--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Consensus is the negation of leadership." description: "\"Consensus is the negation of leadership.\" — Margaret Thatcher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg" --- # Consensus is the negation of leadership. ![“Consensus is the negation of leadership.” quote by Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg) > “Consensus is the negation of leadership.” [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership involves challenging the status quo, while consensus seeks agreement and uniformity. **In simple terms:** Leaders often oppose consensus. Key Takeaway Embrace dissent to lead. Themes leadership politics individualism Mood determined assertive Type political motivational When to use this quote - political campaigns - organizational change - team management - activism Key Concepts authority decision making Questions to Reflect On - When is consensus more valuable than dissent? - How can leaders foster healthy disagreement? A Different Perspective Consensus can be necessary for stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [I am not a consensus politician. Im a conviction politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-am-not-a-consensus-politician-im-a-conviction-politician/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/to-me-consensus-seems-to-be-the-process-of-abandoning-all-beliefs-2/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [There are still people in my party who believe in consensus politics. I regard them as Quislings, as traitors... I mean it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-still-people-in-my-party-who-believe-in-consensus-politics/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner 'I stand for consensus'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/what-great-cause-would-have-been-fought-and-won-under-the-banner-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [To me consensus seems to be - the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no-one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/to-me-consensus-seems-to-be-the-process-of-abandoning-all-beliefs/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Consensus is the absence of leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-is-the-absence-of-leadership/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Consensus negates leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-negates-leadership/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Consensus: “The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-the-process-of-abandoning-all-beliefs-principles-values-and/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [As a leader... I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Art, unlike the trades in the artistic capacity of fashion and food, can literally be anything. It can be the negation of itself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-phillips/art-unlike-the-trades-in-the-artistic-capacity-of-fashion-and-food/) [Richard Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-phillips/) > [No worse fate can befall a young man or woman than becoming prematurely entrenched in prudence and negation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/no-worse-fate-can-befall-a-young-man-or-woman-than-becoming/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More by Margaret Thatcher > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Ideally, when Christians meet, as Christians do, to take counsel together, their purpose is not ( or should not be) to ascertain what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/ideally-when-christians-meet-as-christians-do-to-take-counsel/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/if-it-s-me-against-48-i-feel-sorry-for-the-48/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [ \[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:\] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-asked-how-it-felt-to-be-a-female-prime-minister-i-don-t-know-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [It is sometimes said that because of our past we, as a people, expect too much and set our sights too high. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-is-sometimes-said-that-because-of-our-past-we-as-a-people-expect/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/unless-we-change-our-ways-and-our-direction-our-greatness-as-a-nation/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I don't think any woman in power really has a happy life unless she's got a large number of women friends ... because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-don-t-think-any-woman-in-power-really-has-a-happy-life-unless-she-s/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/what-is-success-i-think-it-is-a-mixture-of-having-a-flair-for-the/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Personal virtue is no substitute for political hard-headedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/personal-virtue-is-no-substitute-for-political-hard-headedness/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The Government wants a peaceful settlement. But we totally reject a peaceful sell-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-government-wants-a-peaceful-settlement-but-we-totally-reject-a/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We have made too much of one or two people, and we think that they can win or lose elections for us. Don't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/we-have-made-too-much-of-one-or-two-people-and-we-think-that-they-can/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I pay tribute to John Major's achievement in persuading the other 11 Community Heads of Government that they could move ahead to a Social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-pay-tribute-to-john-major-s-achievement-in-persuading-the-other-11/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Explore all 539 Margaret Thatcher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More Consensus quotes > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) Sheila Kamerman > [As a leader... I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [The vision of extraordinary achievement is,by definition, a few steps beyond consensus and conventional logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/the-vision-of-extraordinary-achievement-is-by-definition-a-few-steps/) [Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/) > [The scientific consensus is that climate change is real, urgent, and caused by humans. This science should be both supported and understood by anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/the-scientific-consensus-is-that-climate-change-is-real-urgent-and/) [Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/) > [People of good character are not all going to come down on the same side of difficult political and social issues. Good people-people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bennett/people-of-good-character-are-not-all-going-to-come-down-on-the-same/) [William Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bennett/) > [Effectively, change is almost impossible without industry-wide collaboration, cooperation and consensus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/effectively-change-is-almost-impossible-without-industry-wide/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [The culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse population of Indian and Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been unable to reach a consensus on the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/the-culturally-linguistically-and-religiously-diverse-population-of/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [We are in a crisis today because the practical consensus between the left and the right, linking economic efficiency with social protection, has broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-glucksmann/we-are-in-a-crisis-today-because-the-practical-consensus-between-the/) Andre Glucksmann > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Our normal expectations about reality are created by a social consensus. We are taught how to see and understand the world. The trick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/our-normal-expectations-about-reality-are-created-by-a-social/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [I always worked as an individual artist even when Group Material asked me to join the group. There are certain things that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/i-always-worked-as-an-individual-artist-even-when-group-material/) Felix Gonzalez-Torres > [“But perhaps the greatest threat is that we lack the mechanism of consensus, a way of making up our collective minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-greenleaf/but-perhaps-the-greatest-threat-is-that-we-lack-the-mechanism-of/) [Robert K. Greenleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-greenleaf/) > [There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/there-s-a-growing-consensus-that-the-best-way-to-defeat-communism-in/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) [Browse all 564 Consensus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Consensus is the negation of leadership.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Thatcher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consensus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/margaret-thatcher-463_consensus_consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership_3221204.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Consensus is the negation of leadership.” — Margaret Thatcher", "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": "Margaret Thatcher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Consensus is the negation of leadership.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/consensus-is-the-negation-of-leadership/#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 } } ] } ```