John C. Maxwell

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

The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth.

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

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

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.

Success is…knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.

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.

Respect people with less power then you. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful cat in the room, I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful. So there.

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

If you aspire to be a leader of your own country, you must speak your own language, for God’s sake.

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

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.

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.

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.

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

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.

Even as entrepreneurs, we rely on people to get things done. We may have the original idea, but moving it forward can involve hundreds of people. Every person becomes integral to the overall success.

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

If you wouldn’t follow yourself, why should anyone else?

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

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