Father Theodore Hesburg

The art of leadership is a serious matter. One must not lag behind a movement, because to do so is to become isolated from the masses. But one must not rush ahead, for to rush ahead is to lose contact with the masses. He who wished to lead a movement must conduct a fight on two fronts–against those who lag behind and those who rush ahead.

Leaders, true leaders, take responsibility for the success of the team, and understand that they must also take responsibility for the failure.

In real life, if I were firing you, I’d tell you what a great job you did, how fantastic you are, and how you can do better someplace else. If somebody steals, that’s different, but generally speaking, you want to let them down as lightly as possible. It’s not a very pleasant thing. I don’t like firing people.

Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.

Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

You do your job, you keep your job. Do it well, you get a better job.

I feel like the thing we can do is celebrate people doing great work and create more cultural momentum and awareness that this is an important thing in the world. So when the next economic crisis hits and people are talking about where to cut from the budget, science isn’t the thing.

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

Don’t blame the boss. He has enough problems.

But real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice. It comes from realizing that the time has come to move beyond waiting to doing.

I judge people based on their capability, honesty, and merit.

The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people.

Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

A great leader has to be flexible, holding his ground on the major principles but finding room for compromises that can bring people together. A great leader has to be savvy at negotiations so we don’t drown every bill in pork barrel bridges to nowhere. I know how to stand my ground – but I also know that Republicans and Democrats need to find common ground to stand on as well.