In Honor of President’s Day: Leadership Quotes to Live By
Great leadership is timeless. So, too, are the great quotes about leadership by U.S. presidents throughout history.
In a day and age where everyone is seeking meaning and a higher purpose in the work they do, sometimes the best place to look is to some of the greatest presidents throughout our nation’s history and the thoughts they shared, before their time, about leadership. These quotes are sure to motivate the inner leader in any professional looking to make an impact.
- “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who make excuses.” –George Washington
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” –John Quincy Adams
- “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” –Thomas Jefferson
- “It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.” –Martin Van Buren
- “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.” –Abraham Lincoln
- “There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness or courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. They teach the truth by living it.” –James Garfield
- “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” –Theodore Roosevelt
- “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” –Dwight D. Eisenhower
- “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” –Harry S. Truman
- “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” –John F. Kennedy
Great leadership is infectious. It inspires action, responsibility, loyalty and passion. It lifts others up while performing a critically important function – leading a group of people or an organization.
What are you doing today to make history – for yourself, for your team, for your organization?