Quotes About Leadership

The art of leadership, as Max says, is "liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible." Thus, the leader is the "servant" of his followers in that he removes the obstacles that prevent them from doing their jobs.

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader. Concepts

The art of leadership, as Max says, is "liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible." Thus, the leader is the "servant" of his followers in that he removes the obstacles that prevent them from doing their jobs. In short, the true leader enables his or her followers to realize their full potential.

Leaders are also responsible for future leadership. They need to identify, develop, and nurture future leaders.

Readers are the leaders others follow.

total of around 300,000 Russian soldiers are believed to have been killed by their own commanders—more than the entire toll of British troops who perished at enemy hands in the course of the war.

At Arnhem, the British fielded too many gentlemen and not enough players.

France's Gen. Alphonse Juin was the only Allied commander to emerge from the mountain campaigns with an enhanced reputation: a marshal who had voluntarily dropped a rank to fight in Italy, Juin was far better fitted to direct operations than either Alexander or Clark.

In action, there was a fine line between courage which heartened others and bluster which incurred their contempt.

in intelligence as in everything else related to conflict victory is gained not by the side that makes no mistakes, but by the one that makes fewer than the other side. By

Yet both Langlais and 'Bruno' were better suited to enduring a crucifixion than inspiring a resurrection.

Wainwright, who did his duty more impressively than MacArthur

All his life, the ruler of Russia displayed towards able comrades a blend of admiration and envy which impelled him to murder most of them sooner or later.

William Slim, a shrewd, rugged Gurkha officer who would eventually show himself to be Britain's ablest general of the

Adolf Hitler had led one of the most educated and cultured societies on earth to a moral, political and military abyss. He now sought to ensure that as many as possible of his own people accompanied him over the brink.

It seems flippant to suggest that Hitler determined to invade Russia because he could not think what else to do, but there is something in this

Both Britain's most distinguished earlier war leaders, Pitt the Elder and Younger, were responsible for graver strategic follies than himself.

In the Second World War, twenty-two generals were executed by Hitler. Another 963 died or were posted missing on active service. An astonishing 110 killed themselves.

In reality, there were as many disgruntled reservists and brassed-off regulars on Gloucester Hill as in any other unit of 29 Brigade. It was this that made their fate and their performance the more moving: they were a typical, perhaps a little above average county battalion, who showed for the thousandth time in the history of the British Army what ordinary men, decently led, can achieve in a situation which demands, above all, a willingness for sacrifice.

Winston Churchill, the towering personality of the forces of light.

The Bengal famine has been the final epitaph of British rule and achievement in India." Churchill stubbornly refused concessions to nationalist sentiment, dismissing objections from the Americans and their Chinese clients. Leo Amery recoiled in dismay from Churchill's ravings:

All active-minded men the world over are boys at heart, be they generals or privates, and there are few things more stimulating or conducive to high morale and self-confidence than the knowledge that you have been chosen to do something about which others know nothing and which calls for a high standard of efficiency, integrity and courage. Basically, I suppose, it is conceit – a buccaneer complex.

whom one would care to share a desert island. My subjects represent a range of nationalities, but are chiefly Anglo-Saxon, for this is my own culture. Three rose to lead large forces, most did not. This is a study of fighters, not commanders.

Horace Walpole wrote in the mid-eighteenth century: 'No great country was ever saved by good men, because good men will not go to the lengths that may be necessary.