Tag: Leadership

Quotes February 09, 2024

Owning the facts is a prerequisite to leadership. But there are millions of technocrats out there with lots of facts in their quivers and little leadership potential. In many cases, what they are missing is empathy. No one is a leader who can’t put himself or herself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy and expertise command respect.
Lieutenant General, William Pagonis
 
 
 
 
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
If officers desire to have control over their commands, they must remain habitually with them, industriously attend to their instruction and comfort, and in battle lead them well.
Stonewall Jackson
 
 
 
 
Leadership is of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision: its practice is an art. Management is of the mind, more a matter of accurate calculation, of statistics, of methods, timetables and routine; its practice is a science. Managers are necessary; leaders are essential.
Field Marshal Sir Bill Slim, Governor General of Australia
 
 
 
 
“Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic…This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war…”
Napoleon Bonaparte
 
 

Quotes October 09, 2023

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.
John Wayne – 1907-1979 – Actor-Filmmaker
 
 
 
 
“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”
Mahatma Gandhi
 
 
 
 
The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.
Seth Godin, author and entrepreneur
 
 
 
 
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
 
 
 
 
The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.
Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame
 
 
 
 
A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt
 
 
 
 
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
 
 
 
 
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without strategy.
Norman Schwarzkopf, United States Army general
 
 
 
 
The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.
Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker
 
 
 
 
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.
Ronald Reagan
 
 
 
 
Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
 
 
 
 
To be a good leader you have to be a great listener… No one has a monopoly on good ideas or good advice.
Richard Branson
 
 
 
 
The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.
Sheryl Sandberg, business executive and philanthropist
 
 
 
 
If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.
Dolly Parton

 
 

Quotes November 18, 2022

I may not have been the best combat commander, but I always strove to be. My men depended on me to carefully analyze every tactical situation, to maximize the resources that I had at my disposal, to think under pressure, and then to lead them by personal example.
Major Dick Winters
 
 
 
 
Owning the facts is a prerequisite to leadership. But there are millions of technocrats out there with lots of facts in their quivers and little leadership potential. In many cases, what they are missing is empathy. No one is a leader who can’t put himself or herself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy and expertise command respect.
Lieutenant General, William Pagonis
 
 
 
 
Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.
Chris Hadfield, Astronaut 
 
 
 
 
When things go wrong in your command, start wading for the reason in increasingly larger concentric circles around your own desk.
General Bruce D. Clark
 
 
 
 
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
If officers desire to have control over their commands, they must remain habitually with them, industriously attend to their instruction and comfort, and in battle lead them well.
Stonewall Jackson

Quotes April 29, 2022

“When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two-thirds about him and what he is going to say.”
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States and former Captain in the Illinois state militia during the Black Hawk War.
 
 
 
 
“No man has ever listened himself out of a job.”
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
 
 
 
 
”Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, and former General of the Army
 
 
 
 
“A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.”
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, and former Captain in the Army Reserves
 
 
 
 
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Harry S Truman, 33rd President of the United States, and former Colonel in the U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army play a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.”
General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel
 
 
 
 
“To get the best out of your men, they must feel that you are their real leader and must know that they can depend upon you.”
General of the Armies John J. Pershing, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“Because the crew was convinced that I was “on their team” there were never any issues with negative criticism… You as a mentor have to establish that you are sincerely interested in the problems of the person you are mentoring.”
Ret. Capt L. David Marquet, US Navy and author, Turn the Ship Around!
 
 
 
 
“Always do everything you ask of those you command.”
General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.”
Grace Hopper
Rear Admiral US Navy

Quotes March 04, 2022

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
Colin Powell
 
 
 
 
I may not have been the best combat commander, but I always strove to be. My men depended on me to carefully analyze every tactical situation, to maximize the resources that I had at my disposal, to think under pressure, and then to lead them by personal example.
Major Dick Winters
 
 
 
 
Owning the facts is a prerequisite to leadership. But there are millions of technocrats out there with lots of facts in their quivers and little leadership potential. In many cases, what they are missing is empathy. No one is a leader who can’t put himself or herself in the other person’s shoes. Empathy and expertise command respect.
Lieutenant General, William Pagonis
 
 
 
 
Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.
Chris Hadfield, Astronaut
 
 
 
 
When things go wrong in your command, start wading for the reason in increasingly larger concentric circles around your own desk.
General Bruce D. Clark
 
 
 
 
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
If officers desire to have control over their commands, they must remain habitually with them, industriously attend to their instruction and comfort, and in battle lead them well.
Stonewall Jackson
 
 
 
 
Leadership is of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision: its practice is an art. Management is of the mind, more a matter of accurate calculation, of statistics, of methods, timetables and routine; its practice is a science. Managers are necessary; leaders are essential.
Field Marshal Sir Bill Slim, Governor General of Australia
 
 
 
 
You manage things; you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.
Rear Adm. Grace Murray Hooper
 
 
 
 
Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.
Franklin P. Jones
 
 
 
 
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston S. Churchill
 
 
 
 
Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
 
 
 
 
The truth is that you always know the right thing to do. The tough part is doing it.
General Norman Schwarzkopf
 
 
 
 
“Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic…This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war…”
Napoleon Bonaparte
 
 
 
 
“An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.”
Alexander the Great
 
 
 
 
Who dares, wins. Who sweats, wins. Who plans, wins.
British Special Air Service (SAS)
 
 
 
 
Facta non verba (Translation: Deeds, not words)
Canadian Joint Task Force
 
 
 
 
Discipline is the soul of an army.
George Washington

Quotes January 17, 2020

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, and former Captain in the Army Reserves
 
 
 
 
“All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army play a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.”
General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“To get the best out of your men, they must feel that you are their real leader and must know that they can depend upon you.”
General of the Armies John J. Pershing, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“Because the crew was convinced that I was “on their team” there were never any issues with negative criticism… You as a mentor have to establish that you are sincerely interested in the problems of the person you are mentoring.”
Ret. Capt L. David Marquet, US Navy and author, Turn the Ship Around!
 
 
 
 
Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
 
 
 
 
“The truly great leader overcomes all difficulties, and campaigns and battles are nothing but a long series of difficulties to be overcome. The lack of equipment, the lack of food, the lack of this or that are only excuses; the real leader displays his quality in his triumphs over adversity, however great it may be.”
General of the Army George C Marshall, and former Secretary of State & Secretary of Defense
 
 
 
 
“Any soldier worth his salt should be antiwar. And still there are things worth fighting for.”
General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”
Major General William T. Sherman, U.S. Army

Quotes November 08, 2019

“When things go wrong in your command, start wading for the reason in increasing larger concentric circles around your own desk.”
General Bruce D. Clark
 
 
 
 
“Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself and let your troops see that you don’t in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide.”
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
 
 
 
 
“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other in dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself; while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.”
LTG John M. Schofield, 1879
 
 
 
 
“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely with his lips, follow me.”
Giuseppe Garibaldi
 
 
 
 
General Colin Powell’s Rules:
1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Quotes January 20, 2018

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader is a servant.”
Max DePree
 
 
 
 
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
John Maxwell
 
 
 
 
“It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”
Robert Greenleaf
 
 
 
 
“My life is my message.”
Mohandas Gandhi
 
 
 
 
“I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before.”
Sidney Poitier
 
 
 
 
“What makes greatness is starting something that lives after you.”
Ralph Sockman
 
 
 
 
“I’ve only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it,
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,
But it’s up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give an account if I abuse it,
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.”

God’s Minute
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays