top of page
.png){kind=small}
Leadership Quotes
"Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader."
158
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
82
"Each one of us, and, indeed, all those who aspire to national leadership must bring their own visions, views and styles to the business of reforming Nigeria, and the search for solutions."
71
"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."
65
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
57
"One man with courage makes a majority."
54
"A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action."
48
"Dictators are rulers who always look good until the last ten minutes."
45
"Leadership is the other side of the coin of loneliness, and he who is a leader must always act alone. And acting alone, accept everything alone."
44
"Likewise the leader of any state has to do the same, he has to enforce Shariah firmly, for he will be held in account later in the afterlife if he fails."
44
"Politicians also have no leisure, because they are always aiming at something beyond political life itself, power and glory, or happiness."
42
"I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator."
40
"Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion."
40
"Contrary to popular opinion, the hustle is not a new dance step - it is an old business procedure."
39
"I urge the Iraqi leadership for sake of its own people... to seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the Iraqi people."
38
"I've developed a huge regard for Toyota for its environmental awareness, for its immense commitment to research and development in this field, and for its leadership in developing hybrids which others are now following."
37
"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."
36
"The trial organized with U.N. participation of some kind will be for crimes committed by Khmer Rouge leaders from 1975 to 1979. That's it."
32
"But the leaders of the OIC could not even accept Mahathir's proposal, yet they talk about respect and honour."
31
"Our worst comes out when we behave like robots or professionals."
30
"Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel."
29
"Nigera is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be."
28
"Zhvania was the general secretary of the organisation which I founded, the Citizens' Union. It was the biggest organisation and came first in all elections, and Zhvania was the leader."
27
"Your initiatives should be purposeful. Never climb a tree with the purpose of plucking a fruit, only to come down with a leaf."
26
"Humility is a great quality of leadership which derives respect and not just fear or hatred."
26
"It's good to have a leader, otherwise we argue too much."
25
"Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity."
24
"It is to be hoped that the leaders of this movement will place the nation above the party."
24
"I had a sense of what leadership meant and what it could do for you. So am I surprised that I am sitting up here on the 62nd floor of Rockefeller Plaza? No."
23
"If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles."
23
"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
23
"Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed."
22
"People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working."
20
"Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."
19
"The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them."
19
"A wise and frugal Government, which shall retrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."
18
"I believe President Bush is one of the most dangerous leaders in the world. He is not in search of peaceful and diplomatic solutions."
18
"The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people."
18
"Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves - and by which they are willing to be judged."
18
"To be a successful soldier or a politician, one must be able to suppress one's finer feelings and emotions."
17
"To meet the expectations of the majority of our people, and to open up new vistas of economic opportunity so that the aspirations of Nigerians can stand a fair chance of being fulfilled in a lifetime, there must be a truly committed leadership in a democratic Nigeria."
17
"When employees are happy, they are your very best ambassadors."
16
"The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'"
16
"The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies."
16
"Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it."
16
"I knew I could not maintain that leadership in open struggle against Moscow influence. Only two Communist leaders in history ever succeeded in doing this - Tito and Mao Tse-tung."
15
"Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft."
15
"The Leadership Training Institute of America is a cultural think tank providing training and opportunity in leadership development and cultural dynamics."
15
"It is with obedience to your call that I take up the burden of government leadership for the final time."
15
"Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers."
14
bottom of page