Funny leadership quotes are meant to turn things around and cheer you up. As a leader, you need high emotional intelligence to read through situations and offer the right response effectively. You may need to respond to some cases by adding a touch of humor.
1. “I’m a leader, not a follower. Unless it’s a dark place, then you are going first.” – Unknown.
This quote highlights a leader’s requirement to step up during challenging situations and actively lead the people as was intended. Remember that one needs to serve as an example during storms.
2. “Leadership has been defined as the ability to hide your panic from others.” – Lao Tzu
A leader needs to reassure people that everything is in control even when things are out of hand. He/ she should not show signs of defeat or panic during challenging moments, but instead, give hope to the subjects.
3. “The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” – Casey Stengel
A leader needs to have control of the populace. Allowing people who do not believe in you close to those who are not yet decided may be disastrous as they may negatively influence them.
4. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” –Tina Fey
A leader needs to give his/ her employees space to give their best. Good employees who feel continuously monitored may not deliver to the best of their ability.
5. “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
This quote means that we all can drive change despite our size or status in life.
6. “Never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that.” – Ellen Degeneres
Leaders need to chart their paths unless they are caught at crossroads and find one that seems viable.
7. “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” – George S. Patton
Leaders need to guide people to the best of their abilities, let them work, and then review the results.
8. “The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.” – Robert Bloch
Leaders need to show their subjects that they have things in control during challenging moments, knowing very well that they are working on a solution.
9. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight Eisenhower
This quote means that leaders should delegate duties to people who deserve and are willing to do them.
10. “Money won’t make you happy … but everybody wants to find out for themselves.” – Zig Ziglar
People should work and take charge of their lives instead of believing in some notions passed down to us. It is better to experience it first hand than belief in hearsay.
11. “I know worrying works, because none of the stuff I worried about ever happened.” – Will Rogers
This is a wake-up call to focus on the essential things and not spend time worrying about what may never happen.
12. “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi
Leaders should have people skills and relate well with their subordinates instead of asserting dominance all the time.
13. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Eddison
People need to be ready to put in the work to take advantage of the different opportunities life presents.
14. “First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.” – A Bug’s Life
Leaders need to take responsibility for every action, whether right or wrong, even if they are not directly involved. It is only by taking responsibility that they can work on a solution.
15. Do, or do not. There is no “try”. – Yoda, from Star Wars
Leaders need to be decisive. They should be willing to make decisions and stand by them. There is no room for neutrality when it comes to leadership.
16. “After a while, you learn to ignore the names people call you and just trust who you are.” –Shrek
There are certain things leaders cannot control, such as people’s perception of them. All they can do is to trust themselves and give their all to their usual duties.
17. “Just keep swimming.” – Dory, Finding Nemo
Despite the several challenges that come with life or a leadership position, people and leaders need to move on and keep on pushing through. The consistency finally pays off.
18. “Leadership requires discipline, sacrifice, the ability to make people believe in the impossible. No one said anything about easy.” – Sophia Maguire, The Event
Leadership comes with its fair share of challenges. It requires one to believe in him/herself and help others believe in themselves too. It is not an easy race and should not be treated as one.
19. “I never look back, darling. It distracts me from the now.” – Edna Mode, The Incredibles
Leaders need not dwell in the past, be it past failures or successes. They should, however, focus on the present and the future. Past successes may make one celebrate a little longer and lose focus, whereas past failures may make someone be discouraged and fail to tackle what is happening at the moment.
20. “You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” – Dwight Eisenhower
Leaders do not need to exert too much force on their subordinates. They should rule well, without being too much authoritative on their subjects.
21. “Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.” – John Naisbitt
Leadership involves leading people to advance a particular set of prior beliefs that they had.
22. “But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.” – Carl Sagan
People need not get ahead of themselves but put in the work. The fact that somebody went through something you are going through does not mean that your situation will be similar.
23. “If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you. If you make them think, they’ll hate you.” – Don Marquis
Even though leadership is all about doing the right thing, leaders need to also appeal to the masses to stay in power.
24. “Sometimes you have to take a break from being the kind of boss that’s always trying to teach people things. Sometimes you just have to be the boss of dancing.” – Michael Scott, The Office
Leaders need to go out of their tight schedules and work-life and focus on the welfare of their subordinates.
25. “I would rather be an artist than a leader. Ironically, a leader has to follow the rules.” – Criss Jami
A leader should not just stick to leadership. He/ she should also try to better him/herself and go out of the job framework to figure out solutions for different problems.
26. “Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t.” – Tina Fey
At times leaders need to ignore how people view them in their minds and just focus on the task at hand. Once one has properly delivered his/ her roles, people will start viewing him/ her differently.
27. “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
A leader should give the employees space to deliver instead of constant supervision.
28. “A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice.” – James Callaghan
A leader may need to trust his/ her instincts in some instances and ignore advice from specialists if he/ she believes that it is the right thing to do.
29. “You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can’t sit on it for long.” – Boris Yeltsin
A leader should not be too comfortable or okay with the status quo since things may change overnight. A leader should always be prepared.
30. “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Theodore M. Hesburgh
Leaders should not act without critically thinking. One should not rely on blind faith while occupying a leadership position.
Conclusion
Humor is essential both in the workplace and in daily life. These are some of the funniest quotes about leadership that one can draw from. They have been captured from some of the world’s best leaders and most significant movies of all time.
