--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The practice of leadership is not the…" description: "\"The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.\" — James MacGregor Burns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/james-macgregor-burns-24605_exercise_the-practice-of-leadership-is-not-the-sa_803413.png" --- # The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise… ![“The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.” quote by James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/james-macgregor-burns-24605_exercise_the-practice-of-leadership-is-not-the-sa_803413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/james-macgregor-burns-24605_exercise_the-practice-of-leadership-is-not-the-sa_803413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/james-macgregor-burns-24605_exercise_the-practice-of-leadership-is-not-the-sa_803413.png) > “The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.” [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership is about influence and service, not merely holding authority. **In simple terms:** Leadership ≠ power; it’s guiding others. Key Takeaway Focus on influence, not control. Themes leadership power service Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - team management - community organizing - political office - non‑profit leadership Key Concepts political theory organizational behavior Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice servant leadership? - What influence do you seek? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt without ethical grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [“equal, hierarchical, or unrelated? These relationships also define the exercise of power as a collective act. 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If I start my session at 9.30am,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/of-all-the-forms-of-exercise-that-i-have-done-power-plate-training-is/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [“By what right do men exercise power over each other?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-herbert/by-what-right-do-men-exercise-power-over-each-other/) [Auberon Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-herbert/) > [“An exercise in power should never be merely and indulgence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-vucak/an-exercise-in-power-should-never-be-merely-and-indulgence/) Stefan Vucak > [The exercise of true leadership is inversely proportional to the exercise of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/the-exercise-of-true-leadership-is-inversely-proportional-to-the/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [To enable men to exercise that power is the object of protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/to-enable-men-to-exercise-that-power-is-the-object-of-protection/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [Human beings will generally exercise power when they can get it, and they will exercise it most undoubtedly in popular governments under pretense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/human-beings-will-generally-exercise-power-when-they-can-get-it-and/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [When you exercise your will power you release the power of life energy - not when you merely wish passively to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/when-you-exercise-your-will-power-you-release-the-power-of-life/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The exercise of power in this century has meant for all of us in the United States not arrogance, but agony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-exercise-of-power-in-this-century-has-meant-for-all-of-us-in-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More by James MacGregor Burns > [Let us face reality. The framers (of the Constitution) have simply been too shrewd for us. They have outwitted us. They designed separate institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/let-us-face-reality-the-framers-of-the-constitution-have-simply-been/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/ambition-must-be-made-to-counteract-ambition-the-interest-of-the-man/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [Woodrow Wilson called for leaders who, by boldly interpreting the nation's conscience, could lift a people out of their everyday selves. 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [What do you think of our gym <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-you-think-of-our-gym-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [One things guys have to remember is consistency... 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