26 Funny Leadership Quotes
Leadership can be funny. Sometimes it’s due to the employees, a crazy, wild-west type organization or sometimes, the leaders are just incapable and unqualified. Even worse, sometimes it’s a combination of all three!
When we recently compiled a list of short but inspiring leadership quotes, we also found plenty of funny quotes about leadership too.
Whether you’ve had a clueless leader in the past or you can just take solace in the following funny quotes about leaders and leadership – they are all great for a laugh and can make an irritating situation a bit more bearable.
Funny Leadership Quotes
People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything. Thomas Sowell
It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse. Adlai E. Stevenson
It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead — and find no one there. Franklin Roosevelt
The problem with being a leader is that you’re never sure if you’re being followed or chased. Claire A. Murray
Leadership is your ability to hide your panic from others. Lao Tzu
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. Robert Bloch
When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat. Ronald Reagan
Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy – both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. Michael Scott (The Office)
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
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. Max De Pree
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well. Dwight D. Eisenhower
By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. Robert Frost
Some people say, ‘Never let them see you cry.’ I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone. Tina Fey
When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy. Dave Barry
The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided. Casey Stengel
If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade. Tom Peters
I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure – which is: Try to please everybody. Herbert Bayard Swope
Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women. Groucho Marx
If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following, then you are just taking a walk. Benjamin Hooks
Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. Paul Hawken
You need to play to win. But you also need to win to play. Michael Scott (The Office)
Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it. John Naisbitt
Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders. Sloan Wilson
The real leader has no need to lead – he is content to point the way. Henry Miller
Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why. Bernard Baruch
There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. Indira Gandhi
You don’t lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership. Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you’re interested in more funny and short quotes about the workplace and other inspiring topics, be sure to check out:
