They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
In the discharge of the duties of this office, there is one rule of action more important than all others. It consists in never doing anything that someone else can do for you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and taking initiative in leadership roles.
Calvin Coolidge's quote highlights a fundamental principle of effective leadership: the importance of not delegating tasks that can be handled personally. It suggests that true leaders must be proactive, taking initiative rather than relying on others to fulfill their responsibilities. This approach fosters a sense of accountability and ensures that leaders remain intimately involved in their duties, which can lead to greater success and trust from those they lead.
Themes
LeadershipResponsibilityInitiativeActionAccountability
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting to inspire team members to take charge of their tasks.
More from Calvin Coolidge
All quotes →It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
No method of procedure has ever been devised by which liberty could be divorced from local self-government. No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Whether one traces his Americanism back three centuries to the Mayflower, or three years to the steerage, is not half so important as whether his Americanism of today is real and genuine. No matter by what various crafts we came here, we are all now in the same boat.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Similar quotes
If you don't have the ability to see when to stand up and the conviction to do it, you'll never be an effective leader.
John C. MaxwellRead
The chief qualification of a mass leader has become unending infallibility; he can never admit an error.
Hannah ArendtRead
Power is the ability to achieve purpose.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
A leader, first and foremost, is human. Only when we have the strength to show our vulnerability can we truly lead.
Simon SinekRead
I am convinced more than ever that good communication and leadership are all about connecting. If you can connect with others at every level -one-on-one, in groups, and with an audience-your relationships are stronger, your sense of community improves, your ability to create teamwork increases, your influence increases, and your productivity skyrockets.
John C. MaxwellRead
What to an outsider will be no more than the vigorous presentation of a conviction, to an employee may be the manifestation of a determination which it is not safe to thwart.
Learned HandRead