Father Theodore Hesburg

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.

I think people should be nicer to each other

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.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

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

When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.

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

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

It’s easy to demonise people, you’re usually wrong about it, people are nicer than you think.

As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me.

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

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

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.

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

You don’t reward failure by promoting those responsible for it, because all you get is more failure.