Quotes & Sayings About Successful Leadership

Exasperation over our struggle in Vietnam should not close our eyes to the fact that we could have other missile crises in the future - different kinds, no doubt, and under different circumstances. But if we are to be successful then, if we are going to preserve our own national security, we will need friends, we will need supporters, we will need countries that believe and respect us and will follow our leadership. — Robert F. Kennedy

The end product of the successful preacher's input is transformation. — Christian Michael

Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity — Reed Markham

Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has obviously succeeded not only in producing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering high morale and community of purpose. The social experiment in China under Chairman Mao's leadership is one of the most important and successful in human history. — David Rockefeller

Two elements of successful leadership: a willingness to be wrong and an eagerness to admit it. — Seth Godin

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. — Ken Blanchard

The manager who understands what her employees want and need must seldom resort to the authority of the org chart or the paycheck. Taking a third-level approach, the smart manager doesn't scream the truth, but whispers messages that make others feel strong and successful. Only then are great change and real leadership possible. — Peter S. Temes

I never allow of any difficulties. The great secret of being useful and successful is to admit of no difficulties. — George Gipps

The reality for teachers is we don't know if we've been successful or not. It takes years to see how a kid turns out, and it's impossible to know what role we've played, for better or worse. It's why so many teachers burn out - our successes are limited and rarely celebrated, but our failures are always out there for everyone to see and judge. — Tucker Elliot

It's not that I had more important things to do or that I didn't want to help with whatever problems were interfering with her students being successful - rather, it's this horrible truth that life has taught me: misplaced hope is the most devastatingly painful thing you can give someone. — Tucker Elliot

Let out your heat!
Unleash your imagination
Let the burning fragrance of your unimpeachable imagination
sparkle through the morning's you.
At night, let the stoical sweat of your day ease your muscles
Relax your feet.
You will need them to walk again tomorrow — Priscilla Koranteng

The only thing tougher than developing leadership skills is attempting to be successful without them. — Orrin Woodward

In order to be successful at anything you choose to do, you must make a 100 percent commitment to what it is you are trying to do. If you put 50 percent of your ability into it, that is all that you will get out of it. You must discipline your body and your mind to work towards the goals you have set. Once you have made this decision, then the work begins. — Johnny Unitas

Being a team player will help you climb the ladder of success. Furthermore, a successful team player can rise to the level of team leader in the future. — Vishwas Chavan

To grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership-not only on the movie set where I learned it, but everywhere. — Ronald Reagan

The companies that are successful, they start out to make meaning, not to make money. — Guy Kawasaki

Successful leaders know how to line up support for their initiatives and create the right environment for change and innovation. — Bonnie Marcus

Intellectuals are rarely successful as leaders. They are so trapped in their ideals that they cannot venture out in the real world to win and lead. — Awdhesh Singh

Is it more important for you to know what happened in the First World War or to memorize other significant dates in history, or is it more important to learn the strategies they used for optimum leadership, success and joyful living?
Don't you think schools need to teach the latter? — Maddy Malhotra

in successful leadership, it isn't just education and intellect that matter. It's the power of will, focus, self-sacrifice, and dedication to a higher goal that can not only make scared teenagers perform brilliantly in combat but also drive often-confused corporate employees, frequently confronted with an overwhelming array of conflicting objectives, toward success. — Bob Lutz

Leaders approach conflict with an eye for resolution. When handled effectively, successful confrontations raise team performance. To manage conflict effectively, you must begin by recognizing there are three sides to every story:
Yours / Theirs / The Truth — Angie Morgan

So long as the global economy continues to recover, that remains Obama's No. 1 claim to successful leadership. Nothing else even comes close. — Thomas P.M. Barnett

Successful people do what is right no matter how they feel, and by doing right, they feel good. — John C. Maxwell

Almost alone among successful politicians, he took slights personally. — Rick Perlstein

Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts. — Erskine Bowles

It takes a lot of people to create a success. That's why I say that few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be. — John C. Maxwell

Leadership doesn't mean giving marching orders that others must follow blindly. Rather, it means causing others to want to follow. Successful leadership is personal. — Pat Heim

Stagnancy will suffocate a business ... Leadership must be dynamic and evolving to ensure successful growth, enhancement, and longevity. — Steve Maraboli

