Thoughts And Observations about Leadership

For small and large organizations, privately and publicly held – stable, functional leadership is a crucial factor for short-term and long-term success.

"The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you're not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special." From the article “from the article "Do You Pass the Leadership Test?" by Bill Taylor – U.S. entrepreneur.

“Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.”? Tom Landry - U.S. professional National Football League (NFL) football player, coach - first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a position he held for 29 seasons.

“Leadership is all about emotional intelligence. Management is taught, while leadership is experienced.” Rajeev Suri - ?Indian born/Singaporean business executive. He has been the CEO of Inmarsat since February 2021. From April 2014 to July 2020, Suri was the CEO of 诺基亚 . Before being appointed to this position, he was the CEO of Nokia Solutions and Networks. Suri has held various positions within Nokia since 1995.

“Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion, and a shared vision of the good.” Joanne Bridgett Ciulla - U.S. author, philosopher - pioneer in the field of leadership and business ethics, currently a professor at the Rutgers Business School - Newark and New Brunswick, director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker – Austrian/U.S. management consultant, educator, author, contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation.

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”? Stephen R. Covey – U.S. educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker, best-known for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

“Managing is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” Tom Peters – U.S. writer on business management practices, best known for In Search of Excellence.

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”? John Kenneth Galbraith - Canadian-U.S. economist, diplomat, public official.

“One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” Arnold Henry Glasow - U.S. businessman, writer.

“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” Brian Tracy - Canadian-U.S.? motivational public speaker, self-development author.

“A boss has the title, a leader has the people.” Simon Sinek - U.K./U.S. author, inspirational speaker, author of five books including Start With Why and The Infinite Game.

“Leadership is an action, not a position.” Donald McGannon – U.S. broadcasting executive.

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”?? Colin Powell – U.S. Army officer politician, statesman, diplomat.

“The leader is one who, out of the clutter, brings simplicity… Out of discord, harmony… And out of difficult, opportunity.”?? Albert Einstein - German-born/U.S. theoretical physicist, best known for developing the theory of relativity.

“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 – U.S. professor at the 美国宾夕法尼亚大学 - 沃顿商学院 of the 美国宾夕法尼亚大学 specializing in organizational psychology, popular science author.

“If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you.”? Indra Nooyi - Indian born/U.S. business executive, former chairperson/chief executive officer of PepsiCo., consistently ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women.

“There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage.” Fuchan Yuan – Chinese philosopher.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton – U.S. businessman, entrepreneur - founder of Walmart and Sam's Club.

“A leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding the potential in people and processes.”? Brené Brown – U.S. research professor, lecturer, author, podcast host, known in particular for her research on shame, vulnerability, and leadership.

“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”? Jim Rohn – U.S.? entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker.

“Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.”? Dwight D. Eisenhower – U.S. military officer, president.

“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”? Andrew Carnegie – Scottish/U.S. industrialist, philanthropist.

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”? Theodore Roosevelt – U.S. politician, statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, writer.

“Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” Mary D. Poole – U.S. community relations and development administrator.

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”? John C. Maxwell – U.S.? author, pastor – books primarily on leadership including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.

“If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade.”? Tom Peters - U.S. writer on business management practices, best known for the book In Search of Excellence.

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”? Michael Jordan – U.S. business executive/entrepreneur, former professional NBA basketball player.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”?? Ralph Waldo Emerson – U.S. essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, poet.

“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see and who sees before others see.” LeRoy Eimes - ?U.S. author, minister.

"We must all learn not only to not fear change, but to embrace it enthusiastically and, perhaps even more important, encourage and drive it.” Tony Hsieh – U.S.? internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, former CEO of online shoe and clothing company Zappos.

“I think the currency of leadership is transparency. You've got to be truthful. I don't think you should be vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you've got to share your soul and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it.” Howard Schultz – U.S. businessman former chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks.

“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.” Edward R. Murrow, U.S. broadcast journalist.

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”?? Norman Schwarzkopf – U.S. military officer.

“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 - U.S. entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker.

“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” Attributed to Aristotle - Greek philosopher.

“A leader must lead, but also be ready to follow. They must be aggressive, but not overbearing. A leader must be calm, but not robotic. They must be confident, but never cocky. A leader must be brave, but not foolhardy. They must have a competitive spirit, but be a gracious loser. …? A leader must be attentive to details, but not obsessed with them. They must be strong, but have endurance. A leader must be humble, but not passive. They must be close to subordinates, but not too close. A leader must exercise ‘extreme ownership’, but employ ‘decentralized command’. They must have nothing to prove, but everything to prove.”? John Gretton "Jocko" Willink – U.S. author, podcaster, retired United States Navy officer who served in the Navy SEALs and is a former member of SEAL Team 3.

“A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men.” Stephen King – U.S. author of science fiction, suspense, fantasy, mystery novels.

"If leadership serves only the leader, it will fail. Ego satisfaction, financial gain, and status can all be valuable tools for a leader, but if they become the only motivations, they will eventually destroy a leader. Only when service for a common good is the primary purpose are you truly leading." Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel – U.S. entrepreneur, author, most recent book entitled A New Breed Of Leader: 8 Leadership Qualities That Matter Most In the Real World.

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes."? Peter Drucker – Austrian/U.S. management consultant, educator, author, contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation.

“Leadership is not about the next election, it's about the next generation.” Simon Sinek - U.K./U.S. author, inspirational speaker, author of five books including Start With Why and The Infinite Game.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” ?John C. Maxwell – U.S author, pastor, has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.

“One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader's need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.” Simon Sinek - U.K./U.S. author, inspirational speaker, author of five books including Start With Why and The Infinite Game.

“A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.”?? Joe DiMaggio - U.S. ?baseball MLB player. played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees.

“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 – U.S. singer, songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman, humanitarian.

“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”? Orrin Woodward, U.S. engineer, entrepreneur, author.

“My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” Bernard Law Montgomery – U.K. Army Officer

“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on.”? Walter Lippman – U.S. writer, reporter, political commentator.

“Leadership distilled down to 3 words: Make a difference.”? Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, litigation lawyer. published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality.