Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.

—General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

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

A leader is best / When people barely know he exists,/ When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,/ They will say:/ We did it ourselves.

—Lao-Tzu

Perhaps the most central characteristic of authentic leadership is the relinquishing of the impulse to dominate others.

—David Cooper

We lead by being human. We do not lead by being corporate, professional, or institutional.

—Paul G. Hawken

The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

—James Crook

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.

—Warren G. Bennis

Asking “who ought to be the boss” is like asking “who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?” Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.

—Henry Ford

Leaders need to provide strategy and direction and to give employees tools that enable them to gather information and insight from around the world. Leaders shouldn’t try to make every decision.

—Bill Gates

Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.

—Mark A. Clement

No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him.

—W. H. Auden

The person who knows “how” will always have a job. The person who knows “why” will always be his boss.

—Diane Ravitch