Finding fuel for the fire
Being a leader isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work to convince a group of people that you’re worthy of their time and attention and that following you is in the team’s best interest. Leaders can receive a lot of pushback, but someone has to step up when times get tough and people feel like they have nowhere else to turn. We know it’s hard, so use these quotes as inspiration when you start questioning why you decided to put your team on your shoulders. You’d be surprised at what a pick-me-up a few inspirational words can be.
- “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- ” High sentiments always win in the end. The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.” – George Orwell
- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
- “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.” – Lao Tzu
- “No man can stand on top because he is put there.” – H. H. Vreeland
- “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
- “What chance gathers, she easily scatters. A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
- “A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
So going forth, use these quotes as fuel when you feel you feel you’ve hit a roadblock as a leader. Finding inspiration from the insights of past leaders can strengthen your resolve and re-ignite your innate desire to lead.
