As human beings who are constantly evolving and growing, quotes on inspiring leaders we are always striving to be better and to create a better world for those who come after us. Inspiring leadership quotes but being a leader is no easy job. Whether you’re aiming to be the CEO of a million-dollar company or just trying to set a good example for your family, it can be challenging to know where to start. There are many qualities of a good leader, but according to the Center for Creative Leadership. Quotes for inspirational leaders good leaders encompass ten skills: integrity, the ability to delegate, communication, self-awareness, gratitude, learning agility, influence, empathy, courage, and respect.
While this all may seem like a lot, it all just comes down to being a good person who never gives up at wanting to make the world a better place, not just for themselves, but for everyone else. We rounded up these leadership quotes from notable leaders around the world that will provide you with a bit of inspiration on how to be a leader—and what being a good leader really means. If you’re looking for even more insight, make sure you also read up on these confidence quotes, strength quotes, and teamwork quotes.
Best Quotes on Leadership
1. A leader is best when people barely know he exists, inspiring leadership quotes when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu
2. Where there is no vision, the people perish. —Proverbs 29:18
3. I must follow the people. Am I not their leader? —Benjamin Disraeli
4. You manage things; you lead people. —Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
5. 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 DePree
6. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. —Warren Bennis
7. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. — General George Patton
8. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. —Jack Welch
9. A leader is a dealer in hope. —Napoleon Bonaparte
10. You don’t need a title to be a leader. –Multiple Attributions
11. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. —John Maxwell
12. 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
Inspirational Leader Quotes
1. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, inspiring leadership quotes when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” —Lao Tzu, philosopher and writer
2. “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, anthropologist
3. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch, American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer
4. “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.” —Padmasree Warrior, CEO & founder of Fable
5. “It’s okay to admit what you don’t know. It’s okay to ask for help. And it’s more than okay to listen to the people you lead – in fact, it’s essential.” —Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors
6. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader.
7. “You don’t need a title to be a leader.” —Unknown
8. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —John Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor
9. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
10. “Leadership should be more participative than directive, quotes for inspirational leaders more enabling than performing.” —Mary D. Poole, author
Inspiring Quotes by Leaders
11. “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, British Army Officer
12. “Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. ‘Here, open it, it’s perfect. You’ll love it.’ Opportunities – the good ones – are messy, confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.” —Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
13. “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, quotes for inspirational leaders it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” —Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand
14. “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.” —Warren Bennis, American scholar, organizational consultant, and author
15. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.” —Brian Tracy, Canadian American motivational public speaker
16. “Leadership is about the team – the culture they keep and embrace; it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business; it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, quotes for inspirational leaders being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.” —Kat Cole, COO & President of FOCUS Brands
17. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader, American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney
18. He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. —Aristotle
19. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position. —Brian Tracy
20. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. —Ralph Nader
Inspiring Quotes for Leadership
21. Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. —Peter Drucker
22. Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. —Publilius Syrus
23. A great person attracts great people and knows quotes for inspirational leaders how to hold them together. —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
24. 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 inspiring leadership quotes with them while they do it. —Theodore Roosevelt
25. Leadership is influence. —John C. Maxwell
26. You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. quotes for inspirational leaders You lead by going to that place and making a case. —Ken Kesey
27. When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out. —Napoleon Bonaparte
28. Men make history and not the other way around. Quotes for inspirational leaders in periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. —Harry S. Truman
29. People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. —John Maxwell
30. So much of what we call management consists of quotes on inspiring leaders in making it difficult for people to work. —Peter Drucker
Motivational Inspirational life Quotes
31. The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes. —Tony Blair
32. The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. quotes for inspirational leaders You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh
33. The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. —Kenneth Blanchard
34. A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible. —Polybius
35. A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. —John Maxwell
36. A leader takes people where they want to go. quotes on inspiring leaders A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, motivational inspirational life quotes but ought to be. —Rosalynn Carter
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. —Douglas MacArthur
40. A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward. —Ovid
Will Power Quotes
41. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, Motivational inspirational life quotes or to get all the credit for doing it. —Andrew Carnegie
42. Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. —General Dwight Eisenhower
43. The leader has to be practical, and a realist yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist. —Eric Hoffer
44. Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems. —Brian Tracy
45. A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back quotes on inspiring leaders on the crowd. —Max Lucado
46. Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. —General George Patton
47. As we look ahead into the next century, motivational inspirational life quotes inspiring leadership quotes leaders will be those who empower others. —Bill Gates
48. All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of quotes on inspiring leaders their people in their time. This, and not much else, motivational inspirational life quotes is the essence of leadership. —John Kenneth Galbraith
49. Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway. —Eleanor Roosevelt
