Simon Sinek Leader Quotations

If you want to be a great leader, remember to treat all people with respect at all times. For one, because you never know when you'll need their help. And two, because it's a sign you respect people, which all great leaders do.

A leader's job is not to do the work for others; it's to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.

Like a good parent can't also be his child's best friend, a leader with authority requires some separation from subordinates.

The most effective leaders are actually better at guarding against danger when they acknowledge it that it exists. Cowards, in contrast, cling to the hope that failure will never happen and may be sloppy in the face of danger - not because they don't acknowledge that it exists, but because they are just too afraid of it to look it in the eye.

Great leaders state out loud what they intend to do and in doing so, they get things done.

Great leaders don't need to act tough. Their confidence and humility serve to underscore their toughness.

The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks.

You'll never see the president carry his own luggage, and why? Because even though we know he has luggage, it would reduce his stature if he was too much like us. We need to think of our leaders as being above us, even though they must still relate to us.

Though there are lessons that can be learned about becoming a great leader, most exist inherently in the bellies of those who lead.

Notoriously outspoken, his sentences always punctuated with profanities, General George S. Patton was the epitome of what a leader should be like - or so he thought. Patton believed a leader should look and act tough, so he cultivated his image and his personality to match his philosophy.

One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader's need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.

Bad leaders believe that they have to project control at all times.

I try to find, celebrate and teach leaders how to build platforms that will inspire others.

I never imagined working with CEOs, congressmen or the military, yet I make regular visits to the Pentagon, stop by the Capitol now and then and sit down with leaders of all kinds of companies.

Leadership is a choice. It's not a rank, it's a choice. I know many people who are at the top of their organization who have authority. We have to do what they say because they have authority over us. But they're not leaders. We wouldn't follow them. They may be at the top of the company but they're not leaders.

Time and energy. Those are the most valuable sacrifices leaders can make.

Great leaders see money as fuel, not a destination.

Leaders, whatever the size of their organizations, are those willing to put the interests of other people before their own.

We all have the luxury of looking out for ourselves. Leaders also have the honor of looking out for others.

We call them leaders because they go first, because they take the risk before anybody else does, because they will choose to sacrifice so their people will be safe and protected,

Leaders don't convince people to follow them. Leaders walk forward alone and those who want to go down their path decide to follow.

A leader without a title is better than a title without the ability to lead.

The worst leaders are the once that think they have to know as much or more than the people who work with them. The best leaders are the once who know that their employees know hell of a lot more than what they know and willing to admit it whilst expressing the value of their employees.

Bad leaders care about who is right. Good leaders care about what is right

The bad leaders are the ones that push hard so they can gain, who brow beat us so that they can receive the benefit of our hard work, not so we can enjoy the success

Quality effective leaders have the confidence to trust others to try, succeed, and sometimes to fail. We very often confuse personality with leadership. In other words, leadership is not about being a nice person or not a nice person.

It is like when a player has a slump, we do not trade them, we coach them. It is the same with our employees. The best leaders come to the aid of their people, whose performance is down. Not come down harder on them.

A leader must be inspired by the people before a leader can inspire the people.

There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or influence. Those who lead inspire us.

Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.

A star wants to see himself rise to the top. A leader wants to see those around him rise to the top.

Leaders don’t complain about what’s not working. Leaders celebrate what is working and work to amplify it.

A poor leader will tell you how many people work for them. A great leader will tell you how many people they work for.

Leaders may inspire, but only when the people decide to act does the leader's vision become a movement.

Poor leaders push us towards the goal. Great leaders guide us through the journey.

We become leaders when we accept the responsibility to protect those in our care.

Leaders don't look for recognition from others, leaders look for others to recognize.

A leader, first and foremost, is human. Only when we have the strength to show our vulnerability can we truly lead.

There are leaders, and there are those who lead.

Truly effective and inspiring leaders aren’t actually driven to lead people; they are driven to serve them.

A good leader shares information, even if they don't know the whole story. Without any information, people create their own, which causes fear and paranoia.

Any great and inspiring leader or organization that ever existed set out to do something completely unrealistic.

A leader should not take credit when things go right if they are not willing to accept responsibility when things go wrong.

The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.

Be the leader you wish you had.

Great leaders give everyone something to believe in, not something to do.

Managers watch over our numbers, our time and our results. Leaders watch over us.

Leaders volunteer to go first into danger. Their willingness to sacrifice for us is the reason we're inspired to follow.

More often than not when we do not like our work, it's not necessarily because of the work itself. But more often because of the people we work with and more importantly because of the lack of leadership. It is amazing how inspired and motivated we can be when we like the people and when we feel like we show up to work because our leaders care about our wellbeing. It is kind of incredible actually.

Followers want to be taken care of. Leaders want to take care of others. We can all be leaders.

The true value of a leader is not measured by the work they do. A leader's true value is measured by the work they inspire others to do.

Great leaders don’t try to be perfect. They try to be themselves. And that’s what makes them great.

Leaders are the ones who have the courage to go first, to put themselves at personal risk to open a path for others to follow.

When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.

When leaders care less about their people, their people will be careless.

The rank of office is not what makes someone a leader. Leadership is the choice to serve others with or without any formal rank.

Authorities act with themselves in mind. Leaders act with others in mind. Authorities take. Leaders give. Authorities die. Leaders live on.

Great leaders don't see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.

A leader is the one who speaks last and acts first.

Great leaders don't blame the tools they are given. Great leaders work to sharpen them.

The leaders who get the most out of their people are the leaders who care most about their people.

A leader's job is not just to get the best out of their people-a leader's job is to make more leaders.

Authenticity is about imperfection. And authenticity is a very human quality. To be authentic is to be at peace with your imperfections. The great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses. The great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don't know. The great leaders can't do everything; they are the ones who look to others to help them. Great leaders don't see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.