QuoteProject
We've got to figure out a way that we give a private sphere for our public leaders. We're not gonna get the best people in public life if we don't do that.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Public leaders need personal space to thrive and perform effectively in their roles.

Doris Kearns Goodwin emphasizes the importance of creating a private sphere for public leaders, suggesting that without this space, it will be challenging to attract the best individuals to serve in public life. This highlights the necessity of balancing public scrutiny with personal freedom, which is crucial for effective leadership and decision-making.

Themes

LeadershipPublic LifePersonal SpaceBest PeopleService

In practice

Example use cases

During a leadership conference to emphasize the need for privacy in effective governance.

More from Doris Kearns Goodwin

Journalism still, in a democracy, is the essential force to get the public educated and mobilized to take action on behalf of our ancient ideals.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Once a president gets to the White House, the only audience that is left that really matters is history.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
I am a historian. With the exception of being a wife and mother, it is who I am. And there is nothing I take more seriously.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Obama does seem to have what both FDR and Lincoln had, which is the recognition that you have to hold back at times and then wait to come forward.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead
Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep.
Doris Kearns GoodwinRead

Similar quotes

I make my battle plans from the spirit of my sleeping soldiers
Napoleon BonaparteRead
The cardinal responsibility of leadership is to identify the dominant contradiction at each point of the historical process and to work out a central line to resolve it.
Mao ZedongRead
Listening can make the difference between a mediocre organization and a great one.
Lee IacoccaRead
You read these management books that say, 'These are the hard things about running a company.' But those aren't really the hard things. The hard things are when you have to layoff half your company, or you have to fire your best friend. Or you have to figure out a way not to go bankrupt.
Ben HorowitzRead
The kind of people that all teams need are people who are humble, hungry, and smart: humble being little ego, focusing more on their teammates than on themselves. Hungry, meaning they have a strong work ethic, are determined to get things done, and contribute any way they can. Smart, meaning not intellectually smart but inner personally smart.
Patrick LencioniRead
Quality begins with the intent, which is fixed by management.
W. Edwards DemingRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.