20 Quotes to Help You Be a Better Leader
Leadership is an inevitable component of career progression that can take decades to hone but never master. And in reality, few have. Whether you’re at the beginning of your career or you’re a seasoned executive, there’s always room for improvement.
We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite leadership insights and advice from guests on the Strategic Momentum Podcast. In their interviews, these executives and entrepreneurs have shared what their own career journeys and business challenges have taught them about leading teams inside and outside the office. So, enjoy, learn and apply.
Do you have more tips to add? Share in the comments below! 👇
Quotes About Building and Leading a Team
“If people have the right leadership, they have the right stimulus, and people really understand them, people can do great things.” - Scott DiGiammarino
“The most important technology any manager deals with day-to-day remains the human brain. And if you can't get that technology to work, then the rest of the technology is, sort of, pointless.” - Jim Brady
“Leaders become leaders over time because they have developed a good sense of gut-based decision making so you need to trust that in the beginning but if it becomes a recurring pattern, you may need to consider being somewhere else.” - Steve Brown
“When you're going to be in leadership roles, it's much more important that you're respected because you're not necessarily going to be liked.”- Ines LeBow
“To be a successful leader, no matter what level you are, no matter what position you are, you have to have a compelling vision. If they don't understand the ‘why,’ there's no reason in the world why they're going to give their best efforts. - Scott DiGiammarino
Quotes About Being an Ethical Leader
“Anyone can be a hero. It’s not the person. It’s the action.” - Dr. Phil Zimbardo
“If your objective is to help your employees get what they want in terms of satisfaction and their goals, your higher goals and your corporation are going to be taken care of almost automatically.” - Dr. Richard Shuster
“One size does not fit all...You must be a situational leader today where you can adjust and adapt to the situation in front of you.” - Yao Huang
“Stand up, speak out, and take action against injustice.” - Dr. Phil Zimbardo
“What it means to be an active upstander is that in every situation you're in, your focus is on the other person.” - Dr. Phil Zimbardo
“Be aware that other people are different, and stop judging people because of those differences.” - Yao Huang
Quotes About Leading Yourself
“When you strip away the fear and your own arrogance, you're more able to see what's really going on, and even get an insight into the future.“ - Greg Johnston
“You are the first organization you must master.” - Joanie Rufo
“Leaders often put themselves on the back burner, and I think that by doing so they really do a disservice to those that they're leading.” - Joanie Rufo
“Taking some time to reflect, to check-in, to ground yourself, is often a luxury that many leaders don't feel they can take.” - Joanie Rufo
“Sometimes there's a learning curve to understanding that reflection and paying attention to yourself is an important part of the leading process, and that can sometimes be a blind spot for some people. But it is a muscle that actually can be built.” - Joanie Rufo
“You're not leading unless there's a team of people with you. So your behavior, who you are, how you're showing up - that affects other people, and it affects how effective they can be.” - Joanie Rufo
“Core to Leading Self is understanding your own patterns of behavior, understanding what your triggers are, and understanding other people's experience of you.” - Joanie Rufo
Quotes About Leading a Meeting
“In any meeting, you have to have something for everybody. So, you have to understand each of those styles, what they need, so you're designing meetings that aren't just for you.” - Michael Wilkinson
“There are only three reasons people disagree. Only three reasons in the entire world. As long as meeting leaders understand what those three reasons are, and can really have strategies for addressing them, we're in great shape.“ - Michael Wilkinson