--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that what defines leaders is…" description: "\"“I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do with their lives but rather what they helped others around them do with their lives.”\" — Micha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg" --- # I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do… ![“I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do with their lives but rather what they helped others around them do with their lives.” quote by Michael Cheshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg) > ““I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do with their lives but rather what they helped others around them do with their lives.”” Michael Cheshire ## 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 measured by the impact one has on enabling others to achieve their potential. **In simple terms:** Leaders help others achieve more. Key Takeaway Focus on empowering those around you. Themes leadership impact service Mood motivational inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - business - education - community projects - politics Key Concepts mentorship empowerment legacy Questions to Reflect On - How can you support a colleague’s growth? - What legacy do you want to leave? A Different Perspective Not all leaders prioritize others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaders/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [“If we want to understand what really defines leaders, I suggest we start by looking at their followers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-banther/if-we-want-to-understand-what-really-defines-leaders-i-suggest-we/) [Barry Banther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-banther/) > [“followers have a very clear picture of what they want and need from the most influential leaders in their lives: trust, compassion, stability, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/followers-have-a-very-clear-picture-of-what-they-want-and-need-from/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [The American Right has an amazing ability to lionize leaders whose lives are the precise antithesis of the political values that define their image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-american-right-has-an-amazing-ability-to-lionize-leaders-whose/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Leaders don't rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits; they make every day a masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/leaders-don-t-rise-to-the-pinnacle-of-success-without-developing-the/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“Leaders spend time reviewing their mistakes rather than having fantasies over their achievements! They look for every way to do the undone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-spend-time-reviewing-their-mistakes-rather-than-having/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Followers want to be taken care of. Leaders want to take care of others. We can all be leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/followers-want-to-be-taken-care-of-leaders-want-to-take-care-of/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“Leaders create a legacy daily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-gutzler/leaders-create-a-legacy-daily/) Steve Gutzler > [“The vision of life is not a "discovery"; it's a "work" and whatever position you occupy demands work. Your life may not be built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-vision-of-life-is-not-a-discovery-it-s-a-work-and-whatever/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I think there is a big and significant difference between being a leader and being a manager-leaders lead from the heart. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-jung/i-think-there-is-a-big-and-significant-difference-between-being-a/) [Andrea Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-jung/) > [Good leaders must become what they want their followers to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nido-r-qubein/good-leaders-must-become-what-they-want-their-followers-to-become/) [Nido R Qubein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nido-r-qubein/) > [“The leader’s commandment is made up of pledges to solve local and global problems, and not to create more problems to add to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-leader-s-commandment-is-made-up-of-pledges-to-solve-local-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [We are not all leaders. We are called leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/we-are-not-all-leaders-we-are-called-leaders/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/good-leaders-being-scarce-following-yourself-is-allowed/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/effective-leaders-are-made-not-born-they-learn-from-trial-and-error/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## More by Michael Cheshire > [“Ultimately, we will treat people to the level of value we choose to assign them. I believe the key to not being a judgmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/ultimately-we-will-treat-people-to-the-level-of-value-we-choose-to/) Michael Cheshire > [“It’s amazing how much more mercy I give to people who struggle with sins I understand. The further their sin is from my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/it-s-amazing-how-much-more-mercy-i-give-to-people-who-struggle-with/) Michael Cheshire > [“It’s amazing how much more mercy I give to people who struggle with sins I understand. The further their sin is from my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/it-s-amazing-how-much-more-mercy-i-give-to-people-who-struggle-with-2/) Michael Cheshire Explore all 4 Michael Cheshire quotes ## More Leader quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [We're going to create factory jobs for recent immigrants, and Donald Trump is going to take care of them. 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I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-brooks/i-always-wanted-someone-looking-up-to-me-and-trying-to-understand/) [Dillon Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-brooks/) > [I really don't think you need a letter on your jersey to be a leader on a hockey club.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-price/i-really-don-t-think-you-need-a-letter-on-your-jersey-to-be-a-leader/) [Carey Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-price/) > [I think leading by example is important, as I know the next generation is watching us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-skolnik/i-think-leading-by-example-is-important-as-i-know-the-next-generation/) [Michael Skolnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-skolnik/) > [Leadership is made for service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/leadership-is-made-for-service/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Notoriously outspoken, his sentences always punctuated with profanities, General George S. Patton was the epitome of what a leader should be like - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/notoriously-outspoken-his-sentences-always-punctuated-with/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/effective-leaders-are-made-not-born-they-learn-from-trial-and-error/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) [Browse all 10,680 Leader quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do with their lives but rather what they helped others around them do with their lives.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Cheshire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-not-what-they-do-with-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Leader" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-not-what-they-do-with-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/michael-cheshire-71548_leadership_i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-n_1645114.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe that what defines leaders is not what they do with their lives but rather what they helped others…” — Michael Cheshire", "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": "Michael Cheshire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cheshire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I believe that what defines leaders...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-not-what-they-do-with-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cheshire/i-believe-that-what-defines-leaders-is-not-what-they-do-with-their/#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 } } ] } ```