The 5 Most Important Leadership Quotes of All Time – with Personal Affirmations
Alan Alda:
“Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.” Alan Alda
- I will enter conversations open to learning and willing to adapt.
- The way I see things is ONE way of seeing them.
- I’m willing to change my perspective.
- My need to be right makes me stupid.
Daniel Kahneman:
“Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it” Daniel Kahneman
- I will overcome the distraction of urgencies by reconnecting with the big picture.
- I will maintain curiosity with calmness when stress increases.
- I will rest, enjoy family and friends, and take time for self-development, even during a pandemic.
- I won’t belittle the important concerns of others. And I won’t try to solve everyone’s concerns.
Peter Drucker:
“It is more productive to convert an opportunity into results than to solve a problem – which only restores the equilibrium of yesterday.” Peter Drucker
- I see a negativity bias in myself that requires adjusting.
- I will view situations and interactions through the lens of opportunity.
- I will maintain a positive attitude.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
“When we take people merely as they are, we make them worse; when we treat them as if they were what they should be, we improve them as far as they can be improved.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- I will view people through the lens of who they might become.
- I will maintain optimism while working to develop myself and others.
- I will acknowledge the limitations of myself and others.
Warren Bennis:
“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.” Warren Bennis
- I will spend time in self-reflection today.
- I have the capacity for self-deception. I will seek feedback.
- I will bring my best self in service to others.
What quote might you add to the list of most important leadership quotes of all time?
Which of the above quotes speaks to you most powerfully?
Which personal affirmation might you use today?
Jesus said, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”
(Luke 22:25-26 ESV)
Thanks Pete. Servant leadership is both a great challenge and great opportunity.
What quote might you add to the list of most important leadership quotes of all time?
“You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated. Maya Angelou
Which of the above quotes speaks to you most powerfully? “When we take people merely as they are, we make them worse; when we treat them as if they were what they should be, we improve them as far as they can be improved.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Which personal affirmation might you use today?
I will spend time in self-reflection today.
Thanks Tim. Great addition to the list. I know you live by the Angelou quote.
I always liked these two quotes.
John Quincy Adams (Sixth President of the United States) “If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
John Kotter (Harvard Professor, Author, and Consultant) “Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles.”
I like the quote by Alan Alda.
“Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.”
My mantra to practice that is “stay open.”
Thanks Paul. YES. I forgot about the Adams quote. BTW — you might be surprised who the quote investigator attributes the Adam’s quote: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/07/03/inspire-dream-leader/
The thing I notice is the lack of diversity in your list. No women, no people of color.
Thanks Lynne. Perhaps another list is in order. Any suggestions?
Here are a few to start. Maybe crowdsource for more?
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” -Shirley Chisolm
“I think leadership is service and there is power in that giving: to help people, to inspire and motivate them to reach their fullest potential.” -Denise Morrison
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” -Sheryl Sandberg
“If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important and you do that by being genuine and humble. -Nelson Mandala
The quotes shared by Dan are valuable and I am not saying they should not be shared. I just want to hear from a diverse range of leadership voices. I don’t need every voice to look like me or tick off a list of boxes but when all the voices sort of look the same it just stands out for me as something that should be pointed out.
Thanks for adding these quotes to the conversation.
Lynne,
A serious inquiry.
In your mind does melanin or gender change the value of the statements or are you looking for representation of different people as wise? In my mind, we should take wisdom from whatever fountain dispenses it.
Thanks,
Dear Dan,
A different yet interesting post to ponder!
I like Alan Ada’s quote, “Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.” The right attitude and approach to bring self-improvement by listening to the observation and comments of our mentors/well-wishers. Listening is a good art to first understand the matter from an another’s perspective and then bring in the desired changes consciously to become a better person. At times, criticisms do help in self-realization and new adaption.
This is the right way of moving towards personal and professional progress!
Glad to see you today, Dr. Asher. Yes, Alan Alda’s quote is a real challenge. Perhaps that’s why I like it.
I enjoyed the added personal affirmations! I’m hoping for a second list of amazing female quotes with personal affirmations! I am challenged and know something I’d like to work to create.
Thanks Rebecca. Great idea. Any suggestions?
