Good ones are short and fit something your team is dealing with right now. Max De Pree's "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you" works for a team note after a hard quarter, and Colin Powell's line about soldiers bringing you their problems is a good check on whether your people still come to you.
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Leadership Quotes for Managers by Topic
These leadership quotes for managers are sorted by topic, so you can find a line that fits the meeting or training you're putting together this week. A good quote gives your people a picture of the point you're making, and a picture is easier for them to hold onto than another list of expectations.
Say you're opening a Monday team meeting after a project slipped past its deadline. You could remind everyone that commitments matter, or you could put one line from the determination quotes on the screen, talk about what the late project cost the team and ask what would help the next one land on time. The quote opens the conversation and your own example ties it to their week.
Pick a topic below for quotes on that subject, or use the quotes about leadership further down this page, which cover managing people and running meetings. Click Copy quote on any card to paste the quote and the name into a slide or an email. For the best-known leadership quotes and how to choose one, see Famous Leadership Quotes.
Jump To: Quotes by Topic | Managing People | Meetings and Training | Using a Quote | FAQ
Leadership Quotes for Work, Sorted by Topic
Pick the topic closest to the point you want to make, and each card opens a page of quotes on that subject.
Character and Trust
Quotes on Honesty
For talking about telling the truth at work, from owning a mistake to giving straight feedback.
Quotes on Integrity
For doing the right thing when a shortcut is right there, and for setting the standard your team follows.
Mindset and Drive
Quotes on Determination
For long projects and missed targets, when your team needs a reason to keep going.
Quotes on Achievement
For marking a finished project or a target your team hit, and for setting the next one.
Teams, Customers and Sales
Customer Service Quotes
For leaders of front-line teams, from the morning huddle to training new hires.
Quotes for Leaders Who Manage People
Most of a manager's week goes to people, and a good share of it goes to conversations that are easy to put off. These quotes give you a way into those conversations, in moments like these:
- You've been promoted and now lead the people who used to be your peers.
- Your team hears about a reorganization before you've had a chance to explain it.
- Someone who used to stop by with questions has gone quiet.
- You're writing a note to the team after a hard quarter.
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"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you."
Max De Pree
Former CEO of Herman Miller
"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them."
Colin Powell
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing."
Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus
Authors of Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge
"Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow."
James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Authors of The Leadership Challenge
"Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, 'Make me feel important.'"
Attributed to Mary Kay Ash
Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
De Pree's line fits the note after a hard quarter, because it tells you what to put in it: say plainly what happened, then thank the people who carried the work. Powell's quote is worth keeping in mind for the person who's gone quiet, and a one-on-one where you ask what's getting in their way is often the place to start. If you're leading former peers, Kouzes and Posner's line is a reminder that the title came with the promotion and the following has to be earned.
Quotes on Leadership for Team Meetings and Training
A quote at the top of an agenda or on the first slide gives the meeting a point before anyone starts talking. These fit the meetings and training sessions on a manager's calendar, in moments like these:
- The weekly staff meeting has turned into a round of status updates.
- You're kicking off annual planning, and next year's targets are still rough.
- A new supervisor's first training session is on Thursday.
- You'd like the team to drop a report or a task that nobody uses anymore.
“
"Training is, quite simply, one of the highest-leverage activities a manager can perform."
Andy Grove
Former CEO of Intel
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
John F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
Stephen R. Covey
Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
"There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."
Peter Drucker
Management writer and professor
"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th President of the United States
Drucker's line works on the slide where you ask the team which reports and tasks they'd stop doing if they could. Eisenhower's fits the planning kickoff, because the targets will change and the thinking the team does together is what carries over. Grove's quote is a good one to keep for yourself when the week fills up and training is the first thing you're tempted to cancel.
How to Use a Quote With Your Team
One quote can carry a hard message and a thank-you, as long as you come back to it.
DEV'S WEDNESDAY STAFF MEETING
Dev manages eight people in an operations department. The quarter's numbers came in short, and he put Max De Pree's quote about defining reality on the first slide of Wednesday's staff meeting. He walked through the numbers plainly and asked one question: what's one thing slowing you down that I could take off your plate?
Three people named the same weekly report. It took each of them about two hours, and nobody upstream was reading it. Dev checked with his own manager and dropped it by Friday, and the next Wednesday he opened with a thank-you for the six hours a week the team had gotten back.
The quote set up the hard news and the thank-you, and the dropped report showed the team he'd listened.
Dev used one quote and one question, and a week later he came back with what had changed. When your people see that what they told you led to something, they’re more likely to speak up the next time you ask.
For the best-known leadership quotes and how to pick one that fits your own message, see Famous Leadership Quotes.
More for Managers
If you're new to managing, the Leading People tools cover the conversations and plans that come with the role. The role clarity template helps you and each person on your team agree on what their job includes, which makes many of these conversations easier to have.
And if your team is carrying work that nobody uses anymore, like Dev's weekly report, the project prioritization template helps you decide what to keep and what to stop.
Leadership Quotes for Managers FAQ
The questions below address what leaders most commonly ask about leadership quotes for managers.
Click on the (+) sign below to expand each question. Click the (-) sign to collapse it again.
What are good leadership quotes for managers?
How do I use a leadership quote at work?
Pick one quote that fits what's happening this week, read it out or put it on your first slide, and ask one question about it. Then come back at the next meeting with what changed, so the quote connects to something your team did.
Where can I find the best-known leadership quotes?
The Famous Leadership Quotes page has the best-known leadership quotes, along with how to pick one that fits your message. The topic directory on this page links to quotes on subjects like honesty and customer service.
What does "Attributed to" mean on these quotes?
It means the quote is widely credited to that person, but there's no dated source behind it, like a book or an interview. Every quote without it traces back to a source you can cite.
Can I use these quotes in my presentations and training materials?
Yes. Click Copy quote on any card, and the quote and the name go to your clipboard together, ready to paste into a slide or a handout. Keep the name with the quote when you use it.
How many quotes should I use in a presentation?
One or two is usually enough. A single quote on the first slide gives the room a picture of your point, and more than a couple can start to crowd out your own message.
More Leadership Resources
Richard Gorham has led teams in financial services for more than 30 years, from retail branches and operations to investments and insurance, and he still leads a team today.
He founded Leadership-Tools.com in 2002 to give managers free, practical tools like the ones he used in his various leadership roles. Every tool here has been used in a real workplace and comes with a filled-in example you can follow.
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