Supervisor Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old supervisor quotes, supervisor sayings, and supervisor proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

An army of a thousand is easy to find, but, ah, how difficult to find a general. Chinese Proverb
A frightened captain makes a frightened crew. Lister Sinclair
To obtain measurably superior results in the workplace, managers must understand why people behave as they do with the same depth that rocket scientists understand gravity. Aubrey C. Daniels
And when we think we lead, we are most led. Lord Byron
It is much safer to obey than to rule. Thomas a' Kempis
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching, but also without attempting to play God. Henry Kissinger
The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it. Elaine Agather
You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBA's out of Washington. Grace Murray Hopper
I suppose that leadership at one time meant muscle, but today it means getting along with people. Indira Gandhi
Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. Marian Anderson
We don't fall in line with people who don't respect us and who we don't believe have our best interests at heart. We are willing to follow leaders, but only to the extent that we believe they call on our best, not our worst. Rachel Maddow
I have always thought that what is needed is the development of people who are interested not in being leaders as much as in developing the leadership in others. Ella J. Baker
Leaders whether in the family, in business, in government, or in education, must not allow themselves to mistake intentions for accomplishments. Jim Rohn
You do not realize how much incompetence is in the workplace until you become a supervisor. Steven Magee
When leaders don't find the way, find new leaders. Amit Kalantri
Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little. Lee Lacocca
I've learned that it's important to listen to employees at all levels, to engage them, to empower them. Whether you're a first-line supervisor or the head of an entire agency, you should be asking career staffers, 'What do you think?' Tom Perez
Having a small business and being one of thousands of people whom no one in government will listen to, I have decided to run for supervisor as a person. Harvey Milk
The greatest gift of leadership is a boss who wants you to be successful. Jon Taffer
A leader is admired, a boss is feared. Vicente del Bosque