To become successful, do the little extra things that ordinary people refuse to do. The little extra hard work, little extra practice, little extra studying and the little extra positive attitude. — Archibald Marwizi

What's wrong with leading the way? We've played that role before, after all. We gave the world the secret ballot ... that did so much to raise living standards and improve conditions for workers worldwide. We were a leader in extending to women the right to vote. We were barely a nation when we set the bar for bravery and sacrifice by common soldiers in foreign wars. We grew up out of racism and misogyny and homophobia to become a mostly tolerant, successful multicultural society. We did these great things because we know we are in it together. It is our core value as Australians. — Geraldine Brooks

One of the first steps toward successful leadership in the human realm is asking ourselves this question, "When people draw near us, do they recognize that we know God? — Teresa Hampton

When I hear bad news I look at it as another leadership test that will determine how successful Go Daddy will become. So I no longer dread it. Instead, I enjoy the game of finding the very best way to deal with it, and take great satisfaction in having a hand in resolving the issues that come my way. — Bob Parsons

Deliberately feed your subconscious mind by acquiring quality input through the conscious and sensory mind. You need to be aware of your need to be successful in life or any of its endeavours. You need to be aware of your potential and possess the strong desire to succeed. Success is possible and you deserve to succeed. — Archibald Marwizi

One of the first steps to successful leadership is to forget your age and remember your dream. — Israelmore Ayivor

Management guru Jim Collins has some good words here. He and Morten T. Hansen studied leadership in turbulent times. They looked at more than twenty thousand companies, sifting through data in search of an answer to this question: Why in uncertain times do some companies thrive while others do not? They concluded, "[Successful leaders] are not more creative. They're not more visionary. They're not more charismatic. They're not more ambitious. They're not more blessed by luck. They're not more risk-seeking. They're not more heroic. And they're not more prone to making big, bold moves." Then what sets them apart? "They all led their teams with a surprising method of self-control in an out-of-control world."2 — Max Lucado

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

Most businesses think that product is the most important thing, but without great leadership, mission and a team that deliver results at a high level, even the best product won't make a company successful. — Robert Kiyosaki

Successful people go through fear to get to where they are. — Saji Ijiyemi

Your new challenge is to redesign your time allocations.
Your strategic focus determines where your time resources will be mainly invested. Prioritise acting out your own script, make your own movie instead of spending too much time watching others at work through the TV. It is surprising the number of unsuccessful people who spend all their time resources on the social media platforms following the lives of the successful. Make the news, be the leader and let others follow you. Align you priorities and balance your activities. — Archibald Marwizi

If you want to be great and successful, choose people who are great and successful and walk side by side with them. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Successful charitable fund-raising has much in common with managing a business: It requires leadership, persistence, and creativity. — David Rockefeller

A successful school has to engage all the people, all the powers, and all the capacities within it. — Andy Hargreaves

I believe no amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not dishonest or greedy, people are. Thus, a business, successful or not, is merely a reflection of the character of its leadership. — S. Truett Cathy

A truly successful life is one filled with friends so it helps if people like being around you. If you suspect they don't, have a think about how strongly you exhibit 'likeable' qualities such as listening well, being trustworthy, kind, generous, compassionate, fun, positive and unselfish. The good news is that you can learn such qualities even if they don't come naturally to you. — Nigel Cumberland

The President in particular is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had - he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud. — Douglas Adams

People are successful because they think and act like successful people. — Roy Bennett

I think that in any group activity - whether it be business, sports, or family - there has to be leadership or it won't be successful. — John Wooden

I think Caesar is one of the most empathetic characters that I've played. I think that's the key to a successful leadership. Being able to keep your ears open at all times. — Andy Serkis

There are a very few consistent, common threads among the most successful NFL quarterbacks. Most of them are intangibles, which you can't measure with a physical test. You need leadership ability, competitiveness, drive, and will. You need focus, poise, and charisma. — Drew Brees

If we try to emulate the leadership style of others we perceive as successful, we end up being second-rate versions of someone else. — Henna Inam

One highly successful venture capitalist who is regularly pitched by young entrepreneurs told me how frustrated he is by his colleagues' failure to distinguish between good presentation skills and true leadership ability. "I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they're good talkers, but they don't have good ideas," he said. "It's so easy to confuse schmoozing ability with talent. — Susan Cain

Pope Gregory believed that successful pastoral leadership required a balance between the contemplation of the isolated ascetic and the action of the well-trained administrator. — Gregory The Great

Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. — Peter F. Drucker

Despite the characterization of some that teaching is an easy job, with short hours and summers off, the fact is that successful, dedicated teachers in the U.S. work long hours for little pay and, in many cases, insufficient support from their leadership. — Andreas Schleicher

To have a successful career, you have to approach it as an entrepreneur, even if you are working for someone else. Your career is your own private business. You have to market yourself and your abilities and knowledge just as you would a product or service. — Earl G. Graves, Sr.

