Quotes & Sayings About Effective Leader

I've not seen an effective manager or leader who can't spend some fraction of time down in the trenches ... If they don't do that they get out of touch with reality, and their whole thought and management process becomes abstract and disconnected. — Jeff Bezos

An effective leader develops the ability to correctly identify the pertinent detail or details - incidentals in a market, industry or sport that might create an incremental advantage. — John Wooden

To be an effective leader, you have to have a manipulative streak - you have to figure out the people working for you and give each tasks that will take advantage of his strength. — Norman Schwarzkopf

If you don't have the ability to see when to stand up and the conviction to do it, you'll never be an effective leader. — John C. Maxwell

I would assert that highly effective leaders are made more than they're born. Every leader I know who's been highly effective has worked hard at it, and they've been students of it. The more you're a student of leadership, the more you figure out what works for you and the more effective you're going to be. — Douglas Conant

Effective leaders of change must serve equally as agents of change and protectors of continuity. — Samuel Wilson

if a leader combines leadership principles with an understanding of context, there will be effective execution. — Russell E. Palmer

Leaders develop their styles as they interact with their constituencies. They move toward the style that seems most effective in dealing with the mixture of elements that make up their constituencies. — John W. Gardner

The effective leader recognizes that she is more dependent on her people than they are on her. Walk softly. — Brian Tracy

Leaders who led their organizations quietly and humbly, were much more effective than flashy, charismatic high profile leaders. — James C. Collins

The reality is that the way in which a leader conducts his personal life does, in fact, have a profound impact on his ability to exercise effective public leadership. — Samuel D. Rima

Father, help me focus on my strengths and trust others to fill the gaps of my weaknesses"

Every leader knows the skills in which they excel. They also are aware of those tasks that they maintain a certain level of competence along with those duties they struggle in accomplishing. In my experience there are "want to's" and the "have to's" of leadership. The "want to's" energize a leader and the "have to's" zap the leader's creativity and time. The quicker a leader can find those around them that will fill the gaps of their weaknesses, the more effective they will be in achieving God's mission. — Gary Rohrmayer

There is no Black person here who can afford to wait to be led into positive action for survival. Each one of us must look clearly and closely at the genuine particulars (conditions) of his or her life and decide where action and energy is needed and where it can be effective. Change is the immediate responsibility of each of us, wherever and however we are standing, in whatever arena we choose. For while we wait for another Malcolm, another Martin, another charismatic Black leader to validate our struggles, old Black people are freezing to death in tenements, Black children are being brutalized and slaughtered in the streets, or lobotomized by television, and the percentage of Black families living below the poverty line is higher today than in 1963. — Audre Lorde

One of the most significant barriers to progress is the lack of effective leadership. — Ken Jennings

Rudyard Kipling, in his famous poetic description of what makes for mature and effective adulthood, wrote in part: If you can keep your head When all about you Are losing theirs And blaming it on you... If you can trust yourself When all men doubt you... This famous 1909 poem "If" was inspired in Kipling after observing one military leader's actions during the Boer Wars (Lt. Colonel Eduardo Jany, personal communication, October, 2007). — Michael J. Asken

The effective leader should keep the following guidelines in mind when it is necessary to change attitudes or behavior: 1 Be sincere. Do not promise anything that you cannot deliver. Forget about the benefits to yourself and concentrate on the benefits to the other person. 2 Know exactly what it is you want the other person to do. 3 Be empathetic. Ask yourself what is it the other person really wants. 4 Consider the benefits that person will receive from doing what you suggest. 5 Match those benefits to the other person's wants. 6 When you make your request, put it in a form that will convey to the other person the idea that he personally will benefit. — Dale Carnegie

Having the right attitude is fundamental to being an effective leader. — Jim George

In the ideal state a leader ensures that each man is effective in just the right capacity. — Timur Vermes

An effective leader must step back, look at the big picture, and make sure the important things are not being pushed out of the way by the seemingly urgent needs of the moment. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Truly effective and inspiring leaders aren't actually driven to lead people; they are driven to serve them. — Simon Sinek

The more varied the environments in which you exercise your leadership gift, the stronger that gift will become. You will become a far more effective leader. — Bill Hybels

Earlier in this century, philanthropy often flowed from the wills of dead industrialists. In recent decades, it's as likely to have come from a very alive business leader, entertainer, artist or sports star. The most effective of these patrons begin the process of giving by asking what they care about passionately. — Michael Milken

Gov. Romney is a proven and effective leader with vast experience in the business world, in the non-profit world and in government. And in every capacity in which he has ever served, he has been effective as a leader. — Jim Talent

Learning to be an effective leader is no different than learning to be an effective person. And that's the hard part — Warren G. Bennis

You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader, you can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance. — Eric Shinseki

