Hal Moore on Leadership Quotes

“The discipline that makes an effective leader begins in the home.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“If you seek to correct a subordinate’s overall behavior or performance, start by telling them what they do well, then tell them where they need to improve.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Fewer things will impact a team’s morale than a leader who does not recognize their accomplishments and hard work.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“There are two things a leader can do: he can either contaminate his environment (and his people) with his attitude and actions, or he can inspire confidence. A leader must be visible to the people he leads. He must be self-confident and always maintain a positive attitude. If a leader thinks he might lose in whatever crisis or situation; then he has already lost. He must exhibit a determination to prevail no matter what the odds or how difficult the situation. He must have and display the will to prevail by his actions, his words, his tone of voice, his appearance, his demeanor, his countenance, and the look in his eyes. He must never give off any hint or evidence that he is uncertain about a positive outcome.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Leadership is a highly personal, individual matter. Each leader must establish his own approach based on an internal compass using a method geared to his personality, his capabilities but always oriented towards accomplishing the mission while knowing and taking care of his men.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“On those occasions when one of my people did not perform as expected, I found that in many cases at least half the fault was my own. I had either not put out clear, clean instructions or I had not trained that person sufficiently, or I had given him a task with little or no possibility of accomplishment.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“A leader should surround himself with persons who fit his requirements and standards—and then turn them loose to do their jobs. When you identify a toxic subordinate leader within your ranks, remove them. If you cannot remove them, reassign them to a role where their toxicity can be minimized. Their duty at their level was just as important as my duty at my level. Leaders lead from the front; managers lead from the rear. When the battle is over, there must be plans (made in advance) for follow-on actions. A leader must have clearly defined objectives. He must ensure these objectives are clearly understood by his subordinate leaders.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“It’s a key responsibility of the leader, in any field of endeavor (athletic team, military, or business) to assure the successful continuity or ability of his organization to carry on should he die or become incapacitated. It’s his duty to plan for such a contingency out of loyalty to his people and, if in a business endeavor, loyalty to his customers and, clients.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“(1) He must be competent, (2) he must exercise good judgment, and (3) he must have character. By itself, competence is meaningless without character and good judgment. If”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Look at what the words start with W and E—meaning “WE.” If the Army approved and supplied the pins, and you were my battalion and we were going to war, I would have every soldier wear a pin with the letters “WE,” denoting “WE” as a family and “WE” as without equal. This is a war-winning theme that would not let us go down in any battle…ever!”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“The leader must have trust in the people he leads; trust that they will perform their duties well. The people in the ranks must have trust in their leaders; trust that they will perform their duties completely. The people in the ranks must have trust and confidence in one another; trust that each will perform their duties well as members of the team.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Now, this not only means seeing the troops are fed, clothed and housed properly (the easy part), but more importantly, training them to perfection, anticipating their problems and needs while actively anticipating and eliminating problems before they occur. Among other attributes,”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“There are at least five activities that must be kept in balance through proper time management. This is not easy for a busy executive with significant responsibilities, especially in this world of “information overload.” These five activities are: the job, physical fitness, personal time alone, recreation, and social relationships. Also, if they apply, two others—religion and family. If any of these get out of balance, then life gets out of balance. From my own personal experience and observation of others, being a workaholic is the most common area of imbalance.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“When a member of a unit (military or non-military) loses his life, or when a member has a death in the family, it’s the duty of the leader to take sincere action in expressing personal condolences, sympathy or any other appropriate steps considering the circumstances.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“When taking over an organization,” Moore said, “you’ve got to stand out in front of your people, and state clearly what your goals are; what you expect from them; and what they can expect from you. Then shut up and let everybody go to work.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“The first impression a speaker makes on his audience is by his appearance and demeanor. Well-groomed or not? Self-Confident or not? Nervous or not? Paper-shuffler or not? All this and more before he says a word. The next impression is how the speaker talks. Forceful or not? Correct diction or not? Too much use of hands? Walking around? If so, too much? Any distracting mannerisms (such as always shoving his spectacles back up his nose)? Speaks too loud? Too soft? “Talks down” to the audience?The next impression is about what he says—the content of his talk. Are the thoughts well-organized? Or is he just “winging it?”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“A leader must realize his subordinate leaders will be killed or wounded. He must prepare and train other leaders to step up and take over. He, himself, must train his next-in-line to take command in event he is killed, wounded, or evacuated.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Commanders are not always leaders. Commanders are appointed. Leaders are unofficially “elected” by the troops in the unit. Likewise in other fields of endeavor. Every leader is put through an informal process in the first few weeks wherein his people judge him and decide whether or not he is worthy of their trust. He must earn that trust. How? A leader must prove himself by his actions, appearance, demeanor, attitude, and decisions.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Good leaders don’t wait for official permission to try out a new idea. In any organization, if you go looking for permission, you will inevitably find the one person who thinks his job is to say “No!” It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“If a subordinate performs a task and the outcome is not what you expected, don’t attack their intelligence or their character. Politely explain the deficiencies and offer an idea for a solution. Subordinates quickly lose respect for any leader who is “all problem and no solution.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“If you want something done, ask nicely. If a subordinate forgets to perform a task, don’t take it personally; just remind them nicely. In any organization, everyone has a “to-do” list. While juggling these tasks, some things will inevitably fall through the cracks. When that happens, don’t assume that the subordinate is lazy or stupid. Simply re-engage them on the task and, if necessary, emphasize why it’s a priority.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“To be a leader, you must be willing to be a lifelong learner.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“No job is ever “beneath” you. In whatever you do, do it to the best of your abilities.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“The best leaders in any enterprise see problems coming and stack the deck to prevent negative “what ifs” from happening. They also have contingency plans to take advantage of positive openings which occur in fleeting windows of time.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“A leader is paid to do three things: Get the job done and get it done well. Plan ahead—be proactive, not reactive. Exercise good, sound judgment in doing all of the above.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Finally, concerning professionalism, I believe even now the clock is bringing us closer to some few seconds, minutes or hours in the future when the professionalism we will have, or will not have, will make a life or death difference for the men placed under our leadership and whose families can only trust, hope, and pray we know our business.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“WITHOUT EQUAL. Think about it. These words are even more powerful than the “Will to Win” or “#1”…ponder the feeling one gets from these words. I suggest you, embrace these words forever within your institution. And as you enlarge your circles around the world, make these two words your everyday life breath.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“share this experience with you because to believe that you will prevail, in any endeavor, means everything.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“Their style emphasized four bedrock principles: Surprise Aggressiveness Deception The leader’s personal presence in the battle.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned

“good leadership revolves around good judgment. That is the defining characteristic of a good leader.”
― Harold G. Moore, Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned