Quotes About Leadership

A story once went the rounds of Israel to the effect that Ben-Gurion described me as 'the only man' in his cabinet. What amused me about is that he (or whoever invented the story) thought that this was the greatest compliment that could be paid to a woman. I very much doubt that any man would have been flattered if I had said about him that he was the only woman in the government!

A leader who doesn't hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

I have given instructions that I be informed every time one of our soldiers is killed, even if it is in the middle of the night. When President Nasser leaves instructions that he is to be awakened in the middle of the night if an Egyptian soldier is killed, there will be peace.

You must be a leader, as a member of this Church, in those causes for which this Church stands. Do not let fear overcome your efforts...The adversary of all truth would put into your heart a reluctance to make an effort. Cast that fear aside and be valiant in the cause of truth and righteousness and faith. If you now decide that this will become the pattern of your life, you will not have to make that decision again.

The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This church does not belong to its President. Its head is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name each of us has taken upon ourselves. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory. . . . Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence.

We cannot expect to lift others unless we stand on higher ground ourselves.

So long as we have more politicians than statesmen, we shall have problems.

Nevertheless, I sought counsel from my leaders and obeyed, even when I knew their advice would make my life more complicated. I decided it was not for me to question and that if some advice caused temporary pain for me, it must be something I should experience.

If Xi personally accepts Maoism, we should not be surprised he believes his Maoist campaign is popular across Chinese society. "Today's Chinese leadership—under pressure from rising expectations, social dislocation, and popular discontent—again finds itself trying to bridge a credibility gap with the Chinese public," write Evan Feigenbaum and Damien Ma in Foreign Affairs.

Acts of government are not choices between good and bad. They are between two evils – the lesser of two evils. Someone is always going to get hurt by a decision of government . . . absolute morality, absolute ethics just does not exist in affairs of the state.'99

Other nations merely change governments as a lady changes dancing partners: Canada contrives to fall in a dead faint every time the music stops.

Let the past serve the present, let foreign things serve China," said that famous servant of the people Mao Zedong.

The limits of Mao's system have just about been reached. Party cadres say they want the benefits of the Internet, but they also want to be able to censor it. They say they want to be a technological leader of this century, but they restrict innovation. They say they want a modern society, but they cannot relinquish their hold. Those who rule from Beijing want the benefits of change, but they do not want change itself.

So the Communist Party has shown the world that only force will be able to move it. The people are supposed to be intimidated by this colossal display of obstinacy, and, at least for the moment, many are. But they just wait in silence and let their resentments fester. The Party knows how to suppress, but it no longer has the power to lead. It has forgotten what once made it great.

Today tinkering is the order of the day as Chinese leaders "cross the river by feeling the stones.

Senior leaders used to rule, but now they merely react.

During the Second World War, China, briefly united under Chiang Kai-shek, was split into pieces controlled by the Kuomintang, the Japanese, the Communists, the Tibetans, and the Muslims.

Time waits for no country these days, however, not even one as important, or unimportant, as China. Nero fiddled, Jiang theorizes.

I often have said that to be a college president, you need a thick skin, a good sense of humor, and nerves like sewer pipes.

number of people, throws the problem their way, and says, "Don't bother me again until you have a solution." That's a tiger team. Get what I'm saying?

If you are in a position of power and want to lead well, remember: Allow those you lead... To lead... when they feel the need. All will benefit.

For sooner or later, no matter what fantastic long-range weapons you mounted, the ground itself had to be taken —and for that there had never been anything but the man in the ranks.

I'd like to think I'm a great teacher.