By the structure of the world we often want, at the sudden occurrence of a grave tempest, to change the helmsman - to replace the pilot of the calm by the pilot of the storm.
Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right things.
We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.
The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.
It is hard to look up to a leader who keeps his ear to the ground.
I believe in benevolent dictatorships, provided I am the dictator.
Of one thing be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and his outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked.
Dictators ride to and fro on tigers they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.
To be dilatory about giving orders, but to expect absolute punctuality, that is called being a tormentor.
The leader is not just a scorekeeper. He is responsible for creating something new and better.
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
I'm not giving up politics entirely - I'm just giving up leadership of a political party.
You should be the change that you want to see in the world.
Passionate leadership won't succeed if contradictory signals are sent out.
It is practically impossible for a top management man, or even middle management, to be doing the degree and level of work that he should be doing and, at the same time, have a clean desk.
Leadership is practiced, not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.
Praise should always be given in public, criticism should always be given in private.
The grab for a quick killing is the mark of the worst kind of leadership, for it places immediate profit above the long-term interest of the organization and can lead ultimately only to disaster.
When it's time to make a decision about a person or problem ... trust your intuition ... act.
My mother was in the Army Reserve for six years. She taught me the importance of following rules, finishing what I start, never giving up, leadership skills, teamwork, staying positive, motivated and how to pack the military way when I'm traveling!
One man with courage makes a majority.
In matters of style, swim with the current;
In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Leadership is not about being nice. It's about being right and being strong.
I think leadership is valuing the time you spend with your people more than anything else you do.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
The difference between a leader and a boss is the difference between good and bad management.
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.
The tail tracks the head. If the head moves fast the tail will keep up the same pace. If the head is sluggish, the tail will drop.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute - he simply speaks and does what is right.
A leader has to be one of two things: he either has to be a brilliant visionary himself, a truly creative strategist, in which case he can do what he likes and get away with it; or else he has to be a true empowerer who can bring out the best in others.
I try to keep in touch with the details - you can't keep in touch with them all, but you've got to have a feel for what's going on.
A chairman who never wanders about his agency becomes a hermit, out of touch with his staff.
Decision making by consensus has been the subject of a great deal of research ... evidence strongly suggests that a consensus approach yields more creative decisions and more effective implementation than does individual decision making.
You have a responsibility to shape the vision of a company, and you know whatever process you choose will determine ultimately the well-being of the organization.
The leader must know, must know that he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those about him that he knows.
Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.
There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality.
Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself - you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinate.
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. ... The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.
When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em,Certainly I can!Then get busy and find out how to do it.
To be a leader in this new economy, you have to love risk - which means patterning your life on the heroic, not on the strategic. Acting boldly is better than acting knowingly.
Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.
Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration - of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.
Leadership is the process of achieving a dream together, especially when that dream seems impossible to achieve.
Administrators are cheap and easy to find and cheap to keep. Leaders - risk takers: they are in very short supply. And ones with vision are pure gold.
A huge problem we face when we're in need is giving up our intuition and blindly following instruction. Letting go works when we are following our hearts, but not so well when we are following a leader.
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
I don't mind how much my Ministers talk, so long as they do what I say.
I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.
A leader is best when people barely know that he exists.
Less good when they obey and acclaim him.
Worse when they fear and despise him.
Fail to honor people, and they fail to honor you.
But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
they will say,We did this ourselves.
If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty.
From leaders, we need clear, consistent and honest attention to the identity of the organization. Identity shows up in our actions, our visions, our relationships inside and out of the organization. Identity gets deepened as we do the work.