Leadership is not management or direction. More than that, it is about the ability to inspire, empower people to contribute their best toward the common goals. There are so many styles of leadership, but all successful leaders have some traits in common. Let’s learn valuable leadership lessons from great thought leaders in the world by their famous quotes below.

Trust and Actualize Themselves

“Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.”— Bill Gates

"Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use." – Steve Jobs

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” ― Jack Welch

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." — John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“True leaders always practice the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all their actions.” — Anonymous.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs

Have the vision and commit to it

“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”— Ralph Lauren

"The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious." — John Scully

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” —Warren Bennis

“To grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership—not only on the movie set where I learned it, but everywhere.” — Ronald Reagan

"Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." —Peter Drucker

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”—Jack Welch

Inspire people

"Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work." — Seth Godin

"Leadership is that art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it" — Eisenhower

“Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” — Fred Smith

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” —Rosalynn Carter

Listen more, speak less

"The art of conversation lies in listening." — Malcom Forbes

“To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice.”— Richard Branson

"Speak little, do much” —Benjamin Franklin

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”—Bill Gates


See more 8 leadership lessons from succesful leaders at 12 Leadership Lessons from Thought Leaders

Being a leader doesn't make you superior to your followers.

Thought leaders can teach us a lot about what it takes to be a great leader. Their stories and experiences can provide inspiration and guidance for anyone who is looking to improve their own leadership skills. We can all learn something from them, even if it’s just to be more open-minded or optimistic.

We are sharing some great dynamic and influential industry leaders to follow in the world of technology and app development.