55 Leadership Keynote Speeches

This collection of leadership keynote speeches brings together a variety of prominent and inspiring leaders from different industries and fields. From the ideal traits of a leader to how to best lead during times of crisis, these speeches offer useful tips for those working on both small and large teams.

Marcus Buckingham delivers a powerful speech that outlines the key differences between leadership and management. A manager, according to Buckingham, is the individual on a team who ensures deadlines are met and projects are completed, while a leader inspires team members to push themselves to achieve greatness and surpass their goals.

Many of the speeches here echo Buckingham's beliefs. Innovation keynote speaker Jeremy Gutsche suggests that leaders should give employees the confidence to try new things, break the rules and make mistakes.

Author and entrepreneur Derek Sivers suggests that leadership is often "over-glorified." He argues that a movement can only take off once it has followers. He believes that the first followers of a movement are the truly courageous ones, implying that all individuals have the potential to lead.