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The 40 best phrases of Leadership (very inspiring)

The 40 best phrases of Leadership (very inspiring)

March 22, 2024

We consider a leader to be one or those people capable of organizing and guiding the behavior of a group towards one or several specific objectives, being recognized by those to whom it leads. This position, associated with power but at the same time with responsibility and commitment, can become a heavy burden.

Leading is not easy: you have to assume the direction that the team takes, the confrontation of the difficulties both in the task and among the members of the group or the consequences and responsibilities that derive from the decisions taken. That is why in this article we will see some great phrases of leadership that can be an inspiration

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A quarantine of great leadership phrases

There are many authors who have reflected their thoughts on what leadership implies, due to the high impact that can have the role of those who are considered leaders for all those who follow them or those who lead. Next we will see a small selection of sentences about leadership proposals by different thinkers, experts and leaders throughout history .


1. To lead people, walk after them (Lao Tzu)

This first sentence reflects a fundamental fact: the leader is because he has who recognizes and follows him, being a true leader not who does what he likes supported by power but who truly cares about those who have put him where he is.

2. He who has never learned to obey can not be a good commander (Aristotle)

The author reflects the need for those who lead to put themselves in the place of those who are led by him.

3. The leader's task is to take people from where they are to where they have not been (Henry Kissinger)

Brief phrase that reflects that the leader emerges when it is necessary to reach a point that the members of the group are not able to solve individually or without coordination.


4. Power is not control. Power is force and is giving that force to others. A leader is not someone who forces others to become stronger (Beth Revis)

This reflection makes clear reference to the existence of a difference between leading and oppressing to get or keep power.

5. A great person attracts great people and knows how to keep them together (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Phrase that shows the relevance of personality and the disposition towards others when it comes to leading effectively.

6. The good leader knows what is true; the evil leader knows what sells better (Confucius)

Confucius tells us in this sentence that the good leader is not the one who is dedicated to manipulating others to preserve their image and power, but the one who works to achieve the well-being of those who lead, even though it may harm them.

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7. The wild ducks follow the leader of their flock by the shape of their flight and not by the force of their squawk (Chinese Proverb)

This proverb reflects the idea that the important thing is to give and be an example, not to give an image of strength or to oppress the leaders.


8. A good leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes them to where they do not necessarily want to go but they must be (Rosalynn Carter)

The former First Lady refers to the fact that the decisions that must be made are not always in accordance with the current of majority thought, and sometimes it is necessary to promote an approach towards a certain position.

9. Anyone can hold the rudder when the sea is calm (Publilio Siro)

This author tells us that authentic leadership is shown when difficulties arise, being simple to direct without any real problem.

10. The supreme quality of leadership is integrity (Dwight Eisenhower)

Eisenhower it indicates the importance of integrity within the role of the leader.

11. The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to choose good men to do what they want to do and enough restraint not to mess with them while doing it (Theodore Roosevelt)

A good leader is able to maximize and optimally use the skills of those he leads, always respecting them as they are: those who have placed him in a position of power.

12. It is better to lead from behind and put others in front, especially when things are going well. Instead, you must take the first line when there is danger. That's when people will appreciate your leadership (Nelson Mandela)

Mandela reflects in this sentence on the importance of letting others develop freely but acting with alacrity and showing their faces in times of need.

13. People should not feel obligated. They must be able to choose their own leader (Albert Einstein)

True leadership is that which arises from recognition and not from imposition, as indicated by the well-known author of this phrase.

  • Related article: "125 sentences of Albert Einstein on science and life"

14. The art of communication is the language of leadership (James Humes)

This phrase indicates the importance of the leader being able to correctly communicate the different objectives and aspects that those who follow him must take into account, as well as being able to accept and value the opinions of each of them.

15. Do not go where the road leads. Go where there is no path and leave a mark (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

A phrase that reflects that the leader does not limit himself to follow the prescribed path, but is able to create new solutions and ways by which others can go.

16. In terms of style, swim with the current. In terms of principles, it remains as a rock (Thomas Jefferson)

This phrase reflects the need to be adaptable but in turn maintain the principles and values ​​that guide you .

17. A good leader does not get stuck behind his desk (Richard Branson)

If someone wants to be a good leader, he can not be passive: he must be able to observe and respond to changes in the environment and the needs of what he leads, offering his support and truly exercising his role in contact with reality.

18. The example is not the main thing to influence others. It's the only thing (Albert Schweitzer)

As we have said before, being an example is what makes someone recognized and deserving of respect and even leadership.

