Positive Leadership Quotes - 12 fresh Inspiring Quotes!
Inspiring Quotes About Leadership
Here are 12 inspiring quotes for servant leadership - Gear up to be a better leader for your team!
Building team spirit is the responsibility of a leader. And in order to be a great leader, you need to start with what matters most in your organization-your people!
Those who keep a positive outlook, those who manage to inspire and empower their employees, tend to be a better leader.
Here’s the first of our 12 inspiring quotes for leadership:
1. If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.
- Dolly Parton
What kind of road would your employees like to be on?
A road built by a leader who cares? And can inspire?
How would your employees describe you to one of their friends?
A good leader? Fair? How do they feel when they see you in the morning? Or do you dread seeing them in the morning..?
Do you bring the whole you to work?
- Reading tips: Corporate culture examples
2. I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.
- Estée Lauder
If you want to change things at work and be happier, sometimes you got to start on your own.
Lauder worked hard to become one of the first richest self-made women in the world.
If you wait for your manager or top management to start doing things, or for the “right time” to start taking action, you might be waiting for a looong time.
Stay positive and take action!
- Reading tips: Improve work culture – The BASF way
3. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make
– Jane Goodall
What kind of workdays would you like to have?
What kind of leader would you like to work for? What are you are willing to take a stand for? Do you admit your mistakes?
Leadership quotes exist for a reason - soak up the inspiration and copy how great leaders manage their team.
Reading tips: Boost morale at work: What fun things can you do?
4. Every morning, I look in the mirror and say, ‘I could have done three things better yesterday.’
– Jeffrey R. Immelt
To truly reflect on your workdays on a regular basis can be a very empowering process.
Perhaps something didn’t go the way you had planned yesterday?
What can you change today to be a better leader than yesterday?
What can you start, stop, or continue doing?
The expectations you have for your team are a reflection of your expectations for yourself.
- Reading tips: 6 Employee Appreciation Day Ideas
OK, let’s continue with our inspiring quotes for leadership:
5. A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution
– Angela Merkel
Everyone on your team won’t always see eye to eye.
That’s a normal thing in a business, even with great leaders.
How can you help your team members to manage and resolve any issues themselves?
Are you transparent with your intentions?
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
The success of your team depends on every team members’ contribution and efforts. Success is built DAILY, not in a day.
What’s going well in your role this month? How is employee morale this month?
- Reading tips: How to keep employees happy (in 3 simple steps)
6. You can’t please everyone, and you can’t make everyone like you
– Katie Couric
So it’s a no-brainer that you can’t please everybody, right?
Are you still trying?
If we try, we simply end up carrying a heavy burden and we lose ourselves.
What would happen if you were to identify what you need and begin to ask for it?
Go to the ones on your team who will be most affected or impacted by your decisions, and have an open, frank and authentic conversation.
Big decisions will always cause some pain. The interesting part is how you handle it as a leader.
The next is actually one of my favorite inspiring quotes for leadership:
7. I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said
– Thuli Madonsela
This is a top quote for servant leadership: Sometimes it’s not the loudest voices that need to be heard.
This quote is about the power of listening as a leader.
What questions do you ask your team as a leader?
What remains unsaid? And by whom?
If the employees owned the company, what’s the 1 thing they would do differently?
Have you asked your employees how you could be a better leader?
Involve your people and you’ll quickly find a way to success.
- Reading tips: What employees don’t tell you, tells you something
8. If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more
– Erica Jong
If we don’t step forward as leaders, we will always remain in the same place.
If you want dedicated employees, be dedicated yourself. Are you future-proofing your workplace and your people?
How much does Work Happiness matter to Gen Z? What type of leader and management style is inspirational for them?
Yale’s most popular class gives us all a hint of the future of work.
- Reading tips: How TRND Started With Employee Empowerment (and How You Can Too)
- Transparent leadership and effective communication strategies
The next is actually one of my favourite leadership quotes in life.
9. People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care
- John C. Maxwell
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
Maya Angelou famously said that “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
What part of your job is most meaningful to you?
Have you asked your employees the same question? Management? Lead upwards! Try new things with your people to inspire and reach success, over time.
There is usually a way, right?
- Reading tips: A transparent work environment at DHL
Here’s another famous quote about leadership:
10. Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results
- George S. Patton
Your way may not always be the best way to do stuff at work, right?
What would happen if you communicated the vision of the organization and got people excited about finding new paths?
This quote is all about being generous with giving your people autonomy, mastery and purpose.
”Everybody should WANT to come to work. Life is too short. If you don’t enjoy it, change it”, Rob Hurrell.
What road would be best for your business?
- Reading tips: Authentic leadership examples
11. I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done
- Lucille Ball
What really matters the most in your life?
Where do the most interesting ideas come from in your organization? Are you prepared to try them if YOU didn’t come up with them?
What do you like to ask other leaders when you get the chance?
When was the last time you tried something completely new and unknown?
- Reading tips: New ways to find out how your employees feel
And last but not least among our inspiring quotes about leadership…
12. Be the reason someone smiles at work today!
Who can you surprise today?
Do like Mary Kay Ash, she imagined that everyone she met was wearing a sign saying, “Make me feel important”.
How often do you feel it’s necessary to meet with your team? Or to celebrate together?
How do you measure success for you as a leader? Are you the best leader you can be? A servant leader listens to his or her people and truly cares.
What would be inspirational for your team to make them great? And get more success in their professional lives?
What did you think of our inspiring quotes about leadership?
..and while you’re here: if you’d like to measure the impact of your leadership activities, check out our device:
Hej! I’m Rebecca, co-owner at Celpax. We use simple tech tools to measure and improve working environments. And build a better society while at it. Let’s talk inspiring quotes for leadership on Twitter, or send your positive leadership quotes!
