Over the years, many leaders have come and gone; a few have been successful and even fewer have been great. Some were born with the gift of leadership, others were trained to be so, some were chosen for the role, and some were leaders because of fate. Whatever the background of leaders or their motive for being leaders, they cannot run away from the fact that many people depend on their wise decisions.
In the ancient days, when the world was all horses, swords and wars; the King was the biggest leader of the kingdom. The fate of the kingdom lay in his hands and leadership style. His role was to defend his people from his enemies and lead them to prosperity. The King was supposed to be wise enough to know when to go to battle or when to make peace. The King mostly had a council of advisors, whom he turned to when he ran out of ideas.
A wise and great King would know that he could not weather the storm alone. He needed the advice and wisdom of others. He was aware that it was not only his voice that needed to be heard but that of others too. A King, who wanted to be a great leader, was a listener, not only of his voice. A great King in those days did not seek power, but respect. A King’s success was not measured by how much his subjects feared him, but how much his community thrived. A great King would have his kingdom look after its orphans, the wounded and the weak. A great leader was not selfish but worried about the welfare of all his subjects. Leadership is not a right, but a privilege and great leaders know this.
Great Kings did not send their armies into battles; they led them there. Leaders do not only look after their own backs but those of their followers. Real leadership is determined by how much a leader is willing to sacrifice for his / her followers. A real leader leads by example. Even in the face of defeat, the King did not turn back and run away, he would motivate his soldiers into the battle, even if it meant death. True leaders don’t compromise on their sacred values; they would rather die with honor than life with shame.
A great leader is not the greatest leader in the group but is the one who unlocks an enormous potential in each and every one of his followers. Though Napoleon was short, he led tall men into battles. Men bigger and stronger than him listened to him. A great leader does not have to be intimidating in stature but needs charisma to draw people to him.
Leadership Quotes for Kids and Students:
Here are some inspirational leadership quotes for kids, students, and teachers.
Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.
– Margaret Fuller
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
– John F. Kennedy
Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal.
– Vince Lombardi
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
—Jimmy Dean
To lead people, walk behind them.
– Lao Tzu
Great Quotes On Leadership Qualities:
Here are some quotes showing what could be the possible qualities of a great leader.
I never thought in terms of being a leader. I thought very simply in terms of helping people.
– John Hume
Remember the difference between a boss and a leader a boss says Go a leader says Let s go
– E M Kelly
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
-John Quincy Adams
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
-John C. Maxwell
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.
-Alexander the Great
Don’t find fault, find a remedy.
-Henry Ford
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
-Steve Jobs
Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others
– John C. Maxwell
Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It’s leadership.
-Ralph Marston
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.
– Ronald Reagan
One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
– Arnold Glasow
The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
– Ralph Nader
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
– Warren G. Bennis
A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.
– Arnold Glasow
Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.
– Brian Tracy
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
– Dwight Eisenhower
The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
-Tony Blair
Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.
– Brian Tracy
Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.
– Andrew Carnegie
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
– Harold R. McAlindon
Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
-Colin Powell
Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.
-Bill Bradley
Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.
– Seth Godin
Leaders don’t inflict pain, they share pain.
– Max Depree
Leaders are not complainers, but dreamers. They are not worried about problems because they know that problems are as plenty as waters of the sea. They focus on solutions because problem solvers are as rare as iodine. Real leaders have ceased to rule, they now serve. Great leadership is not about a personal benefit, but for the greater good of the community which he or she is serving. Great leadership is a legacy which only a few enjoy.