Not everyone is born a great leader, but anyone can foster core leadership competencies for themselves and become actionable, effective leaders. — Ravinder Tulsiani

Effective leaders are willing to use power and authority, but they're doing it in the service of the collective good, as opposed to self-aggrandizement. — Noel Tichy

My vision of a better world would be one under the control of a strong United Nations, one that truly has the support of all countries in the world. Only an effective world government could provide sufficient law and have the power to control the unboundaried destructive forces of pollution and war. I will continue to be a leader in the World Federalist Association. — Lloyd Bridges

Quality effective leaders have the confidence to trust others to try, succeed, and sometimes to fail. We very often confuse personality with leadership. In other words, leadership is not about being a nice person or not a nice person. — Simon Sinek

It helps certain church leaders identify the fact that they have the spiritual gift of leadership that the Bible talks about in Romans 12:8. Once you understand that God has given a gift, then training becomes more seriously. When you receive better training, you become more effective in the leadership position that God has assigned to you. — Bill Hybels

A leader is most effective when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, his troops will feel they did it themselves. — Steve Zaffron

The goal of an effective leader is to recondition your team to be solution focused rather than problem focused. — Jim Rohn

Being an effective leader is enormously complex. It requires vision to see a future, dedication to make things happen, sensitivity to people who are quirky at times, and personal confidence without arrogance. — Dave Ulrich

Reflection doesn't take anything away from decisiveness, from being a person of action. In fact, it generates the inner toughness that you need to be an effective person of action - to be a leader. — Peter Koestenbaum

The true leader is a different sort; he seeks effective activity which has a truly beneficient purpose. He inspires others to follow in his wake, and holding aloft the torch of wisdom, leads the way for society to realize its genuinely great aspirations — Haile Selassie

It has been well said that an effective leader must know the meaning and master the technique of the educator. — Philip Selznick

In Russia an authoritarian leader is running the country. You can't fight Putin with elections because he controls them. That's why demonstrations are the most effective approach. Unfortunately Russia has sunk to this primitive level. — Alexei Navalny

The effectiveness of a leader is best judged by the actions of those he guides. — Bill Courtney

A leader's first priority is to create an environment where others can do these things and that cannot happen if they are not having effective meetings. — Patrick Lencioni

The Labour party on the whole has not been a very effective opposition since the election, partly because it spent months and months electing its new leader. I think the Labour party should, for one thing, stress much more that for most people in the past 13 years, the period was not one of collapse into chaos but actually one where the situation improved, and particularly in areas such as schools, hospitals and a variety of other cultural achievements - so the idea that somehow or other it all needs to be taken down and ground into the dust is not valid. I think we need to defend what most people think basically needs defending and that is the provision of some form of welfare from the cradle to the grave. — Eric Hobsbawm

Effective leaders let people discover things for themselves. — Jean Illsley Clarke

Even in challenging economic times, making sure that study abroad is part of our college students' education is a vital investment. If we want a new generation of leaders and innovators who can be effective in an ever more globalized world, sending our students overseas is not a luxury. It's a necessity. — Rick Steves

An effective leader is willing to think about what's happening and how to understand what's going on. Facilitating flow and making others more conscious of it, the leader communicates an awareness of process to the group, making them more aware of their energies and options. One important principle is to keep track of who has not spoken ... It's also important to notice when people do speak out but are not heard. Effective leaders practice patience, reminding themselves to wait and observe, remembering that there's always more going on in a group than we're consciously aware of. — Diane Dreher

One generalization that is supported both by research and experience is that effective two-way communication is essential to proper functioning of the leader-follower relationship. — John W. Gardner

When we become leaders, we sometimes think we are now supposed to have the answers. Yes, we may have some answers, but we will be more effective when we engage others and get their opinions. — Kevin Eikenberry

COURAGE isn't an absence of fear. It is doing what you are afraid to do, letting go of the familiar and forging ahead into new territory. What I have discovered is that the best leaders have the courage to act - are willing to take the risk, make the statement, point the way, lead the way - when others hesitate out of fear. Effective leadership requires the ability to stand up, stand out, and the conviction to do it. I have never known a successful leader that was not courageous. — John C. Maxwell

Clarity is the preoccupation of the effective leader. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear. — Marcus Buckingham

I believe one of the requirements of good leadership is the ability to listen - really listen - to those in your organization. An effective leader is very good at listening, and it's difficult to listen when you are talking. — John Wooden

Democrats' attack on the Republican majority leader is nothing but a coordinated agenda to stop an effective leader from accomplishing the people's business. — Bill Shuster

I think Americans expect optimism in their leadership. The most popular and effective leaders, whether it was Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan or Jack Kennedy, brought to it a sense of optimism and possibility. — David Brooks

