One of the most valuable ways to learn to be a great leader is to learn from other great leaders. Whether you are leading a team at work or trying to improve your leadership skills in your personal life, there is always something to be learned from those who have already achieved success in this area.
Here are twelve of my favorite leadership quotes, each offering a unique perspective on what it means to be a great leader:
1. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch
2. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” —Peter Drucker
3. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” —Rosalynn Carter
4. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” —Warren G. Bennis
5. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” —Margaret Fuller
6. “The X-factor of great leadership is not personality, it’s humility.” —Jim Collins
7. “Leaders surround themselves with great people, delegate authority, then get out of the way.” —Ronald Reagan
8. “Earn your leadership every day.” —Michael Jordan
9 “If you delegate tasks, you create followers. If you delegate authority, you create leaders.” —Craig Groeschel
10. “The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” —John Wooden
11. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” —Colin Powell
12. “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
Let me add my personal leadership motto: “Lead Yourself Well!”