Democratic Leadership Quotes

Here are some democratic leadership quotes that really speak to me as a democratic leader and a CEO. Perhaps you can use a few of these democratic quotes to show your team members exactly what democratic leadership is all about? For information on this leadership style, its definition, how to implement it, etc., please read this article: Democratic Leadership Explained by a CEO. Here is a very short summary of the style for your convenience:

Democratic leadership is when an empowered team fully participates in the decision-making process. Any team member can bring forward ideas and suggestions, and there is a strive for consensus in decision-making. In the end, the democratic leader approves or makes the decision. Democratic leadership is an effective leadership style but can sometimes be too slow when fast decisions are needed.

Democratic Leadership Quotes

We have all heard of Steve Jobs, and he needs no further introduction. Steve Jobs saw collaboration as a strength, and collaboration is the core of democratic leadership, building engagement, and team spirit toward joint targets.

“One of the keys to Apple is Apple’s an incredibly collaborative company.”

Steve Jobs

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, was an Indian lawyer who spearheaded the nonviolent resistance focused against the British with the aim of reaching independence for India. Gandhi tried to create an inclusive movement consisting of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. The idea that everyone matters and needs to be represented is very much a democratic leadership approach. Hence, Mahatma Gandhi fits well into our list of democratic leadership style quotes.

“Honest disagreement is a good sign of progress”.

Mahatma Gandhi

Dwight Eisenhower, 1890-1969, former U.S. President and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, had a strong military background. Although that might make you think of commanding leadership, Eisenhower absolutely needed to use democratic leadership in order to get all the allies and the charismatic generals to agree and push in the same direction. His place in this list of democratic leadership quotes is a given.

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

Dwight Eisenhower

Stephen Covey, 1932-2012, was an author, speaker, and business person and wrote, amongst other books, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Since democratic leadership builds a lot on trust, which is essential in any team really, the following quote from Stephen Covey belongs in our list of democratic leadership quotes.

“Leadership without trust is a contradiction in terms.”

Stephen Covey

We are reaching the end of our list of democratic leadership quotes, and the last person out is John C. Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor. This quote underlines that every leader truly needs their team, and democratic leadership fully encompasses that perspective.

“Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.”

John C. Maxwell

I hope you found some useful inspiration among these democratic leadership quotes, I sure did.

Democratic Leadership Quotes – Infographic

Feel free to use the following picture with democratic leadership quotes as long as you refer back to this web page.