A Wealth of Leadership

Took today to just share with you some favorite leadership quotes. Enjoy:

• · A widespread misunderstanding is that leading and managing are one and the same. The best way to test whether a person can lead rather than just manage is to ask him to create positive change. Managers can maintain direction, but they can’t change it. To move people in a new direction, you need influence.
• · Successful leaders are learners. And the learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. The goal each day must be to get a little better, to build on the previous day’s progress.
• · Leadership is developed daily, not in a day.
• · Champions don’t become champions in the ring – they are merely recognized there. If you want to see where someone develops into a champion, look at his daily routine. Joe Frazier stated, “You can map out a fight plan or a life plan. But when the action starts, you are down to your reflexes. That is where your road work shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, you’re getting found out now under the bright lights.”
• · It is not the size of a project that determines its acceptance, support, and success. It is the size of the leader.
• · Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. – Margaret Thatcher
• · The proof of leadership is found in the followers.
• · Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible.
• · No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character.
• · When people respect someone as a person, they admire her. When they respect her as a friend, they love her. When they respect her as a leader, they follow her.
• A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
• The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.
• Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them.
• Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
• The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.
• The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what. After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.
• Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.
• As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to become. Take action on your behavior. Too many people want to feel, then take action. This never works.
• Becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you’re not going to be successful. What matters most is what you do day by day over the long haul. The secret of our success is found in our daily agenda
• You can find smart, talented, successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership.

pc