Here are ten to get you started:
1) You can’t test courage cautiously – Annie Dillard
2) A happy woman is one who has no cares at all; a cheerful woman is one who has cares but doesn’t let them get her down – Beverly Sills
3) Never grow a wishbone where your backbone ought to be – Cynthia Paddleford
4) Always be a first-rate version of yourself rather than a second-rate version of somebody else – Judy Garland
5) If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right – Mary Kay Ash
6) Many think they have a kind heart who have only weak nerves — Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
7) Too often, opportunity knocks but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the two locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it is too late — Rita Coolidge
8) If I had my life to live again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner — Tallulah Bankhead]
9) There is no such thing as failure. Mistakes happen in your life to bring into focus more clearly who you really are — Oprah Winfrey
10) The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. — Dorothy Parker
Thanks for the quotes from women!
Thanks for adding to the conversation, Jennifer.
“Your title indicates that you are a manager. Your people will determine if you are a leader.” Donna Dubinsky
Thanks Bob. Great quote. I think we get a little hung up about titles.
Epic…to avoiding the infection of “hubris”! Warren Bennis, particularly noting that #1 and #2 helps foster the vision and work of #3. I will bring my best self in service to others.
Thanks Linda. Glad you connected this to hubris. Everything good in leadership begins with humility and everything bad begins with arrogance. (There is a difference between healthy pride and arrogance.)
Quotes from great scientists, that also guide leadership, I think because they speak to truth.
From Linus Pauling:
Science cannot be stopped;
From Rachel Carson:
The aim of science is to discover and illuminate truth.
From Leo Szilard:
The most important step in getting a job done is the recognition of the problem;
Caveat:
In life you must often choose between getting a job done or getting credit for it;
From James Lovelock
Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science. It’s the one thing you do not ever do.
And Finally, from Edward Teller:
There’s no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool
Thanks Mitch. You added a bucket of wisdom. I laughed at the powerful truth of the last quote. I know that I’ve been foolish too many times.
What quote might you add to the list of most important leadership quotes of all time?; These two by Winston Churchill: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference.” “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Thanks Roger. That’s another powerful truth.
My favorite Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is especially important now as we communicate across phones and video conferencing…
Thanks Amy. Yes, love that one. It’s a real challenge for those who might neglect relationships in the pursuit of results.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw.
It is understood that there will be times that we must adapt but innovation is always driven by those who are doing what others say cannot be done.
“When we take people merely as they are, we make them worse; when we treat them as if they were what they should be, we improve them as far as they can be improved.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I will view people through the lens of who they might become.
Thanks Gene…great add. How might I be unreasonable today? 🙂
One of my all time favorites…
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.
In between, the leader is a servant. —Max DePree”
Thanks Page. That quote covers a lot of ground!
“I never learned anything from hearing myself talk.” – Unknown
Thanks Joseph. Powerful…now if I can just listen to learn!
Mother Theresa said “Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person'” This to me, is the same as the power of “Just Do It”. We don’t have to wait for a leader to emerge. You can dare to be the leader.
The most powerful leadership trait of all time comes to me from Chiune Sugihara. “Do what is right because it is right.”. Sugihara gave up his reputation, a good job and lost face because he believed this. Unfortunately the antithesis of this is happening around us all today.
Thanks Kay. There’s such clarity in “do what is right because it is right.” It gives me a sense of calm.
I suppose it takes effort to define “right.” But the quote seems to be about motivation.
Dan – Thanks for sharing the terrific quotes above. They are both timely and timeless.
“Nobody wants to work with someone who is arrogant.
And nobody wants to work with someone who is not confident.”
(I think I came up with this one)
Thanks Mitch. You juxtapose to important words.
I just read this today and the quotes are thought-provoking, thanks. Putting the quotes from Goethe and Bennis together, I would say the more I treat myself as I should be, not as I am, the more I accelerate “becoming myself” and therefore a better leader. In my mind, self-criticism is never warranted. Self-feedback and self-correction, yes, but not “criticism” as it is most often done.
Thanks Alan. Great seeing you here. Your comment speaks to me.
I recently had a conversation with Brian Tracy where he said something like… never say anything about yourself that you don’t want to be true. That’s been sticking with me. Your comment will stick with me as well.
I like that statement from Brian, thanks for sharing it. And thanks for letting me know my comment will stick with you, that means a lot to me.
Amen!