--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst mistake a leader can make is to…" description: "\"The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.\" — Myles Munroe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png" --- # The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one… ![“The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.” quote by Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png) > “The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.” [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader fails when they neglect mentoring, succession planning, and legacy building. **In simple terms:** Leaders must mentor and plan successors. Key Takeaway Invest in people and future impact. Themes leadership mentoring legacy succession responsibility Mood reflective determined inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - Corporate management - nonprofit leadership - political office - family business - educational institutions Key Concepts Strategic succession organizational continuity personal development Questions to Reflect On - How are you cultivating future leaders? - What legacy do you want to leave? A Different Perspective Neglecting mentorship can erode culture and long‑term success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [Mentor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentor/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) ## Related quotes > [“The greatest mistake a leader or anyone can make is to stay down after falling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/the-greatest-mistake-a-leader-or-anyone-can-make-is-to-stay-down/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [Leadership success is measured by the success of your successor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/leadership-success-is-measured-by-the-success-of-your-successor/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Sometimes you get players who think it is not important to work, and this is their worst mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-mancini/sometimes-you-get-players-who-think-it-is-not-important-to-work-and/) [Roberto Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mancini/) > [“The worst mistake I ever made has become the best thing I ever did. - Darius Wainwright”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-fresina/the-worst-mistake-i-ever-made-has-become-the-best-thing-i-ever-did/) [Jayne Fresina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-fresina/) > [The worst mistake is not to make any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/the-worst-mistake-is-not-to-make-any/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [I'm a father. If my son jumped on a boy in a backyard, it would have been the worst mistake he made that day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrus/i-m-a-father-if-my-son-jumped-on-a-boy-in-a-backyard-it-would-have/) [Tyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrus/) > [The worst mistake you can make is walking away from someone who actually stood there and waited for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda/the-worst-mistake-you-can-make-is-walking-away-from-someone-who/) [Amanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda/) > [You were my worst mistake. Looking into your eyes made me realize you were fake.~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-were-my-worst-mistake-looking-into-your-eyes-made-me-realize-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Since we're being brutally honest here you were the worst mistake I've ever had the pleasure of making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-we-re-being-brutally-honest-here-you-were-the-worst-mistake-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst mistake is to not make ANY!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-worst-mistake-is-to-not-make-any/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“In my experience, a castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and to do too little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/in-my-experience-a-castaway-s-worst-mistake-is-to-hope-too-much-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [The worst mistake a woman can make is to emulate a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-kills/the-worst-mistake-a-woman-can-make-is-to-emulate-a-man/) [Natalia Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-kills/) > [One of the worst mistake you'll make is walking away from the person that stood there and waited for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-worst-mistake-you-ll-make-is-walking-away-from-the-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst mistake you can ever make is holding on to something not worth holding on to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-mistake-you-can-ever-make-is-holding-on-to-something-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst mistake anyone can make is being too afraid to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-mistake-anyone-can-make-is-being-too-afraid-to-make-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Myles Munroe > [The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-greatest-tragedy-in-life-is-not-death-but-a-life-without-a-purpose/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Your work is not your job. Your job is what they pay you to do; your work is what you were born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/your-work-is-not-your-job-your-job-is-what-they-pay-you-to-do-your/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [The Ultimate goal in live is wisdom-but the Important goal in live is Understanding…ª](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-ultimate-goal-in-live-is-wisdom-but-the-important-goal-in-live-is/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Young people all over the world are very frustrated. They are very disillusioned. Many of them are turning their backs on religion. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/young-people-all-over-the-world-are-very-frustrated-they-are-very/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [I'm washed, I'm forgiven, I'm whole, and I'm healed. I'm cleansed and I'm glory bound. I am only a sojourner on the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/i-m-washed-i-m-forgiven-i-m-whole-and-i-m-healed-i-m-cleansed-and-i-m/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Great leadership is not attained by pursuing greatness but by persevering through great tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/great-leadership-is-not-attained-by-pursuing-greatness-but-by/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [God designed the world in such a way that everything functions on principles. Principles are eternal laws established and inherent in creation that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/god-designed-the-world-in-such-a-way-that-everything-functions-on/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [The leadership spirit comes with a spirit of leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-leadership-spirit-comes-with-a-spirit-of-leadership/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [The poorest man in the world is the man without a dream.The most frustrated man in the world is the man with a dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-poorest-man-in-the-world-is-the-man-without-a-dream-the-most/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [“Within the overall context of loving his wife, a husband’s first and primary role is to be the spiritual head and covering and teacher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/within-the-overall-context-of-loving-his-wife-a-husband-s-first-and/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [The greatest threat to the future of the world is religion. The kingdom of heaven is the only solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-greatest-threat-to-the-future-of-the-world-is-religion-the/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [A man leads with his mind while a woman leads with her heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/a-man-leads-with-his-mind-while-a-woman-leads-with-her-heart/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [We need to challenge our own theology, challenge the curriculum of our Bible schools and our seminaries, and ask simple questions. Are we teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/we-need-to-challenge-our-own-theology-challenge-the-curriculum-of-our/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [The bible does not say that a man's education makes room for him, but that his gifts does. Education is not the key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-bible-does-not-say-that-a-man-s-education-makes-room-for-him-but/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [People generally fall into one of three groups: the few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/people-generally-fall-into-one-of-three-groups-the-few-who-make/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) [Explore all 296 Myles Munroe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Myles Munroe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-to-mentor-no-one-choose-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-to-mentor-no-one-choose-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad7/myles-munroe-1081_failure_the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-t_2307428.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst mistake a leader can make is to mentor no one, choose no successor and leave no legacy.” — Myles Munroe", "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": "Myles Munroe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The worst mistake a leader can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-to-mentor-no-one-choose-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/the-worst-mistake-a-leader-can-make-is-to-mentor-no-one-choose-no/#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 } } ] } ```