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leadership quotes

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“If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
“There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.” Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
“The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray.” Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
“Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.” Confucius, Analects
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it...” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
“What is important for a leader is that which makes him a leader. It is the needs of his people.” Frank Herbert, Dune
“Only the mistakes have been mine.” Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“But when he has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” Plato, The Republic
“he who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” Aristotle, Politics
“a leader . . . is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
“It ought to be the employer's ambition, as leader, to pay better wages than any similar line of business, and it ought to be the workman's ambition to make this possible.” Henry Ford, My Life and Work
“I wanted first of all to tell the people that I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had became a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.” Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
“For the moment the peril was nowhere and yet everywhere. The majority remained solid; but the leaders became stiff and exacting.” Anatole France, Penguin Island
“To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.” Barack Obama, Inaugural Address
“sheep are stupid, and have to be driven. But goats are intelligent, and need to be led.” Terry Pratchett, Small Gods
“You shall more command with years than with your weapons.” William Shakespeare, Othello
“Never trust any ruler who puts his faith in tunnels and bunkers and escape routes. The chances are that his heart isn’t in the job.” Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
“He said, one time, that no true leader burdened his followers with a greater load than they could carry, and no true leader sets too fast a pace for his followers to keep up.” Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
“We need a Napoleon. An Alexander. Except that Napoleon lost in the end, and Alexander flamed out and died young. We need a Julius Caesar, except that he made himself dictator, and died for it.” Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
“If you still don't like it, that's OK: that's why I'm boss. I simply know better than you do.” Linus Torvalds
“Let the boys learn that leniency comes from their toon leaders, and harshness from their commander—it will bind them better in the small, tight knots of this fabric.” Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
“these are your bannermen, not your friends. You named yourself battle commander. Command.” George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
“A lord may love the men that he commands, he could hear his lord father saying, but he cannot be a friend to them. One day he may need to sit in judgment on them, or send them forth to die.” George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

Related topics

government power stupidity war authority ambition change people fear friendship responsibility success peace opinion trust knowledge virtue action experience need

Related authors

William Shakespeare (2)
Aristotle (1)
Nelson Mandela (3)
Lao Tzu (2)
George R. R. Martin (2)
Terry Pratchett (2)
Malcolm X (2)
Orson Scott Card (2)
Henry Kissinger (1)
Sun Tzu (1)
Aldous Huxley (1)
Confucius (1)
Plato (1)
Barack Obama (1)
Henry Ford (1)
Frank Herbert (1)
Anatole France (1)
Linus Torvalds (1)

Related sources

Julius Caesar (1)
A Game of Thrones (1)
Long Walk to Freedom (3)
Tao Te Ching (2)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (2)
Ender's Game (2)
Brave New World (1)
The Art of War (1)
Analects (1)
The Republic (1)
White House Years (1)
Othello (1)
Inaugural Address (1)
My Life and Work (1)
Small Gods (1)
A Dance with Dragons (1)
Dune (1)
Politics (1)
Penguin Island (1)
Guards! Guards! (1)