They have contributed to the world with their innovative ideas and persistent hard work. A good leader quotes’ to inspire and instill a sense of purpose among people. Whether you are currently a leader or aspire to be one someday, it is important to remember that good leadership requires skills that must be constantly honed and refined.
There are many qualities of a good leader, but according to the Center for Creative Leadership, good leaders encompass ten skills: integrity, the ability to delegate, communication, self-awareness, gratitude, learning agility, influence, empathy, courage, and respect.
Sometimes all the inspiration you need can be found in a few simple words of wisdom – a single idea can really change the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we live. Here are 50 of our favorite inspiring leadership quotes for work to empower you and your team throughout each week of the year.
1. I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?
Benjamin Disraeli
2. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Warren Bennis
3. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.
General George Patton
4. The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
Tony Blair
5. 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
6. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.
Andrew Carnegie
7. Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.
Brian Tracy
8. Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
General George Patton
9. As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
Bill Gates
10. Education is the mother of leadership.
Wendell Willkie
11. Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
John C. Maxwell
12. Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts.
Erskine Bowles
13. Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.
Tom Peters
14. Never give an order that can’t be obeyed.
General Douglas MacArthur
15. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
Arnold Glasow
16. True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.
Bill Owens
17. There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage.
Fuchan Yuan
18. The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
Harvey Firestone
19.No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.
Andrew Carnegie
20. Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.
J. Donald Walters
21. Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes.
Peter F. Drucker
22. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
23. Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.
Richard Branson
24. Great leaders have three things; inner light, inner vision, and inner strength.
Amit Ray
25. The greatest gift of leadership is a boss who wants you to be successful.
Jon Taffer
26. Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to think we need the feminine qualities of leadership, which include attention to aesthetics and the environment, nurturing, affection, intuition, and the qualities that make people feel safe and cared for.
Deepak Chopra
27. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy
28. A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt
29. The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
Harvey S. Firestone
30. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Warren G. Bennis
31. Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.
Bill Bradley
32. The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example
John Wooden
33. I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
Jimmy Dean
34. There is little success where there is little laughter.
Andrew Carnegie
35. Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower
Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder
36. As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.”
Himanshu Bhatia, CEO of Chesterfield
37. “I believe in a quiet, strong and grounded leadership. I think some of the best leaders are those whose work is widely known and respected but who, themselves, are relatively unknown.”
Rachael Chong, founder and CEO of Catchafire
38. “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.
Tom Landry, former Dallas Cowboys coach
39. It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.
Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
40. You can be a leader in your workplace, your neighborhood, or your family, all without having a title.
Travis Bradberry, author
41. Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.
George Patton, general in the United States Army
42. “A good leader must hate the wrong thing more than they hate the pain of doing the right thing.
Angela Jiang, product manager
43. Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.
Peter F. Drucker,
44. Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.
Tina Fey, actress, comedian, and writer
45. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama
46. I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Thomas A. Edison
47. 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 Maxwell
48. Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You can’t come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.
Ben Roethlisberger
49. If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.
Dolly Parton
50 “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.
Bill Bradley