Quotes About Leadership

The Roman emperor, Augustus famously boasted that he had inherited a city of brick and was leaving one of marble.

John Hay indicates that dealing with people directly as a holder of political office "requires a stronger heart and a more obedient nervous system than I possess.

Behind those thick glasses (of TR's) was a man who did not blink.

He did not so much follow his father's example as his father's vision.

He found Washington at once august and disgusting.

John Hay on Lincoln: "He always worked with things as they were, while never relinquishing the desire to make them better.

The Admiral so regrets failure, he cannot THINK of success.

If he could be hard on kings and cabinets, he was invariably kind to his colleagues.

The man primarily responsible for the Empire State Building was not trained as an architect, city planner, or engineer. He was not in the construction business, nor in the real estate business. His only direct dealings in real estate were of a personal nature—a mansion here and an apartment or summer home there—until he made the momentous decision to build the world's tallest building.

Smith was elected governor of New York State.

No matter how good the individuals who manage an institution are, institutions lack a conscience because they measure by accounting methods.

What Hegel taught that intrigued the powerful then and now was that history could be deliberately managed by skillfully provoking crises out of public view and then demanding national unity to meet those crises — a disciplined unity under cover of which leadership privileges approached the absolute.

Is it possible that those who sit atop the social bell curve represent the worst of evolution's products, not its best? Have the fools among us who just don't get it risen up and taken command?

I think that all areas of the budget have to be scrubbed. Clearly the entitlement issues have to be reformed and that's an issue that's going to require I think some strong bipartisan cooperation and leadership.

I think that if Republicans are given the reins of leadership in the House or Senate or both, we will have to govern in a way - at least put forward solutions whether or not the president goes along with them or not, that deal with these long-term challenges.

though he [Michael Faraday] took no cities, he captivated all hearts.

You have to do everything you possibly can to develop your middle tier of talent. It's your job, as the leader, to make those people do more than they thought they could—maybe more than you thought they could—and put them in the best possible position to help the team.

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world.

Government is either organized benevolence or organized madness; its peculiar magnitude permits no shading.

How can you respect the world when you see it's being run by a bunch of kids turned old?

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership.

Captain Jones, I submit to you that you were never really cut out to be Captain. Oh, you're done it well, just like you do a good job of most things you tackle. But you're not a Captain. You don't enjoy ordering other people around. You like your independence, you like to go to strange places and do exciting things. In an earlier age you would have been an adventurer, a soldier of fortune.

Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in courage.

A nation of sheep will "beget a government of wolves." – EDWARD R. MURROW CBS BROADCAST JOURNALIST 1908-1965