Anyone who has responsibility for the work of others understands the unique challenges that come with managing people.

Over the years, various thought leaders have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us.  Sometimes a simple quote is just the thing to lift our spirits, to make us smile or to give us the energy to keep going when we’re feeling low.

Here are 43 such quotes to make us better Christian leaders.

1. “The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” –  Unknown
2. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” –  Unknown
3. “The good news is, God has provided us with a LifeBook to help us – the Bible.” –  Unknown
4. “Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” –  John Maxwell
5. “There’s only two things you can start without a plan: a riot and a family, for everything else you need a plan.” –  Unknown
6. “Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” –  Unknown
7. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” –  John Maxwell
8. “Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” –  Fred Price
9. “Running a project without a work breakdown structure is like going to a strange land without a roadmap” – J Phillips
10. “You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” –  Henry Ford”
11. “Have a good plan, Execute it violently, Do it today” – General Douglas McArthur
12. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” –  Unknown
13. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”  –  Winston Churchill
14. “A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” – D. Meyer
15. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
16. “What’s measured improves.” –  Unknown
17. “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” –  Antoine de Saint Exupry 1900-1944, French writer and aviator
18. “If it is not documented, it doesn’t exist. As long as information is retained in someone’s head, it is vulnerable to loss.” –  Unknown
19. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.”  –  Machiavelli 1446-1507, Italian statesman and philosopher
20.  “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra.” –  Unknown
21. “Luck is for the ill-prepared.” –  Unknown
22. “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.”  –  Chinese Proverb
23. “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is  coordinating the talents  of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” –Unknown
24. “PMs are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” – Fredrik Haren
25. “Why do so many professionals say they are project managing when what they are actually doing is firefighting?” –Unknown
26. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”  –Unknown
27. “Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” –Unknown
28. “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” –  Henry Ford
29. “Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” –  Bill Owens
30. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” –  John C. Maxwell
31. “Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” –  John Maxwell
32. “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
33. “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” – Warren Bennis
34. “The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” –  Jerry McClain
35. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” –  John Quincy Adams
36. “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” –  John Stott
37. “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.” –  Charles F. Stanley
38. “Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” –  Mark 10:45
39. “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Unknown
40. “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” –  Mother Teresa
41. “The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” –  Matt Chandler
42. “Continuous effort  – not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” –  Winston Churchill
43. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” –  John Piper

If you know a great quote or scripture that will inspire others to lead their churches better, please feel free to share it in the comments below.