The Top 35 Leadership Quotes From Last Year’s Global Leadership Summit

For the next two days I will be live blogging the Global Leadership Summit.  This is a special moment as the Summit will be celebrating its 25th year of investing in leaders.  As we prepare to learn from this year’s speaker lineup, I want to take a look back at last year’s best leadership quotes.

Also, I want to invest in you as leaders. My book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase.  If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you!  By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you.  This book is not to be read alone.  Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence.  Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.

The following are The Top 35 Leadership Quotes From Last Year’s Global Leadership Summit:

Craig Groeschel Opening Session

1. Like never before, our world needs strong, consistent, bold, courageous and high-infused leaders.  We will lead with profound humility.  We’ll seek wisdom to make the difficult calls.  We’ll apologize when we get it wrong and we will confront injustices and right wrongs.  We’ll ask for the courage to stand up when others back down.
2. Look for the greatest level of return based on time, money, and resources invested.
3. Pastors, some of you need to take it out of the oven. You’re overcooking the sermon.
4. Perfection is often the enemy of progress.
5. God guides by what He provides.
6. God also guides by what He withholds.
7. Constraints lead to breakthroughs. Embrace your limitations. If you had every you wanted you might miss what you really needed.
8. Tell me what you are called to do and why it matters. If you commit to the “what” and are consumed by your “why”, you will figure out the how.
9. Some of you are one step from leading your organization where it’s supposed to go.
10. Don’t obsess about things that don’t matter.

Ben Sherwood.  Ben served as Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney | ABC Television Group from 2014 to 2019.

1. You need to be a farmer with a pitchfork. The greatest swordsman is not afraid of the second greatest swordsman.  The greatest swordsman is afraid of a famer with a pitchfork.  They have nothing to lose and fight any way they want.
2. In conventional conflict, the stronger power wins 71% of the time. In unconventional conflict, the weaker side wins 63.6% of the time.
3. For the unconventional leader, the best ideas win.
4. It’s the quality of the idea and the quantity of ideas.
5. 7% of people in a plane crash survive.  The Rule of 10-80-10. In any emergency, 10% emerge as leaders and lead others to safety. 80% do nothing.  They freeze and wait for a person in position of authority to tell them what to do.  10% engage in counter-productive behavior.
6. The 10% are emergent leaders. They’re not necessarily the president of the company. Men and women emerge as leaders in those situations.
7. In an airplane accident, the first 90 seconds are all that matters.Count the rows to the nearest exit and memorize them. Then count the rows to the nearest exits anad memorize them.  Don’t medicate yourself.  Don’t go to sleep with earbuds in your ears.  Wear shoes instead of flip flops.  The first three minutes of flight and last 8 minutes are when most accidents happen.  Finally, relax.

Danielle Strickland.  Danielle has led churches, started training schools and established justice departments around the world. She spent 22 years as an officer in The Salvation Army and is an Ambassador for Stop The Traffik.

1. If you want transformation, you don’t need just to change things around. You need to change the right things around.
2. There is no changing the future without disturbing the present.
3. Leaders know that changing things is not as important as changing the right thing. Embrace the process. Embrace the way it feels to change those things.

Pat Lencioni.  Pat is the author of eleven best-selling books with more than five million copies sold, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage.

1. The only reason to be a leader is to do whatever you need to do to serve the people you are leading.
2. Rewards-centered leaders don’t like to have uncomfortable, difficult conversations.They avoid them.  Real people suffer.
3. Rewards-centered leaders don’t like managing direct reports.The higher you go in an organization, the less you like to do this.
4. If you are a leader and you hate going to meetings, you probably need to change jobs.
5. The cost of bad meetings is bad decisions.
6. There is an evil one lurking who wants to convince us we are important and don’t need to do the wrong things.
7. Servant leadership is the only kind there is.

Craig Groeschel Closing Session

1. Knowledge alone rarely leads to action.
2. The difference between knowledge and emotion is knowledge leads to conclusions where emotion leads to action.
3. I’m not going to push my spiritual beliefs on anybody but I’m not going to hide it.
4. Vision drives us. Values help create culture.  Vision and values should never be words on a wall.  They should be burned in our heart.
5. We may impress people with our strengths but we connect through our weaknesses.
6. People would rather follow a leader who’s always real rather than someone who’s always right.
7. Like never before, our world needs strong, consistent, bold, courageous and high-infused leaders.  We will lead with profound humility.  We’ll seek wisdom to make the difficult calls.  We’ll apologize when we get it wrong and we will confront injustices and right wrongs.  We’ll ask for the courage to stand up when others back down.
8. Leaders change the world.

The next two days should bring plenty of transformational leadership insights.  Make sure you check back regularly for live blog updates.

Speaking of Apex Leaders, my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase.  If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you!  By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you.  This book is not to be read alone.  Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence.  Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.