--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good expedition doesn't need a leader…" description: "\"A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are deciding day by day, discussing it in a democratic way.\" — Reinhold Messner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg" --- # A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are… ![“A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are deciding day by day, discussing it in a democratic way.” quote by Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg) > “A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are deciding day by day, discussing it in a democratic way.” [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership can emerge from collective decision‑making rather than a single authority. **In simple terms:** Groups can lead themselves. Key Takeaway Embrace shared responsibility. Themes collaboration democracy leadership adventure Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - mountaineering expeditions - community projects - startup teams - political movements Key Concepts collective intelligence distributed authority team dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can groups maintain momentum without a designated leader? - What structures support democratic decision‑making? A Different Perspective Effective coordination may suffer without clear direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Day by day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-by-day/) [Expedition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expedition/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [An account of an expedition is not a novel. Therefore an authentic account can never be given, let alone written down by someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/an-account-of-an-expedition-is-not-a-novel-therefore-an-authentic/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [We need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/we-need-to-ensure-that-the-government-agencies-that-are-supposed-to/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [We need a leader who can lower taxes, protect small businesses, and increase job creation nationwide. I have no doubt that John McCain appreciates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-barberi/we-need-a-leader-who-can-lower-taxes-protect-small-businesses-and/) Katie Barberi > [Often, we feel that we need a leader outside of ourselves -a Buddha, a Gandhi, or a Martin Luther King, Jr.- to show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/often-we-feel-that-we-need-a-leader-outside-of-ourselves-a-buddha-a/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [When you've got a leader that wants to go out and practice at the ultimate, highest level, when something that you should do doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-edelman/when-you-ve-got-a-leader-that-wants-to-go-out-and-practice-at-the/) [Julian Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-edelman/) > [In order to secure our unlimited future, we need a leader who understands the moral case for free enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sher-valenzuela/in-order-to-secure-our-unlimited-future-we-need-a-leader-who/) [Sher Valenzuela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sher-valenzuela/) > [We need a leader who has a sense of balance, an understanding of the ebb and flow of history and a sense of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/we-need-a-leader-who-has-a-sense-of-balance-an-understanding-of-the/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [In order for our country and economy to get on the right track again, we need a leader who understands how the real economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-order-for-our-country-and-economy-to-get-on-the-right-track-again/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think you need to be a leader, not a captain. You may have seen a lot of captains in this country, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-think-you-need-to-be-a-leader-not-a-captain-you-may-have-seen-a-lot/) [Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/) > [Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/most-churches-make-the-mistake-of-selecting-as-leaders-the-confident/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I need to be the leader day in and day out - and I will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-trubisky/i-need-to-be-the-leader-day-in-and-day-out-and-i-will-be/) [Mitchell Trubisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-trubisky/) > [We know we are all tarnished, so we doubt everyone else too. It is sad situation, where we need a leader but cannot really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/we-know-we-are-all-tarnished-so-we-doubt-everyone-else-too-it-is-sad/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [That's all you need in a leader - somebody that works hard, does what he has to do, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-chung/that-s-all-you-need-in-a-leader-somebody-that-works-hard-does-what-he/) [Patrick Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-chung/) > [You know, you don't need a leader to sort of administer something that's going very well. In fact, in one sense, an overly ambitious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-v-gerstner-jr/you-know-you-don-t-need-a-leader-to-sort-of-administer-something-that/) [Louis V. Gerstner, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-v-gerstner-jr/) > [The problem is, we elected a manager and we need a leader. Let's face it: Bush is just dim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-problem-is-we-elected-a-manager-and-we-need-a-leader-let-s-face/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) ## More by Reinhold Messner > [Fame is very heavy. When there are large crowds, I'm unable to handle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/fame-is-very-heavy-when-there-are-large-crowds-i-m-unable-to-handle-it/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [The cliches that circulate in the German media about Joachim Sauer are a total fallacy. The fact is that he's his own man. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/the-cliches-that-circulate-in-the-german-media-about-joachim-sauer/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Climbing is not a competition, and you cannot talk in terms of 'greatest,' it means nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/climbing-is-not-a-competition-and-you-cannot-talk-in-terms-of/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Life is about daring to carry out your ideas. And for me, it always comes back to the wilderness, nature, mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/life-is-about-daring-to-carry-out-your-ideas-and-for-me-it-always/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [I have a very different fear if I'm all alone in the summit area of Mount Everest and if I know that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/i-have-a-very-different-fear-if-i-m-all-alone-in-the-summit-area-of/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [For years I was a rock climber and nothing else. I went to school, yes, and university, yes, but in my heart I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/for-years-i-was-a-rock-climber-and-nothing-else-i-went-to-school-yes/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [An account of an expedition is not a novel. Therefore an authentic account can never be given, let alone written down by someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/an-account-of-an-expedition-is-not-a-novel-therefore-an-authentic/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Ueli Steck, I'm absolutely certain, had a very strong inner drive to keep pushing. He set very high standards for himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/ueli-steck-i-m-absolutely-certain-had-a-very-strong-inner-drive-to/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [I can't tell people to love mountains. They have to find their own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/i-can-t-tell-people-to-love-mountains-they-have-to-find-their-own-way/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [...seen from above, landscapes are made up of mountains and watercourses. Just as a transparent model of the human body consists of a framework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/seen-from-above-landscapes-are-made-up-of-mountains-and-watercourses/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/mountains-are-not-fair-or-unfair-they-are-just-dangerous/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Out of all the climbers of this generation, I was the one who became known to the larger public. Many of them - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/out-of-all-the-climbers-of-this-generation-i-was-the-one-who-became/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Bolts are the murder of the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/bolts-are-the-murder-of-the-impossible/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Mountaineering is over. Alpinism is dead. Maybe its spirit is still alive a little in Britain and America, but it will soon die out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/mountaineering-is-over-alpinism-is-dead-maybe-its-spirit-is-still/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [The Dolomites are the most beautiful rock mountains in the world, but in a few million years they will just be desert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/the-dolomites-are-the-most-beautiful-rock-mountains-in-the-world-but/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) [Explore all 119 Reinhold Messner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are deciding day by day, discussing it in a democratic way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reinhold Messner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader-at-all-you-are-deciding-day/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader-at-all-you-are-deciding-day/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/reinhold-messner-3556_adventure_a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader_1610285.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good expedition doesn't need a leader at all. You are deciding day by day, discussing it in a democratic…” — Reinhold Messner", "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": "Reinhold Messner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good expedition doesn't need a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader-at-all-you-are-deciding-day/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/a-good-expedition-doesn-t-need-a-leader-at-all-you-are-deciding-day/#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 } } ] } ```