I just made my wife a very happy woman. Regular readers of this site know that periodically I simply have too many magazines lying around the house. Now is one of those times and they must be thrown out. However, before doing so, I captured their best leadership quotes which I will now share them with you.
Quotes are a great resource because they allow leaders to more easily communicate their vision and thoughts. Quotes provide insight into how the best leaders in the world think and act. The following are 20 leadership quotes, captured from six recently discarded issues of Sports Illustrated, that when put together give a wonderful profile of what great leaders have in their life:
- Intelligence – “I like working for smart people. And if they (Mets) were dumb enough to fire me, I guess they weren’t that smart.” – Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson
- Confidence – “Feel free to question me because I’ll give you 10 reasons why I’m doing what I’m doing.” – Johnson
- Care – “I’m the caretaker of the players. I have to do what’s best for them over the long haul.” – Johnson
- Balance – “When putting a roster together, we’re looking for balance. We want players who hit for power, for extra bases, and we always like guys that get on base. What you’re trying to avoid is somebody who strikes out a lot and is not a run producer.” – St Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak
- Ability – “For all his down-home folksiness and popularity with his players and the media, (Texas Rangers manager Ron) Washington’s inability to run a game, especially in high-leverage situations, was a liability in the 2010 World Series.” – Joe Sheehan
- Evaluation – “You don’t think you’re doing it, but sometimes you subconsciously [escalate a guy’s draft stock] based on the strength of the brand.” – unnamed NFL assistant gm on USC players
- Work Ethic – “I think it comes down to work ethic and how much guys want it, how hard they train, how much they put into it. Game play is one thing but if you look at how a guy conducts himself on and off the field, you’ll find out a lot about him.” – Reggie Bush
- Trust – “The body language was terrible. Watch them coming out of timeouts or setting up some of the new plays in the half-court. They didn’t look like a team that trusted the system they were playing in.” – NBA scout on the Los Angeles Lakers
- Production – “Don’t tell me how rough the water is. Just bring in the ship.” – Doug Klein
- Preparation – “His challenge is going to be upstairs, above the neck.” – Steelers linebacker Larry Foote on Mike Vick
- Peace – “In my life, I’m still in a good place. I’m thankful to able to walk into this locker room. I’m thankful that I had another opportunity to play football. I thank God I’ve turned into a better person.” – Vick
- Integrity – “I wouldn’t trade what I did for anything. Being able to hit home runs in the big leagues was awesome. I lived the dream. And I know how I did it.” – Fred McGriff, who retired steroid-free with 493 home runs
- Sustainability – “No game is lost in the first quarter.” – 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman
- Reality – “We’re not very much into stats around here. We play reality football. We don’t play fantasy football.” – Roman
- Accomplishment – “I want my team to win 105 games to have a shot at winning the World Series. If I achieve the (personal) numbers and we don’t win, I’m furious.” – Bryce Harper
- Adjustments – “You’ve got to have speed, and you’ve got to be disciplined, but football is always going to be a game of adjustments.” – Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley
- Value – “Picks are value…You can’t waste one. Don’t get in a position where you start taking chances…It still comes down to drafting. You’ve got to look at every single pick as if it’s the only pick you have.” – Jimmy Johnson on the NFL Draft
- Support – “The guys pick each other up. It’s not one player or one – and that’s how you avoid slumps.” -Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville
- Hope – “They (Blackhawks) treat you like a human being and not just a piece of meat. They gave me a new lease on life.” – Daniel Carcillo
- Opportunity – “Every offensive situation is a chance to score, because he’s not giving up on plays. A lot of times he’s the first guy back, so I can trust him in more situations.” – Quenneville on Patrick Kane
Leaders, is there anything from this list that you DO NOT have?
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