Now my mom designs to resign so she runs for US senate, and now at 67 my mom just launched a new company called Women's Leadership Live, she is the cofounder and CEO, and it's all about empowering women to be successful in business however they define success. When you have a role model like that you really don't ever look at gender as an issue and it's about owning your place and taking charge of your role, regardless of what you look like. — Stephanie McMahon

One of the ways we'll know that Work-Out has been successful is that my style of leadership will no longer be tolerated in this company. — Jack Welch

Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily. — John C. Maxwell

The formula for successful leadership has changed little, if at all over the centuries. It isn't leadership that changes over time, rather where the leaders need to take their people that changes. — Scott Hammerle

Successful leaders leaders lead with passion and compassion. — Farshad Asl

The best philanthropy is not just about giving money but giving leadership. The best philanthropists bring the gifts that made them successful-the drive, the determination, the refusal to accept that something can't be done if it needs to be into their philanthropy. — Tony Blair

Leaders are never measured by their success but rather by the success of those they've been entrusted to lead. Therefore, a leader can never be considered successful until those they lead are successful. — Greg Cagle

Leadership in the church is not entrusted to successful fund raisers, brilliant biblical scholars, administrative geniuses, or spellbinding preachers ... but to those who have been laid waste by a consuming passion for Christ - passionate men and women for whom privilege and power are trivial compared to knowing and loving Jesus. — Brennan Manning

The secret to success is doing the best that you can do. Forget about whether you might win or lose. By working hard and practicing the skills that you need to perform, the results will take care of themselves. Being successful is about doing your best. — Barbara Cochran

If there is a trait which does characterize leaders it is opportunism. Successful people are very often those who steadfastly refuse to be daunted by disadvantage and have the ability to turn disadvantage to good effect. They are people who seize opportunity and take risks. Leadership then seems to be a matter of personality and character. — John Viney

Times are changing, and we must change with them. The twenty-first-century church does and will continually face radical change and much uncertainity with undefined problems that require organizatonal models and leadership qualities and competencies far different from those that were successful in the twentieth century. — Steve Raimo

Successful people keep moving, even when they are discouraged and have made mistakes. — David Cottrell

Berg, while the go-to guy for decisions for past campaigns, engaged in frequent and successful battles against sobriety. — Sally Courtnix

If you plan for failure, then you are expecting to fail. If you plan for success, you'll be successful. Once you start making a 'Plan B', you distract from 'Plan A', and the moment you start believing there are other options, you start settling for less. — A.J. Darkholme

For you to be successful and provide your employees with the necessary tools for success, you and your boss must work together - no matter what. — David Cottrell

It had become usual to give Napoleon the Credit for every Successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, "Under the guidance of our leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days" or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim,
"thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!" ... — George Orwell

You do not need to be a millionaire to feel successful or be successful. Financial wealth is only one of many possible indicators of success. However, to achieve your dreams and life goals you're going to need money. And making it requires financial planning and goalsetting. I do not know of any successful person who has been able to simply ignore their finances. — Nigel Cumberland

Internalising success means that even if a misfortune takes away all the evidence or traces of success, yet what made you successful, remains. Soon enough, the evidence will return. — Archibald Marwizi

I don't want to over generalize, but I believe that women are typically drawn to leadership styles that focus on consensus building, effective listening and working in teams. That's certainly been my leadership style, and I think it's been very successful. — Margaret Hamburg

Let there be a child, who should,
not be taught.
Let there be a child, who should,
be refrained from books.
Let him not hear,
don't preach him, dear.
Don't let him read the quotations,
on internet and make them his passion.
Don't tell him stories of successful,
and make them his anthem.
Allow him to grow unto what,
he is to know. — Jasleen Kaur Gumber

