Van Jones Quotes

It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute.

I think being able to have follow-through, I think a lot of people who are in charge, that is the one quality that you can't forsake. You can get opinions, but you can't have too many cooks in the kitchen when you're envisioning something.

If the players understand and accept that their leader is steering their direction through thoughtful, careful measures, then they will pull together to give the best effort every time.

Trust gives you the permission to give people direction, get everyone aligned, and give them the energy to go get the job done. Trust enables you to execute with excellence and produce extraordinary results. As you execute with excellence and deliver on your commitments, trust becomes easier to inspire, creating a flywheel of performance.

I think that I've learned to relax, and trust in and hire very talented people, and trust in their abilities a little more.

If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example. I have to do so for all the Ikea employees.

When you are captain, you are never speaking for yourself.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

You lead with direction, and you try to lead by example. I try to be there when things are not good and obviously share the spoils of success.

A good leader should focus on making sure everyone is being given the tools to do their job, not just expecting - poof! - that they're going to produce great work.

We know that in order for us to turn this around, it doesn't matter how many coaches they bring in here, assistants, weight trainers, whoever, we're the ones that are going to have turn it around. And I think just took that responsibility on ourselves.

I love to be directed. They can trust me and go.

Every team that I've played on, I've either been the captain or co-captain.

The things I learned from the army - and I think it was a lesson for life - was how to work in unison with other people. How to take responsibility.

The finest plans have always been spoiled by the littleness of them that should carry them out. Even emperors can't do it all by themselves.

I feel a tremendous responsibility to my crew, to my cast, to every guest star that comes on.

I am a great believer that a captain is as good as his team.

You have to enable and empower people to make decisions independent of you. As I've learned, each person on a team is an extension of your leadership; if they feel empowered by you they will magnify your power to lead.

There's nothing worse than finding yourself in a situation, a very demanding piece of work, and knowing that you're not a true ally to the person who's in charge of all that.

If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.

I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself.

Being a good leader requires remembering that you're there for a reason, and the reason certainly isn't to have your way. High-integrity leaders not only welcome questioning and criticism - they insist on it.

I think our leadership team is a highly accountable leadership team.

I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately.

There is an isolated experience to being a director. It's very communal because there's a crew, but it's only you. You're the one on the hook.