Drucker, (1909–2005), Austrian-born American writer & management consultant
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, (1890–1969), five-star general & 34th President of the US
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that's assault, not leadership.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, (1890–1969), five-star general & 34th President of the US
“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”
Harold S. Geneen, (1910–1977), American businessman
“You can judge a leader by the size of the problem he tackles…. Other people can cope with the waves, it’s his job to watch the tide.”
Sir Antony Jay, British broadcaster & co-author of British political comedies
“Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.”
Henry Kissinger, German-born American political scientist & diplomat
“The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.”
Henry Kissinger, German-born American political scientist & diplomat
“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.”
John Kotter, American professor at Harvard Business School
“First organize the inner, then organize the outer…. First organize the great, then organize the small. First organize yourself, then organize others.”
Zhuge Liang, (181–234), Chinese military strategist, statesman, scholar, & inventor
“Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.”
Abraham Lincoln, (1809–1865), 16th President of the US
“Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”
Vince Lombardi, (1913–1970), American football coach
“To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn't know where he is going.”
Joe Namath, American football quarterback
“Leadership is more than technique, though techniques are necessary. In a sense, management is prose; leadership is poetry…. The manager thinks of today and tomorrow. The leader must think of the day after tomorrow. A manager represents a process. The leader represents a direction of history.”
Richard Nixon, (1913–1994), 37th President of the US
“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”
Thomas Paine, (1737–1809), pamphleteer, revolutionary, inventor, & intellectual
“We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”
George S. Patton, (1885–1945), distinguished American Army officer
“Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.”
Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, & motivational speaker
“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, (1858–1919), 26th President of the US
“Leadership involves conduct. Conduct is determined by values. Values are what makes us who we are.”
H. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired US Army General
“When placed in command—take charge.”
H. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired US Army General
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”
Publilius Syrus, Latin writer of mimes, flourished in the 1st century BC
“Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.”
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, (c. 56 – c. 117), Roman senator & historian
“Leadership is, among other things, the ablity to inflict pain and get away with it—short-term pain for long-term gain.”
George F. Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist, journalist, & author
“Education is the mother of leadership.”
Wendell Wilkie, (1892–1944), American corporate lawyer & GOP presidential nominee
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