I learned in Sunday school the power of memorizing Bible verses. Every Sunday we would go to class and have to recite a memory verse.
If we were able to remember the verse, we would be given a special prize. These prizes encouraged us to try to memorize the verses. Who doesn’t love a prize, right?
Photo by Kelly Sikkema
In business, you won’t be memorizing scripture, though it’s not a bad idea for leaders to learn scripture. You will be more inclined to memorize powerful quotes on leadership.
These quotes will encourage and empower you to lead better than ever before. They will remind you of what leadership is and why you are leading.
Today, I want to share with you 20 quotes every leader should memorize.
20 Quotes Every Leader Should Memorize
1. Rosalynn Carter:
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.
2. Ken Robinson:
The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas; it’s to create a culture where everyone can have ideas and feel that they’re valued.
3. Ronald Reagan:
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.
4. Max Lucado:
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
5. Brian Tracey:
Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.
6. Albert Einstein:
The leader is one who, out of the clutter, brings simplicity… out of discord, harmony… and out of difficulty, opportunity.
7. Sara Blakely:
Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.
8. Nelson Mandela:
You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.
9. Sallie Krawcheck:
If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.
10. Peter F. Drucker:
Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people,’ that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
11. Donald McGannon:
Leadership is an action, not a position.
12. Unknown:
Leadership is about being of service to others, not being served by others.
13. John Zenger:
Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.
14. Warren Bennis:
Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination.
15. Ray Kroc:
The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.
16. Maria Shi:
I measure my own success as a leader by how well the people who work for me succeed.
17. Barbara Corcoran:
My best successes came on the heels of failures.
18. Marcella Bremer:
That you are only a drop in the ocean, is a linear point of view. How are you to judge whether your results are insignificant? Tiny acts of empathy and understanding cause ripple effects. The world is changed because you are here.
19. Harvey S. Firestone:
The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
20. Robert Louis Stevenson:
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
There you have it. 20 quotes every leader should memorize.
Use these leadership quotes to help you empower yourself to lead better today, tomorrow, and into the future.
Question: What is your favorite leadership quote you think all leaders should memorize? Share your favorite quote in the comments below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.