--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no necessary connection between…" description: "\"There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the ad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg" --- # There is no necessary connection between the desire to… ![“There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the advantage of the led...” quote by Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg) > “There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the advantage of the led...” [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership desire does not guarantee skill, nor does it ensure beneficial outcomes for followers. **In simple terms:** Wanting to lead isn’t enough; you must be able to lead well for others. Key Takeaway Develop true leadership competence before seeking authority. Themes leadership responsibility ethics Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political office - team management - community projects - organizational change Key Concepts competence authority impact Questions to Reflect On - How can you assess if your leadership serves others? - What safeguards ensure leaders act for the common good? A Different Perspective Even capable leaders can cause harm if motives are selfish or vision is flawed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Ability Lead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-lead-247869/) [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Advantage Led](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage-led-4681197/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Lead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-lead-2881318/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lead Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lead-ability-1480450/) [Lead Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lead-advantage-4681196/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [True leadership strengthens the followers. It is a process of teaching, setting an example, and empowering others. If you seek to lead, your ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-niven/true-leadership-strengthens-the-followers-it-is-a-process-of-teaching/) [David Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-niven/) > [Do not desire to fit in. Desire to lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/do-not-desire-to-fit-in-desire-to-lead/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to lead.“ - Mary Kay Ash”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/do-not-desire-to-fit-in-desire-to-lead-mary-kay-ash/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [Let your inner desire lead your way out to the destination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/let-your-inner-desire-lead-your-way-out-to-the-destination/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-effectiveness-of-your-work-will-never-rise-above-your-ability-to/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [The ability to lead a happy life is made, not found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-ability-to-lead-a-happy-life-is-made-not-found/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Success doesn't come instantly. Neither does the ability to lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/success-doesn-t-come-instantly-neither-does-the-ability-to-lead/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [The improvisational ability to lead adaptively relies on responding to the present situation rather than importing the past into the present and laying it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-improvisational-ability-to-lead-adaptively-relies-on-responding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that men have tremendous ability to lead. And I think women have a tremendous ability to lead, and they lead differently, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldie-hawn/i-think-that-men-have-tremendous-ability-to-lead-and-i-think-women/) [Goldie Hawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldie-hawn/) > [We're up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-re-up-against-the-conventional-thinking-that-says-your-ability-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Tim Bee has demonstrated his toughness and his compassion, his ability to lead while at the same time listening to others. These are skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-kolbe/tim-bee-has-demonstrated-his-toughness-and-his-compassion-his-ability/) [Jim Kolbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-kolbe/) > [Some people just don't have the ability to lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/some-people-just-don-t-have-the-ability-to-lead/) [Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/) > [“You have what it takes to be a leader. Your ability to lead determines your power to impact others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/you-have-what-it-takes-to-be-a-leader-your-ability-to-lead-determines/) [Anyaele Sam Chiyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anyaele-sam-chiyson/) > [“The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others. You cannot produce consistently on a level higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-effectiveness-of-your-work-will-never-rise-above-your-ability-to-2/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-so-conclusively-proves-a-man-s-ability-to-lead-others-as-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Bergen Evans > [Many studies have established the fact that there is a high correlation between vocabulary and intelligence and that the ability to increase one's vocabulary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/many-studies-have-established-the-fact-that-there-is-a-high/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [We see what we want to see, and observation conforms to hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-see-what-we-want-to-see-and-observation-conforms-to-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Legislators who are of even average intelligence stand out among their colleagues. . . . A cultured college president has become as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/legislators-who-are-of-even-average-intelligence-stand-out-among/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Stoicism is the wisdom of madness and cynicism the madness of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/stoicism-is-the-wisdom-of-madness-and-cynicism-the-madness-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning, and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/wisdom-is-meaningless-until-your-own-experience-has-given-it-meaning/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [It (the dash ) is a comfortable punctuation mark since even the most rigorous critic can seldom claim that any particular example of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/it-the-dash-is-a-comfortable-punctuation-mark-since-even-the-most/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [“We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. Show more Show less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-past-is-not-done-with-us-show/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [There is wisdom in the selection of wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-wisdom-in-the-selection-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [That is the essence of a witch-hunt, that any questioning of the evidence or the procedures in itself constitutes proof of complicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/that-is-the-essence-of-a-witch-hunt-that-any-questioning-of-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Leadership is more likely to be assumed by the aggressive than by the able, and those who scramble to the top are more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/leadership-is-more-likely-to-be-assumed-by-the-aggressive-than-by-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [The mere abhorrence of vice is not a virtue at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/the-mere-abhorrence-of-vice-is-not-a-virtue-at-all/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [“Euphemisms persist because lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/euphemisms-persist-because-lying-is-an-indispensable-part-of-making/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [An honorable man will not be bullied by a hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/an-honorable-man-will-not-be-bullied-by-a-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Speech is highly elliptical. It would scarcely be endurable otherwise. Ellipsis is indispensable to the writer or speaker who wants to be brief and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/speech-is-highly-elliptical-it-would-scarcely-be-endurable-otherwise/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/lying-is-an-indispensable-part-of-making-life-tolerable/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) [Explore all 24 Bergen Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the advantage of the led...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bergen Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/bergen-evans-24643_ability_there-is-no-necessary-connection-between_565846.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the…” — Bergen Evans", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bergen Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no necessary connection between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```