I recently found a great quote on leadership by John Buchan: “The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.” This quote stresses that leadership is all about helping others reach the “greatness” that is already within, not about creating a “greatness” for them. The best leaders in my opinion help others reach their full potential for the sole benefit of the other person. I think prominent leaders, who are so used to being in power think that they are the one’s who cause a person to change, but this quote really shows that a leader is only capable of so much and they sometimes forget the important work that the other person had to put in to create change. This is a particularly wonderful quote because it shows that everyone has the potential for greatness, but sometimes it takes the presence of others to realize it. I completely agree with this quote, how about you?
December 5th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
I definately agree with this; if it wasn\’t for another leader realising my own potential and fostering my leadership skills at the beginning of high school, I don\’t think I would be so passionate about leaderhsip and service as I am today!
December 5th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
I think this quote is great. A lot of people in power think that their leadership has changed the person. That quote captures what the leader should do, they should bring out the greatness in their followers. That is what I think makes a good leader!
December 6th, 2012 at 11:05 am
I also agree with the quote. I definitely believe that it takes a certain kind of leader to put aside his or her own self-benefits, and instead help someone else. In my opinion, it is more rewarding as a leader to see that you’ve helped positively mold other people. Because we live in such a culture where individualism is so highly stressed and valued, we tend to look more at ourselves and sometimes forget to see the bigger picture. Taking part in eliciting someone else’s “greatness” is beneficial on all levels.