Leaders On Leadership: 10 Valuable Lessons That Will Make You Think

In the last eight years as a Forbes columnist, I have interviewed leaders who have shared a great deal of insights on successful leadership. Here are 10 quotes on leadership that illuminate the concrete actions that successful leaders “do,” not just “think” or “believe.” These quotations are from leaders with a variety of backgrounds and business sectors — tech, finance, design, education, and research — but one thing that rings true through all their perspectives — successful leadership is about connection.

Leaders On Leadership: Innovation

“Engaging with a wide range of perspectives enables us to have a greater mental agility — a mental algorithm that’s much more flexible, subtle and nuanced. It’s actually a hugely enriching and exciting place to be, if you can embrace it.”  — Ann Morgan is an author, speaker and editor, who took the initiative to expose herself to new points of view by reading a book from every country in the world – within one year. She documented her journey on her website A Year of Reading Around The World. Her work speaks to the power of embracing what you don’t know.

“Good ideas can come from anywhere. And it’s very important to listen, because only then will you pick up the good ideas.” — Malin Leschly, Chief Design Officer at Logitech, asks the simple question, “Tell me more,” nearly every day to make sure she doesn’t miss out on surprising insight. Learn more from Leschly in this interview.

Leaders who value innovation understand the importance of listening. Being in tune with possibilities means training yourself to have an open mindset. Leaders with an open mindset proactively expose themselves to ideas, people, readings, philosophies, etc., that are unfamiliar — and even incomprehensible. Engaging with ideas and strategies that are unfamiliar is the best way to stay on the cutting edge. Don’t feel insecure if you don’t understand something. Ask questions and explore instead.

Leaders On Leadership: Empathy

“We have a ton of research out there about the importance of curiosity. The problem is curiosity is an internal mental state.” — Julia Minson, PhD, an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, researches “psychology of disagreement.” To help people remember to verbally demonstrate curiosity, Dr. Minson developed the HEAR method. This promotes communicating your curiosity toward an opposing point of view by using phrases that emphasize areas of agreement and acknowledge the other’s perspective.

“People may not make sense to you, but they always make sense to themselves. When we step into their world, it’s so much easier to understand how they make sense to themselves.” — Gina Fong is a consumer anthropologist and marketing professor at Kellogg School of Management who believes that giving someone the gift of understanding is one of the most human-centric acts one can do.

These two quotes speak to the dedication it takes to understand other people. Being curious and wanting to understand other people’s perspectives is not enough. Business leaders must make sure they are communicating their curiosity by asking questions, seeking out information, going to their clients, team members, or constituents, and inhabiting their worlds if even momentarily. Because curiosity is an internal state, we must ask questions. We must lean into listening and show respect for the people you want to build a connection with.

Leaders On Leadership: Standing On The Shoulders of Giants

“Mildred has taught me and teaches us all that we must have the courage of our convictions. We must stand up to bullies.” — Rebecca Donner is the author of All The Frequent Trouble of Our Days, which tells the story of a true hero, Mildred Harnack, who led the largest underground resistance group in Berlin in the 1930s and 1940s.

“I recognized the power of our story. But we had never told our story publicly about my grandpa. My grandpa and my dad were very averse to PR.” — Robert Pasin is the CEO of Radio Flyer, a certified B corporation that was named among the Most Innovative Companies by Fast Magazine in 2025.

Both Donner and Pasin recognize and honor the inspirational leaders who came before them. For Donner, it meant uncovering the remarkable life of her great aunt Mildred Harnack through archival research and family documents. For Pasin, it meant trusting his instinct. He dared to take his family business story public, even against his father’s wishes.

Business leaders need to find leaders who can provide models of leadership through adversity, growth, and innovation. If you can’t find the inspiration you need, then you be that inspiration for others.

Leaders On Storytelling

“The stories are the vehicle for communicating the science and for engaging the reader in some self discovery as well. Stories serve two purposes, they communicate science in an engaging way, and it facilitates reflection.” — Dr. Marc Schulz is the coauthor of The Good Life and the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest-running study on human life known as The Harvard Study of Human Development.

“You can’t be irresistible without a story.” — Rissa Reddan is a 3x Chief Marketing Officer and now a consultant serving as a fractional CMO, helping clients grow their businesses with a focus on brand building, marketing strategy and planning, and strategic introductions.

Whether you want people to understand the latest science or the services your company has to offer, stories convey complex information in a powerful way. Business storytelling — which I define as the strategic sequencing of information and emotion — is necessary no matter what sector you are in. When you give a presentation on budgets, or introduce yourself at an interview or network at an industry conference, people will remember the stories you told, not the facts you presented. Information is up to 20 times more memorable when delivered in a story. Not only that — because stories are more likely to inspire us to take action — because they give data context and meaning.

Leaders On Character 

“I decided to take a different approach and use a book to really tell the story of who we are, because people do business with people.” — Karla Trotman, the President and CEO of Electro Soft, Incorporated (ESI), and the author of Dark, Dirty, Dangerous, Building the Vibrant Future of Manufacturing

“How we tell our stories can change lives.” — Eugene Toh is the director, Enterprise Singapore Chief Commercial Officer, Energy Market Authority. He believes in the power of mentorship to build up the next generation of leaders.

As humans, we are hungry for connection. People often find it easiest to share their credentials and competencies during interviews or pitches. But what prospective clients or interviewers really want to know is — who are you? What will it be like to work with you? As the quotations demonstrate, choosing to share stories that show your character can open doors for you and your organization.

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As these 10 leadership quotes demonstrate, successful leaders take the time to build connections. Successful leaders ask questions, listen to stories and share their own stories. Who are the leaders who inspire you?

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