What Say Ye About Leadership?
Throughout my career, I read different leadership quotes and would sometimes email or share them with my team members. I found them inspiring and thought-provoking, and I believe they helped me grow and evolve as a leader over time.
It was helpful to me to step back and reflect upon my leadership effectiveness. I tried to examine whether I was embodying the aspects of the quotes that resonated most with me. In essence, I used leadership quotes as a source of reflection, self-evaluation, and growth.
Below are a few leadership quotes I connected with, along with some of the thoughts and feelings each one evoked for me.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Muriel Strode
This aligns closely with my thoughts about taking the path less traveled. I’ve often found that some of my most rewarding experiences came when I was willing to step away from the familiar path, explore a different direction, and see where it might lead.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Fear can be incredibly powerful and limiting, especially when we are unwilling to step into it. Moving through fear can be difficult, but once we do, it can reveal a new ray of light—something we would never have seen had we allowed fear to stop us. At times, walking through fear can even help us transform into stronger and better versions of ourselves.
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
This is certainly one of my favorites. I have always believed it is critical for leaders to help shape an environment and working culture where people can contribute their best. The strongest outcomes often emerge from an amalgamation of a team’s thoughts, talents, and perspectives.
“Good leaders build products. Great leaders build cultures. Good leaders deliver results. Great leaders develop people. Good leaders have vision. Great leaders have values. Good leaders are role models at work. Great leaders are role models in life.” — Adam Grant
Whenever I read this quote, I would stop to think about culture—particularly what I was doing to create the most collaborative environment possible. Sometimes I did that well and, honestly, sometimes I did not. But I kept moving forward, reflecting on what I could do differently, and trying to improve my effectiveness in creating that optimal environment.
“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” — Arnold Glasow
This was a big one for me as well. I would much rather accept full responsibility for the setbacks and failures and give the team all the credit for the wins. Creating an environment where people could soar without being bogged down by fear enabled the team to achieve its highest potential. Yes, there was still a need for individual accountability, but generally speaking, when I absorbed responsibility for what went wrong and gave the team credit for what went right, the team produced its best outcomes.
“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
…and lastly, for me, leadership came down to this: How can I be a servant leader? How can I serve the people around me, support their growth, and help them achieve their own goals and objectives? The balancing act described in this quote was important, but the underlying question was always how I could lead in a way that helped and served others.
For me, leadership has always been a journey—an ongoing, never-ending journey. I periodically reflected on where I was in that journey and tried to adjust my approach when needed. Leadership quotes became one of the ways I examined and measured my own effectiveness.
I also shared them with team members as a way of conveying the kind of leadership I aspired to provide and the type of environment I hoped to help create.
These are some of the quotes that spoke to me about leadership. I’m curious:
Do you use leadership quotes as part of your own leadership journey?
Do you have a favorite?
Do you share them with others?
Do you ever use them as a way to measure or examine your own leadership?