Let's Go! These 150 Powerful & Inspiring Leadership Quotes Will Make You Feel UNSTOPPABLE

There comes a time in every person’s life when they are called to leadership. Sure, it’s usually not something drastic like suddenly becoming President of the United States, but there are moments in everyone's life where we must rise to the challenge and take charge.

Throughout history, there has been an abundance of charismatic and powerful leaders that have passed down their words of wisdom through memorable leadership quotes to help others recognize their power and the responsibility that comes with it. With these leadership quotes, many people have changed their lives and the others around them.

From powerful leaders of change like Martin Luther King Jr. to powerhouse names like Coco Chanel, these leadership quotes will make you feel unstoppable and like you can take on the world. Don’t forget to add some to your vision board or put them in a place where you can always see it and remind yourself how powerful you are!

150 Leadership Quotes

1. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

2. “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.”- Ken Kesey

3. “All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney

4. “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”- Henry David Thoreau

5. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”- Thomas Edison

6. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”- Dr. Seuss

7. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” - Henry Adams

8. “If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn’t call it genius.” - Michelangelo

9. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” - John F. Kennedy

10. “I never thought in terms of being a leader. I thought very simply in terms of helping people.” - John Hume

11. “Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” - Margaret Thatcher

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12. “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

13. “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” - Thomas Jefferson

14. “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment and it comes with plenty of failure along the way.” - Barack Obama

15. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” - Confucius

16. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” - Plato

17. “My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.” - Thomas Paine

18. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” - Abraham Lincoln

19. “In order to remain relevant, you must establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.”- Marc Benioff

20. “Leadership should be focused on extending the ladder of opportunity for everyone.” - Justin Trudeau

21. “A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can’t.” - Jack Ma

22. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” - Dalai Lama

23. “Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.” - Bill Clinton

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24. “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” - Mother Teresa

25. “It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained.” - Queen Elizabeth II

26. “Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion.” - Oprah Winfrey

27. “Connect deeply with others. Our humanity is the one thing that we all have in common.” - Melinda Gates

28. “Find the smartest people you can and surround yourself with them.” - Marissa Meyer

29. “If you really want the key to success, start by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.” - Brad Szollose

30. “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” - John C. Maxwell

31. “Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.” - Diogenes

32. “Leaders walk a fine line between self-confidence and humility.” - Stanley McChrystal

33. “Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do.” - Max De Pree

34. “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” - Orrin Woodward

35. “Leadership is not just about giving energy… it’s unleashing other people’s energy.” - Paul Polman

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36. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” - Ralph Nader

37. “Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers.” - John Gardner

38. “More leaders have been made by accident, circumstance, sheer grit, or will than have been made by all the leadership courses put together.” - Warren Bennis

39. “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”- Dianne Feinstein

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40. “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

41. “Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” - Mary D. Poole

42. “To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

43. “Being a leader is making the people you love hate you a little more each day.” - Patrick Ness

44. “Leaders shouldn’t attach moral significance to their ideas: Do that, and you can’t compromise.” - Peter F. Drucker

45. “A leader operating in enemy territory should always project positivity and optimism.”- Naval Ravikant

46. “Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.”- Warren Bennis

47. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” - Amelia Earhart

48. “It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” - Adlai Stevenson

49. “A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.” - J.P. Morgan

50. “Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way.” - George Patton

51. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” - Tina Fey

52. “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” - Thomas Sowell

53. “Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey.” - Charles S. Lauer

54. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” - Martin Luther King Jr

55. “We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” - Whoopi Goldberg