The combined entity Youku Tudou Inc. represents a dominant leader in online video sector in China with the largest user base, most comprehensive content library, most advanced bandwidth infrastructure, and most effective monetization capability. — Victor Koo

So, when it comes to effective leadership, it's not about you and what makes you comfortable or helps you get ahead. It's about other people. It's about serving God by serving others. That's the mind-set of the mentor leader. — Tony Dungy

If you increase your success by even a mere 10 percent, you have become 10 percent more effective as a leader than you were before. — Dale Carnegie

To be effective, leaders must have the qualities and attitudes essential to work in a group setting. — Meg Whitman

Bill Clinton, who, to his credit, has established a clear and consistent foreign policy, which is as follows: Whenever the president of the United States gets anywhere near any foreign head of state, living or dead, he gives that leader a big old hug. This has proven to be an effective way to get foreign leaders to do what we want: Many heads of state are willing to sign any random document that President Clinton thrusts in front of them, without reading it, just so he will stop embracing them. — Dave Barry

Don't take on things you don't believe in and that you yourself are not good at. Learn to say no. Effective leaders match the objective needs of their company with the subjective competencies. As a result, they get an enormous amount of things done fast. — Peter Drucker

Nobody is rewarded for occupying a position, but for becoming effective in the position occupied. If you occupy a position, you must have the weight of influence in order to matter! — Israelmore Ayivor

Our leaders have described the recent atrocity with the customary cliche: mindless cowardice. Mindless may be a suitable word for the vandalising of a telephone box. It is not helpful for understanding what hit New York on September 11. Those people were not mindless and they were certainly not cowards. On the contrary, they had sufficiently effective minds braced with an insane courage, and it would pay us mightily to understand where that courage came from. It came from religion ... — Richard Dawkins

To be an effective leader and make sound decisions, you must be able to gather data by seeking out diverse perspectives and be willing to consider points of view other than your own. — Elizabeth Thornton

Only the person who does not evade conflict and directs his efforts in keeping with the course of society's development can be an effective leader. — Georgi Plekhanov

An effective leader allows exceptions to the rule for exceptional results or when circumstance demands. — John Wooden

When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally. — Laozi

Here is Max De Pree at his best, and that is very good indeed. In Leading Without Power, De Pree shows us why we cannot master the how-to-dos of effective leadership without also being clear about what leaders?and followers?must be. In doing so, he not only provides us with much practical wisdom about creative leading and organizational health, he also nurtures our souls. This is a book to be savored by all who care about such things as vision, faithfulness, trust, and hope. — Richard J. Mouw

Clarity is the answer to anxiety. Effective leaders are clear. — Marcus Buckingham

You don't become an effective leader by default. — John C. Maxwell

Acknowledging weakness doesn't make a leader less effective. On the contrary, in most cases it is simply a way of expressing that he understands what everyone else has known for some time. When you acknowledge your weaknesses to the rest of your team, it is never new information. — Andy Stanley

I've been a very effective leader in the gay rights movement, though at times I've been controversial. — Jean O'Leary

Arthur Scargill's leadership of the miners' strike has been a disgrace. The price to be paid for his folly will be immense. He will have destroyed the N.U.M. as an effective fighting force within British trade unionism for the next 20 years. If kamikaze pilots were to form their own union, Arthur would be an ideal choice for leader. — Jimmy Reid

As a servant leader the way you serve the vision is by developing people so that they can work on that vision even when you're not around. The ultimate sin of an effective servant leader is what happens when you are not there. That was the power of Jesus' leadership-the leaders He trained went on to change the world when He was no longer with them in bodily form. — Ken Blanchard

The more humble and transparent a leader is, the more effective he or she will be. — Michael Hyatt

To be an effective leader, you must be trustworthy. If people don't trust you, they won't follow you. And if they won't follow you, your organization won't meet its goals. Sandy Allgeier explains that personal credibility comes down to a simple truth: It's not about the type of person you are; it's about the types of things you do. If you want to be a great leader, read The Personal Credibility Factor. — Quint Studer

Effective leadership begins with effective communication. — Asa Don Brown

Remember, the only real leader you have is Jesus Christ. Unless you are daily taught of Him you will not be able to make the right decisions. To get to Him you need to pray, but it needs to be prayer of a unique quality. You can pray all night and all day and still not be in touch with His will. Prayer is not full and effective unless it adds up to our learning to wait upon the Lord for Him to make known His will. He needs to break down our tendency to cry out in prayer "Your will be done," and then to get up and still try to impose our will on circumstances. — C. John Miller

Developing excellent COMMUNICATION skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter. — Gil Amelio

