„The best leaders know that direction alone is no longer enough. The best leaders are storytellers, cheerleaders, and facilitators.“

„The whole history of computers is rampant with cheerleading at best and bigotry at worst.“

—  Larry Wall American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl 1954

[199702111730.JAA28598@wall.org, 1997]
Usenet postings, 1997

„At that time I believed in the Führer principle because to me it meant that the best one should be the leader. If the leader is good and responsible, then the government is good.“

—  Walther Funk German economist and politician 1890 - 1960

To Leon Goldensohn, March 31, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

„No leader got there by following another's path. Better to walk alone than follow a crowd going in the wrong direction.“

—  Jay Samit American businessman 1961

Zdroj: Disrupt You! (2015), p.241

„We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.“

—  Ralph Peters American military officer, writer, pundit 1952

Zdroj: 2000s, Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World (2002), p. 133

„He was a person who could bring out the best in others. There are some leaders who bring out the worst in others. He brought out the best.“

—  Atal Bihari Vajpayee 10th Prime Minister of India 1924 - 2018

Arun Shourie. NDTV. "Let's Have Tea": When Atal Bihari Vajpayee Made A Point With 3 Words https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atal-bihari-vajpayee-death-lets-have-tea-when-atal-bihari-vajpayee-made-a-point-with-3-words-1901754 August 17, 2018

„All leaders are human. They get tired, angry, and jealous and carry the same range of emotions and frailties common to mankind. Most leaders periodically display them. The leaders I most admired were totally human but constantly strove to be the best humans they could be. Leaders make mistakes, and they are often costly.“

—  Stanley A. McChrystal American general 1954

Zdroj: My Share Of The Task (2013), p. 393-394
Kontext: All leaders are human. They get tired, angry, and jealous and carry the same range of emotions and frailties common to mankind. Most leaders periodically display them. The leaders I most admired were totally human but constantly strove to be the best humans they could be. Leaders make mistakes, and they are often costly. The first reflex is normally to deny the failure to themselves; the second is to hide it from others, because most leaders covet a reputation for infallibility. But it's a fool's dream and inherently dishonest. There are few secrets to leadership. It is mostly just hard work. More than anything else it requires self-discipline. Colorful, charismatic characters often fascinate people, even soldiers. But over time, effectiveness is what counts. Those who lead most successfully do so while looking out for their followers' welfare.

„If I had to choose one which best characterized the condition of being a political leader in Athens, the word would be "tension."“

—  Moses I. Finley American historian 1912 - 1986

Zdroj: Democracy Ancient And Modern (Second Edition) (1985), Chapter 2, Athenian Demagogues, p. 60

„With the best leaders when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, "We have done this ourselves."“

—  Laozi semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and founder of… -604

Only the final bold section is connected to Laozi (see Ch. 17 of Tao Te Ching above). The origin of the added first section is unclear.
Misattributed
Kontext: "Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. With the best leaders when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, "We have done this ourselves."

„North Korea is a unique socialist country in that its ruling ideology is conveyed through what is written about its leaders, not by them, and the message could hardly be simpler. Foreigners bad, Koreans good, Leader best.“

—  Brian Reynolds Myers American professor of international studies 1963

2000s, Mother of All Mothers (September 2004)

„He who has God alone for his leader, he alone is free.“

—  Philo Roman philosopher -15 - 45 př. n. l.

20.
Every Good Man is Free

„Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.“

—  Matka Tereza Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin 1910 - 1997

Mary Alice Warner, ‎Dayna Beilenson (1987) Women of faith and spirit: their words & thoughts, p. 42
1980s

„The leader is always alone before bad fates.“

—  Charles de Gaulle eighteenth President of the French Republic 1890 - 1970

Toujours le chef est seul en face du mauvais destin.
in Mémoires de guerre.
Writings

„A political leader must keep looking over his shoulder all the time to see if the boys are still there. If they aren’t still there, he’s no longer a political leader.“

—  Bernard Baruch American businessman 1870 - 1965

As quoted in his obituary, New York Times (21 June 1965)

„A good storyteller minces words to entertain or inspire the audience. The politicians and religious leaders do much the same, but for a different purpose - to turn otherwise normal people to nutcases.“

—  Vinko Vrbanić 1951

Storyteller

„When you were made a leader you weren't given a crown, you were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.“

—  Jack Welch American executive: General Electric CEO 1935

„Dhoni has evolved as a leader, not just as a cricketer. In my opinion, if you see his records, he is definitely the best captain India ever had.“

—  MS Dhoni Indian cricket player 1981

Wasim Akram https://www.scoopwhoop.com/sports/dhoni-quotes/

„Our country needs a truly great leader, and we need a truly great leader now. We need a leader that wrote “The Art of the Deal.” We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military, can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned. And we also need a cheerleader…. We need somebody that can take the brand of the United States and make it great again. It’s not great again.“

—  Donald J. Trump 45th President of the United States of America 1946

2010s, 2015, Presidential Bid Announcement (June 16, 2015)

„One of the best mechanisms that founders, leaders, managers, or even colleagues have available for communicating what they believe in or care about is what they systematically pay attention to.“

—  Edgar H. Schein Psychologist 1928

Zdroj: Organizational Culture and Leadership, 1985, p. 225

„So for a leader, it is very important that he is in the best of emotions within himself all the time because everything that he does, affects so many people.“

—  Sadhguru Yogi, mystic, visionary and humanitarian 1957

Economic Times http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-15/news/44113918_1_business-leaders-privilege-yoga-classes, 15 November 2013
Sourced from newspapers and magazines
Kontext: So for a leader, it is very important that he is in the best of emotions within himself all the time because everything that he does, affects so many people. So there, our (India's) leadership has not worked at all, especially in the last five years. When leaders are insecure, leaders are fearful. He will then do what is good for him only. Only when he is joyful, when his experience of life is not affected by what's happening around him, he will do what is needed. We want leaders who will do what is needed, not what they need.