There’s a difference between leading and rallying. We can rally people if we stoke their fears. Leadership is about inspiring people with hope. ~Simon Sinek

If I think about leadership within the context of political party conventions, it makes my head hurt. What I see, from all sides, just doesn’t feel a lot like leadership. I feel like I’m being persuaded to vote based upon what they believe I should fear, instead of what inspires me to hope for an optimistic future.

I don’t know about you, but I need a respite from all this “rallying” and a reminder of what leadership is really about. Here are a few quotes that have helped me to refocus my perspective on real leadership.

• Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real. ~Thomas Merton
• Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot. ~Thomas Moore
• Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying. ~St. Vincent de Paul
• The difference between a good leader and a great leader is humility. ~Jim Collins
• Great leaders don’t need to act tough. Their confidence and humility serve to underscore their toughness. ~Simon Sinek
• The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind but not weak; be bold but not bully; be thoughtful but not lazy; be humble but not timid; be proud but not arrogant; have humor but without folly. ~Jim Rohn
• To possess self-confidence and humility at the same time is called maturity. ~Jack Welch
• Humility is a great quality of leadership which derives respect and not just fear or hatred. ~Yousef Manayyer
• A great leader needs to love and respect people, and he needs to be comfortable with himself and with the world. He also needs to be able to forgive himself and others. In other words, a leader needs grace. ~Leo Hindery, Jr.

After a few more months of intense name-calling, fear-based ads, and simply rude behavior, I’ll hope for real leadership to emerge somewhere in this nation of ours.