It is asked whether, in fact, the leader makes propaganda, or whether propaganda makes the leader. There is a widespread impression that a good press agent can puff up a nobody into a great man.
The answer is the same as that made to the old query as to whether the newspaper makes public opinion or whether public opinion makes the newspaper. There has to be fertile ground for the leader and the idea to fall on. But the leader also has to have some vital seed to sow. To use another figure, a mutual need has to exist before either can become positively effective. Propaganda is of no use to the politician unless he has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear. — Edward L. Bernays

The most striking thing about highly effective leaders is how little they have in common. What one swears by, another warns against. But one trait stands out: the willingness to risk. — Larry Osborne

Great leadership can be a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when you're working for one, but even they can have a hard time articulating what it is that makes their leadership so effective. — Travis Bradberry

Effective leaders don't gather things just for themselves; they do it in order to give to others. — John C. Maxwell

The only meaningful measure for a leader is whether the team succeeds or fails. For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not. — Jocko Willink

The most effective leader is the one who satisfies the psychological needs of his followers. — David Ogilvy

Develop your leaders into a competitive advantage. Reconnect your leader-power to success. — Gene Morton

An ability to embrace new ideas, routinely challenge old ones, and live with paradox will be the effective leader's premier trait. — Tom Peters

Effective team leaders adjust their style to provide what the group can't provide for itself. — Ken Blanchard

The most effective leaders of companies in transition are the quiet, unassuming people whose inner wiring is such that the worst circumstances bring out their best. They're unflappable, they're ready to die if they have to. But you can trust that, when bad things are happening, they will become clearheaded and focused. — James C. Collins

The effective executive knows that it is easier to raise the performance of one leader than it is to raise the performance of a whole mass. She therefore makes sure she puts into the leadership position, into the standard-setting, the performance-making position the person who has the strength to do the outstanding pacesetting job. This always requires focus on the one strength of a person and dismissal of weaknesses as irrelevant unless they hamper the full deployment of the available strength. — Peter Drucker

The leader has to command the respect of all those under his supervision - and he must be open to those under his supervision. Effective leadership means having a lot of people working toward a common goal. And when you have that with no one caring who gets the credit, you're going to accomplish a lot. If you have those just wanting the credit for themselves, you're not going to get as much accomplished. — John Wooden

A true leader must have enough backbone to stand alone, even when the crowd wants to take the easy road home. A true leader cannot be dependent on companionship for his or her security, but must learn to trust in God alone. Singleness can give us the kind of backbone - courage, confidence, and leadership skills that an effective Christian must learn. — Leslie Ludy

Effective leaders are, first and foremost, good teachers. We're in the education business. — John Wooden

Competition and rivalry between the members of a group are the antithesis of the cooperation and team play needed in an effective management group. This is why team building is an empty abstraction for a group whose leader controls with power. — Thomas Gordon

The ablest and most effective leaders do not hold to a single style; they may be highly supportive in personal relations when that is needed, yet capable of a quick, authoritative decision when the situation requires it. — John W. Gardner

In my opinion, being an effective leader requires being an effective listener. The most productive leaders are usually those who are consistently willing to listen and learn. — John Wooden

For leaders to be effective, they need to connect with people. — John C. Maxwell

"'Come on, guys, I'm the leader of a whole movie ... !' I tell when I want people to fear and respect me. Not wildly effective." — Joss Whedon

We praise our leaders when they act against our adversaries. But when our own interest is threatened, we begin to dislike the same leaders, irrespective of the sincerity of their intentions. An effective leader is bound to create enemies. — Awdhesh Singh

I said last week that the number on Jean's back does not matter. He stays effective as a runner, decision-maker and leader. — Allister Coetzee

Sometimes servant leaders focus on the servitude part and forget the leader part. Great leadership isn't about abdication of power, it about the benevolent application of that power. — Scott Hammerle

I often say that leadership is deeply personal and inherently collective. That's a paradox that effective leaders have to embrace. — Peter Senge

I've written about the giving of trust as though it were a simple formula for building loyalty. But it isn't simple at all. The talent that is an essential ingredient of leadership tells the leader whom to trust and how much to trust and when to trust. The rule is (as with children) that trust be given slightly in advance of demonstrated trustworthiness. But not too much in advance. You have to have an unerring sense of how much the person is ready for. Setting people up for failure doesn't make them loyal to you; you have to set them up for success. Each time you give trust in advance of demonstrated performance, you flirt with danger. If you're risk-averse, you won't do it. And that's a shame, because the most effective way to gain the trust and loyalty of those beneath you is to give the same in equal measure. — Tom DeMarco

Effective leaders sacrifice much that is good in order to dedicate themselves to what is best — John C. Maxwell

Ultimately as a leader, you're evaluated on how you interact with people. If you do it well, you develop a reputation as effective leader. If you don't, you develop a reputation for being a highly ineffective leader. — Douglas Conant