Quotes About Leadership

De Gaulle at his iciest had reproached Challe: "One does not impose conditions on de Gaulle!

Myself, and the majority of officers in a position of command, will not execute unconditionally the orders of the Head of State.

Consulting de Gaulle whether he should be present at the flag-lowering ceremony or not, Fouchet after a pause of several seconds had been told simply: "Je crois que ça serait inutile....

He would have made an excellent politician or statesman but had unfortunately been cursed from birth with an unshakable incorruptibility and moral integrity. The

unspecified exhortation, when translated into practice, is always liable to a certain amount of executive misdirection

He must have courage, not the physical courage required on a battlefield but the moral courage to make and carry out decisions that might directly counter to the wishes of his superiors. He must have great willpower. and, perhaps above all, he must have the gift of leadership.

One had but to look at him to appreciate that he had been doomed from the cradle to end up in the Oval Office: that anyone else should aspire to be – or be – the Chief Executive was quite unthinkable.

When the Canada geese fly north in spring, there is a leader who points the way, a leader at the apex of the V as the formation moves across the land. Those who follow must believe that the leader is doing the best he can but there is no guarantee that all journeys will end in salvation for everyone involved.

Caesar described

Not homes with beautiful roofs, nor walls of permanent stone, nor canals and piers for ships make the city—but men of strength. Not stone and timber, nor skill of carpenter—but men brave who will handle sword and spear. With these you have a city and walls.

One and all, you have proclaimed Pittakos, the lowborn, to be tyrant of your lifeless and doomed land. Moreover, you deafen him with praise.

All of you are above me, and I am above all of you.

Mick Jagger played the role in their [students] lives that Napoleon played in the lives of ordinary young Frenchmen throughout the nineteenth century. Everyone else was so boring and unable to charm youthful passions.

Democratic individualism does not officially provide much of a place for leaders in a regime where everyone is supposed to be his own master. Charisma both justifies leaders and excuses followers.

No woman (or man) becomes a corporate manager, gets tenure at a university, or is elected to public office by showing their capacity for cooperation, sharing, emotional sensitivity, and nurturing.

The more consistent a father can be or a mentor can be in the person's life and teach them principles of real solid manhood, character, integrity and leadership, the more consistent you can be in the person's life and teach them those things at a younger age, and then the better off they'll be.

Paul's approach was positively lackadaisical when compared to a performer like James Brown, who was known to impose fines on his players for wrong notes or deviations from the arrangements. But this was alien to the freewheeling rock band aesthetic that Paul thought he wanted when he formed Wings. In

I was beginning to get too producery for everyone," Paul admitted. "George Martin was the actual producer, and I was beginning to be too definite, and George [Harrison] and Ringo turned around and said, 'Look, piss off, we're grown-ups and we can do it without you fine.' People like me who don't realize when they're being very overbearing, it comes as a great surprise to be told."30

that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. …

Lincoln was "the first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, or the difference of color."92 Nor did Lincoln mean

Mercy—or at least a nolle prosequi—may, perhaps, be the most appropriate conclusion to the crime—and the glory—of Robert E. Lee after all.32

Throughout history, great leaders have known the power of humor.

I don't look to a man to get pride in myself. It's not about having a black president, it's about having a good president, and I think that's the most important thing.

Leadership is about being a servant first.