19. A true leader has the confidence to be alone, the courage to make difficult decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not propose to be a leader, but becomes one because of his actions and the integrity of his intention (Douglas MacArthur)

Being a leader is something that is not a right, but something that derives from the fact of deserving it. Likewise, the good leader is able to face what is necessary, what has to be done to achieve it and its consequences.

20. Stay with a leader when you are right, stay with him when he is still right, but leave him when he is no longer (Abraham Lincoln)

Phrase that refers to the need to show that leadership is not something eternal or absolute or that a leader does not always have to be right, it is important not to blind or idealize said leader and know how to separate from him when he stops fighting for the right thing.

21. There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader gains his authority through knowledge and trust (Klaus Balkenhol)

Phrase that clearly differentiates between the position obtained by position or imposition and that obtained by respect.

22. A good leader is not a consensus seeker, but a consensus shaper (Martin Luther King)

The leader should not just wait for everyone to agree, but should actively seek consensus to be generated and addressed to something positive.

23. Leadership and learning are indispensable for each other (John F. Kennedy)

Leadership needs learning to be able to exercise and regulate its functions, while learning requires a guide to be able to carry out

24. Leadership is unlocking the potential of people to make them better (Bill Bradley)

The good leader helps others to optimize and develop their full potential

25. Leadership is not about titles, positions or flow diagrams, but about a life that influences another (John Maxwell)

The importance of leadership is actually the effect it has on the leaders and the repercussions that their actions can have on their lives.

26. Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but by the presence of clear strengths (John Zenger)

Although in some of the previous sentences we have mentioned some typical characteristics of a good leader, the truth is that this does not imply that they can not have weaknesses: all of us have a wide range of flaws and weaknesses. In what the personalities that act as leaders stand out is usually in the existence of great strengths.

27. The secret of leadership is simple: do what you believe, draw an image of the future and go there (Seth Godin)

Striving to achieve a goal, and help guide towards its achievement is basically the only sense of leadership.

28. The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader arranges the candles (John Maxwell)

The role of the leader is to guide the action, and must be a fundamentally active element in achieving the objectives.

29. If a leader does not transmit passion and intensity, then there will be no passion and intensity within the organization and they will begin to fall and become depressed (Colin Powell)

Phrase that reflects the need for those who lead to do so with motivation and with the purpose of generating it in the rest.

30. The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude, kind but not weak, thoughtful but not lazy, confident but not arrogant, humble but not shy, proud but not arrogant, having humor but not looking foolish (Jim Rohn)

We have already commented previously that the role of the leader is difficult, being very useful the existence of certain factors such as those mentioned but without taking them to the extreme.

31. The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I". They do not think "I". They think "we". They think "team" (Tom Peters)

Phrase that highlights the importance of focusing on the well-being of the team and in that it reaches its goals, leaving aside the "self".

32Do not tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results (George S. Patton)

The leader should not mark each step of the way, but indicate the direction in which to go and allow the capacities of each one to flow.

33. Leaders are visionaries with an underdeveloped sense of fear and without the concept of probabilities against them (Robert Jarvik)

Although some prudence is good, fear should not allow leadership to lose its grip but the leader must take risks and pursue the proposed goals.

34. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and be more, you are a leader (John Quincy Adams)

A leader not only directs, but also has to serve as an example and inspiration

35. People who are truly powerful are very humble. They do not try to impress, they do not try to influence others. They are simply. Other people are magnetically attracted to them (Sanaya Roman)

Beautiful phrase that reflects that those who obtain more recognition are usually the really humble, which usually makes them dear leaders.

36. Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has demonstrated ability, wisdom and competence (Walt Disney)

A brief but accurate definition of what leadership implies.

37. A leader is better when people hardly know that he exists, when his work is done and his goal is fulfilled they will say: we did it (Lao Tzu)

This author reflects the idea that the best leader is the one who is able to convince others that the results obtained are solely due to their own actions , despite the fact that there has been a little perceived guide behind. Likewise, this implies that the leader in question does not lead by obtaining recognition but by true interest in reaching the proposed goals.

38. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you did not have title or position (Brian Tracy)

In line with the meaning of the previous sentence, in this we are told about the importance that before becoming a leader we try to be the kind of person we really want to follow.

39. A leader is someone you follow to a place you would not go by yourself (Joel Barker)

This phrase tells us again that good leadership allows all the members of a group to achieve results that they would not achieve by themselves.

40. He who has great power should use it lightly (Seneca)

This last sentence tells us that power is not something that should be abused, but should only be used when necessary.

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