#35 Days of Dares #29 Dare to Lead
At some point in life we’re all faced with a decision of whether or not to step up and lead. Sometimes we even lead by default. Leadership is not about being the CEO or managing director of a company necessarily. In fact, some people with these positions are managers, not leaders.
At times, leadership in my life has meant I’ve taken a job. At others, it’s been leading my children through the process of growing up. I’ve mentored people and some have told me I’ve helped them on their way. What it boils down to is that to be a leader, you have be a servant. That’s the paradox. Jesus, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King all served people and causes above their own agendas.
Whether it’s people in government, my family, workplace or creatively, anyone who leads has certain qualities that make them stand out. These quotes sum up the qualities I feel make a great leader:
Allow these amazing quotes to dare you to lead:
1. The minute a person whose word means a great deal to others dare to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow. Marian Anderson
2. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams
3. Everyone makes a difference. Someone who does something for others makes a big difference. A person who has no self-interest to do things for others makes a bigger difference. But, one who does everything for everyone for the sake of humanity without vested interest makes a real big difference for sustainability. Anuj Somany
4. Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have. Oprah Winfrey
5. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King, Jr.
6. Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths. John Zenger
7. There are only three types of people in the world: Those who make things happen, those who wait for something to happen, and those who wonder what happened. Which are you? Unknown
8. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18
9. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch
10. A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
11. You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. Ken Kesey
12. A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. Max Lucado
13. Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway. Eleanor Roosevelt
14. Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. Stephen Covey
15. If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin
16. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson
17. It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. Nelson Mandela
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