Successful people willingly do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do. — John Spence

He will return with a greater understanding of himself, greater leadership capabilities, better work habits, and a better knowledge of what it takes to be successful. It really depends on the young man's desire, commitment, work habits, and how important it is to him when he returns. — LaVell Edwards

Successful leaders are like icebergs. When you look at an iceberg, you see only about 10 percent of it, and the rest of it is hidden under the water. When you look at successful leaders, you see only a fraction of their lives. You see the part that looks really good, but there's usually a lot that remains hidden that's neither exciting nor glamorous. Tennis star Arthur Ashe said, "True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost." True leadership is the same. — John C. Maxwell

I think leadership is knowing what you want to achieve and then purposefully and sensibly taking steps to achieve it, remembering always that you have got to bring people with you if you are seeking to be a successful political leader. — Tony Abbott

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

If your endeavors result in success of the company in a continuity of at
least a few years, you are a successful manager. If other companies follow
your business approach, you are certainly an important manager with
leader characteristics. — Eraldo Banovac

When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem, enhance their self-confidence, make them work harder, lift their spirits and make them successful in their endeavors. Encouragement goes straight to the heart and is always available. Be an encourager. Always. — Roy Bennett

Things fell into place and there was an opportunity for fresh leadership. And - I was - I was successful. — Justin Trudeau

There is no mystery about successful business ... Exclusive attention to the person who is speaking to you. — Charles William Eliot

No one can become successful for you. It takes personal definitions, personal decisions, personal convictions, personal actions and personal responsibility to succeed in life. — Archibald Marwizi

Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership. — Woodrow Wilson

When a highly successful leader retires after a long career, it is very unlikely that his successor will be of comparable caliber. Anyone of similar ability and drive would have gone somewhere else, instead of waiting in the wings for years for a chance to show his own leadership. — Thomas Sowell

The greatest gift of leadership is a boss who wants you to be successful. — Jon Taffer

The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social function of adjusting production to the most urgent demand. Because of these merits the consumers chose them for business leadership. — Ludwig Von Mises

Had Schleicher been successful in his leadership of the German government at the end of 1932, he would probably have headed a very moderate, essentially anti-Nazi form of nationalist authoritarianism that would have avoided a sharp break with the republican constitution and promoted a reflationary, reformist economic policy along Keynesian or New Deal lines to revive the economy and conciliate German society. — Stanley G. Payne

Amongst many qualities of a true leader, he is a successful manager who has mastered the art of people management. — Rehan Waris

You can't be a successful leader or mentor until you have served. You can't serve until you have stepped out of your comfort zone. And you can't step out of your comfort zone unless you have character and keep your word. — Bill Courtney

Serious businesses and lenders will tell you that managing your cash flow is one of the most important aspects in the health of any business. Managing you time flow is key to a healthy and successful life, because, Time is equal to Life. The quality of time expenditure is in direct proportion to the quality of life enjoyed. — Archibald Marwizi

Reagan understood an important distinction that (Lyndon) Johnson never grasped: being in control and being successful aren't always the same thing. — Jonathan Darman

Teamwork and trust trump ego and arrogance in building high performance sustainable successful teams. Rethink your team building ideas — Tony Dovale

Where do business leaders turn for advice to improve their leadership skills? Many successful leaders like Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A turn to the Bible. Speaking at Trinity College in Illinois, "Cathy discussed how scripture dictates Chick-fil-A's business plan. — R.J. Stepansky

One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment. — Robert E. Quinn

The successful man has enthusiasm. Good work is never done in cold blood; heat is needed for forge anything. Every great achievement is the story of a flaming heart. — Harry S. Truman

Successful leaders develop effective strategies for maintaining their boundaries ... Most time bandits don't know any better. And being a time bandit is a matter of context. One person's time bandit is another person's pleasant diversion ... Instead of gritting our teeth to be polite and resenting the time bandit for holding us up, the best choice is to be honest. We cannot expect another person to honor our needs unless we affirm them ourselves. — Diane Dreher

I do not believe that there is any secret or single formula for success, but there are common threads of thought and action that characterize the successful people that I have been fortunate enough to know and observe. I do know, from my own experience, that our chance of succeeding is much greater when we organize and take charge of our lives. When we are willing to make decisions, we aggressively pursue those things in life that are important to us. — Merlin Olsen