--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the first things you learn as a…" description: "\"“One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you choose the position of have it forced upon you, is that leadership is as much about what yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg" --- # One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you… ![“One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you choose the position of have it forced upon you, is that leadership is as much about what you don't say as what you do say.” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg) > ““One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you choose the position of have it forced upon you, is that leadership is as much about what you don't say as what you do say.”” [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective leadership relies as both spoken guidance and strategic silence. **In simple terms:** Leadership is about what you say and don’t say. Key Takeaway Balance speaking with listening. Themes leadership communication strategy Mood inspirational pragmatic Type leadership management When to use this quote - team meetings - crisis management - negotiations - public speaking Key Concepts power dynamics emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - When should a leader remain silent? - How does silence influence team trust? A Different Perspective Overusing silence may cause confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [I don't care tuppence whether I'm forced into a leadership position or not. 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We can't hope for a benevolent leader who may choose to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pincus/we-can-t-wait-until-elections-to-fight-for-what-we-care-about-we-can/) [Mark Pincus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pincus/) > [Most people who want to get ahead do it backward. They think, 'I'll get a bigger job, then I'll learn how to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/most-people-who-want-to-get-ahead-do-it-backward-they-think-i-ll-get/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“If a good man can't sleep after hurting people, then he should learn much more to be a leader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/if-a-good-man-can-t-sleep-after-hurting-people-then-he-should-learn/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Leadership is demonstrated at the moment of need. 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You learn to become a leader by doing what other excellent leaders have done before you. You become proficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/leaders-are-made-not-born-you-learn-to-become-a-leader-by-doing-what/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) ## More by Fredrik Backman > [“So she bowed her head and devoted herself to Beartown’s real traditional sports: shame and silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/so-she-bowed-her-head-and-devoted-herself-to-beartown-s-real/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“If Peter has learned one thing about human nature during all his years in hockey, it’s that almost everyone regards themselves as a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/if-peter-has-learned-one-thing-about-human-nature-during-all-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“That’s what parents often do, I think, we persuade ourselves we’re doing everything for the sake of the child. It’s too painful to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/that-s-what-parents-often-do-i-think-we-persuade-ourselves-we-re/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Uve je dobro znao da njeni prijatelji nisu shvatali zbog čega se onda svakog jutra budila sa odlukom da provede dan sa njim. Nije…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/uve-je-dobro-znao-da-njeni-prijatelji-nisu-shvatali-zbog-ega-se-onda/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Somebody has one of the worst hairstyles Britt-Marie has ever laid eyes on, as if she’s combed her hair with a terrified animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/somebody-has-one-of-the-worst-hairstyles-britt-marie-has-ever-laid/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/hate-can-be-a-deeply-stimulating-emotion-the-world-becomes-easier-to/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/another-morning-comes-it-always-does-time-always-moves-at-the-same/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“The girl glances at the surface of the desk, which looks as if toddlers have been trying to eat potatoes off it. With pitchforks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/the-girl-glances-at-the-surface-of-the-desk-which-looks-as-if/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Mnogim ljudima je teško da žive sa nekim ko ceni samoću. To neprijatno žulja one koji nisu i sami takvi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/mnogim-ljudima-je-te-ko-da-ive-sa-nekim-ko-ceni-samo-u-to-neprijatno/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“But his taste buds are as dysfunctional as the volume control on his voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/but-his-taste-buds-are-as-dysfunctional-as-the-volume-control-on-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Throughout their childhood Maya loved her best friend because she wasn’t like any other girl she had met, but life as a teenager seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/throughout-their-childhood-maya-loved-her-best-friend-because-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“His heart is too big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/his-heart-is-too-big/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Back in the days when there were still things to boast about, the city council erected a sign beside the road at the entrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/back-in-the-days-when-there-were-still-things-to-boast-about-the-city/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“And after all those hours in the locker room, all those nights on the team bus, all the conversations and all the jokes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/and-after-all-those-hours-in-the-locker-room-all-those-nights-on-the/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) [Explore all 320 Fredrik Backman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## More First things quotes > [I don't fall in love easily. It's odd; one of the first things I think about when I go out with a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/i-don-t-fall-in-love-easily-it-s-odd-one-of-the-first-things-i-think/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [One of the first things one notices in a backward country is that children are still obeying their parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-first-things-one-notices-in-a-backward-country-is-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the first things we did was to find role models or mentors at companies that had achieved what we wanted to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-harper/one-of-the-first-things-we-did-was-to-find-role-models-or-mentors-at/) Mitch Harper > [The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first - a process which often reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-david-eisenhower/the-older-i-get-the-more-wisdom-i-find-in-the-ancient-rule-of-taking/) [Dwight David Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-david-eisenhower/) > [“People who live at subsistence level want first things to be put first. They are not particularly interested in freedom of religion, freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/people-who-live-at-subsistence-level-want-first-things-to-be-put/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Best start putting first things first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/best-start-putting-first-things-first/) [Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/) > [“And this is one of the first things one learns from Musk’s example—he is relentless in his pursuit of the bold and, the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/and-this-is-one-of-the-first-things-one-learns-from-musk-s-example-he/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [I was always under the impression that acting is an innate gift. One of the first things I heard them say at Koothu-P-Pattarai was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-sethupathi/i-was-always-under-the-impression-that-acting-is-an-innate-gift-one/) [Vijay Sethupathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-sethupathi/) > [The word priority was singular for 500 years—what does priorities mean—'many many first things.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mckeown/the-word-priority-was-singular-for-500-years-what-does-priorities/) [Greg McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mckeown/) > [Happy people tend to believethey're more in control of their lives. In doing so, they're more likely to take anactive approach to solving problems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-baloria/happy-people-tend-to-believethey-re-more-in-control-of-their-lives-in/) Rohit Baloria > [Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/putting-first-things-first-means-organizing-and-executing-around-your/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“One of the first things every trainee is taught is that an FBI agent only shoots to kill. The thinking that went into this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/one-of-the-first-things-every-trainee-is-taught-is-that-an-fbi-agent/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [One of the first things that the First Nations are going to have to decide is, is it going to 640 communities, or is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-martin/one-of-the-first-things-that-the-first-nations-are-going-to-have-to/) [Paul Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-martin/) > [“The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mckeown/the-word-priority-came-into-the-english-language-in-the-1400s-it-was/) [Greg McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mckeown/) > [I remember when I told my parents that I wanted to be a filmmaker, and no longer was I planning to be a doctor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-remember-when-i-told-my-parents-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-filmmaker-and/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) [Browse all 311 First things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you choose the position of have it forced upon you, is that leadership is as much about what you don't say as what you do say.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fredrik Backman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-leader-whether-you-choose-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-leader-whether-you-choose-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/fredrik-backman-857_first-things_one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-l_527812.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the first things you learn as a leader, whether you choose the position of have it forced upon you…” — Fredrik Backman", "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": "Fredrik Backman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One of the first things you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-leader-whether-you-choose-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/one-of-the-first-things-you-learn-as-a-leader-whether-you-choose-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 } } ] } ```