Leadership Idioms and Phrases: 20+ Common Idioms about Leadership
Leadership Idioms and Phrases! Learn common Leadership Idioms, Phrases, and sayings in English with meaning and example sentences.
List of 20+ Useful Leadership Idioms and Phrases in English
(The) Man
Meaning: The boss; authority in general
Example: Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.0
(To Be at Someone’s) Beck And Call
Meaning: To be under someone’s total command, to be forced to fulfill someone’s orders or whims
Example: The station had at its beck and call a talented pool of musicians, singers, actors, actresses and conductors.
(To) Cross All Your T’s And Dot All Your I’s
Meaning: To take care of every detail, including the minor ones
Example: Make sure your presentation is ready to go tomorrow. I want you to cross all your T’s and dot all your I’s.
A Little From Column A, A Little From Column B
Meaning: A course of action drawing on several different ideas or possibilities
Example: You don’t need to choose a single management philosophy. Some of the best managers take a little from column A, a little from column B.
After The Lord Mayor’s Show (UK)
Meaning: Anticlimactic; occurring after something impressive
Example: After years of idolizing the singer, meeting her was somewhat of an after the Lord Mayor’s show, I’m sorry to say.
Ahead Of One’S Time
Meaning: More innovative than can be properly appreciated during the time that someone or something is producing such innovation.
Example: That show was really ahead of its time tackling issues like that.
Ahead Of The Curve
Meaning: Better than average.
Example: I’m not sure how I did on that exam, but I think I’ll end up ahead of the curve.
Big Picture
Meaning: The general, overall, or long-term scope of something, as opposed to the specific details or present preoccupations.
Example: These are big-picture projections. We’ll worry about the details later.
Call the Shots
Meaning: to make the decisions; to decide what is to be done.
Example: Directors call the shots and nothing happens on set without their say-so.
Changing of the Guard
Meaning: A change in leadership at an organization
Example: It also sounded a changing of the guard at the Pentagon: the politician replacing the manager.
Cut Someone Some Slack
Meaning: To allow one more latitude or freedom than usual; to be more lenient with one.
Example: Oh, you know I never normally make requests like this. Cut me some slack.
Read More: Fish Idioms and Phrases
Cut to the Chase
Meaning: To get to the matter at hand
Example: Finally, the president of the company said, “Cut to the chase.”
Da Man (Slang)
Meaning: An accomplished or skilful person. Generally used in the compliment – “You da man!”
Example: I made 20 straight foul shots. “Who da man?” – “You da man!”
Light a Fire Under Someone
Meaning: To motivate someone or something to take action.
Example: They need to improve their technical research and light a fire under their marketing team. It’s hard to light a fire under people who don’t think anything is wrong.
Movers and Shakers
Meaning: people who get things done; organizers and managers.
Example: If you’re looking for a tech job, you should go to CES in Las Vegas. All the movers and shakers in consumer electronics will be there.
On Point
Meaning: Focused on or related to the crux or essence of a particular topic.
Example: Since any parallax effect depends on point of view, a vector from a point on the surface to the eye is required.
Put Someone on the Spot
Meaning: To force one to do something instantaneously, often causing them unease or embarrassment.
Example: The boss put me on the spot today and asked me to summarize next year’s budget. I wasn’t really prepared.
Rake Someone Over the Coals
Meaning: Scold severely
Example: My boss really raked me over the coals today about being late to work. I need to buy an alarm clock.
The Powers That Be
Meaning: People in charge, often used when the speaker does not want to identify them.
Example: The powers that be, in this case the independent Television Association, banned the advertisement altogether.
Think tank
Meaning: a group of experts brought together to provide advice, suggestions and ideas on specific social, political and economic problems or issues
Example: The think tank said that 180,000 jobs had been lost in Labour’s first three years.
Too Many Chiefs and Not Enough Indians
Meaning: Everyone wants to be a leader, and no one wants to do the actual work
Example: Everyone wanted credit for the project and tried to take on a supervisory role. So the project never got done. It was too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
Read More: 50+ Useful Cat Idioms & Sayings in English
Yes man
Meaning: One who always agrees with authority figures, in order to gain favor with them.
Example: A yes man often comes off as insincere and sleazy.
