Asking “who ought to be the boss” is like asking “who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?” Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.

—Henry Ford

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

—Muriel Strode

The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

—James Crook

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don’t think that’s quite it; it’s more like jazz. There is more improvisation. Someone once wrote that the sound of surprise is jazz, and if there’s any one thing that we must try to get used to in this world, it’s surprise and the unexpected. Truly, we are living in world where the only thing that’s constant is change.

—Warren G. Bennis

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.

—Kenneth Blanchard

A leader is best / When people barely know he exists, / When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, / They will say: We did it ourselves.

—Lao-Tzu

Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for force. It means the substitution of responsibility for obedience to rank, and of authority of performance for the authority of rank.

—Peter Drucker

Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.

—Chinese proverb

Perhaps the most central characteristic of authentic leadership is the relinquishing of the impulse to dominate others.

—David Cooper

The man who gets the most satisfactory results is not always the man with the brilliant single mind, but rather the man who can best co-ordinate the brains and talents of his associates.

—W. Alton Jones

The person who know “how” will always have a job. The person who knows “why” will always be his boss.

—Diane Ravitch

You can judge a leader by the size of the problem he tackles... Other people can cope with the waves, it’s his job to watch the tide.

—Antony Jay

The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.

—Fred A. Manske, Jr

The beauty of empowering others is that your own power is not diminished in the process.

—Barbara Colorose