Chinua Achebe Quotes

Great men are among the best gifts which God bestows upon a people.

If you read the life of great men and women who made important changes in history, there are two common features: One, they were angry at the state of affairs and, two, they were people of faith.

I do believe there are leaders who are like lightning and they come along and they lead. The Lincolns of the world, the Alexander the Greats, they do exist. They have existed.

Great countries are those that produce great people.

Leaders are people who believe so passionately that they can seduce other people into sharing their dream.

A leader must be inspired by the people before a leader can inspire the people.

I was born to be a leader. I love the fact that millions of people look up to me.

A great leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in themselves.

A poor leader will tell you how many people work for them. A great leader will tell you how many people they work for.

Great leaders rally people to a better future.

Successful people become great leaders when they learn to shift the focus from themselves to others.

I'm a believer that charisma makes a huge difference in people's decisions to follow you. However, it's not just that you say it well, but it's that you know it well. It helps if you can say it well enough that people want to follow you. Charisma isn't required, but it makes a big difference.

I believe that anybody with Mandela's capacity to endure hardship and then forgive is a born leader and example to us all.

I'd prefer people read about Churchill and how he wasn't overwhelmed by Nazi Germany. Amazing; that the morale of a country rested on one person's shoulders. Extraordinary people carried that country through its darkest hours; truly inspirational. I suppose that's my theme. Whether it's a biography or a movie; whether it's fictional or true, I'm inspired by people doing great things.

Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.

People will not follow a leader who does not have confidence in himself.

If you can't force or are unwilling to force your people to follow you, with or without threats, you are not a leader.

You know you're a good leader when people follow you out of curiosity.

It's entirely to do with personality, I think. There are good directors who talk a lot, bad directors who talk a lot, and good directors who don't say much and vice-versa. It just depends on whether people respond to that personality and whether people have a willingness to do something for them.

You have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow you anywhere if only out of curiosity.

People do look to others for some leadership, and it's not bad for them to supply it when they feel that way.

Pay any price to stay in the presence of extraordinary people.

Some people naturally have a sense of empathy and an understanding of how to bring their followers to do things. They become great politicians.

The imperative need of this nation at all times is the leadership of Uncommon Men or Women.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. Many people who approach the area of vision in leadership have it backwards. They believe that if the cause is good enough, people will automatically buy in and follow. But that's not how leadership works. People don't follow worthy causes; they follow worthy leaders with a cause they can believe in. They buy into the leader first.