John Maxwell Essay Example

John Maxwell Essay Example John Maxwell Paper John Maxwell Paper Lexus Toombs Academy of Leadership and Excellence Book report The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership John C Maxwell 11/22/2011 John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach, and author who has sold over 19 million books. Dr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP and The John Maxwell Company, organizations that have trained more than 5 million leaders worldwide. Every year he speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and organizations as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point, the National Football League, and the United Nations. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is one of many excellent leadership books by Maxwell. This book distills the art of leadership into 21 practical laws. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is easy to follow, very clear, and presents strong examples of the leadership principles explained. There are 21 laws described in this book. The following are a few that stood out to me. The Law of the Lid – Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness ? Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. Your leadership ability always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization. Law of Influence– The true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned. Finally, The Law of Empowerment – Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others. If you want to be successful, you have to be willing to empower others. Maxwell explains that the book is not meant to be read in one sitting, but over time. For example, John would like readers to read one law and practice it for a month and then come back to the book re-read and evaluate ones progress. Maxwell has done a masterful job with this book and has achieved its goal to teach leadership in a practical way. The book is laden with illustrations and stories. Usually these stories and illustrations are from well-known leaders or well-known companies. In some cases the stories were personal accounts, and these were expressed in a humble manner which is rare in books written by the experts. These real life examples illuminate the various concepts that Maxwell communicates. One will become very familiar with the term fleshing it out. In reading The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership two laws stood out to me The Law of Empowerment and The Law of Priorities. Maxwell stated, â€Å"Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away. † I have experienced this in my work career and in a previous ministry I was a member of. â€Å"Weak leaders worry that if they help subordinates, they themselves will become dispensable. Rather they should realize that if the teams they lead always seem to succeed, people will figure out that they are leading them well. † It’s very important to allow those you hire or volunteers to become leaders themselves. There are many that leave jobs and ministry because they are not allowed to advance. It is most important to empower your subordinates if you are a leader. Finally, â€Å"Busyness does not equal productivity. Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Prioritizing requires leaders to continually think ahead, to know what’s important, to see how everything relates to the overall vision. This is a great statement regarding the law of priorities. One can be busy looking at Facebook or playing video games. These things are defiantly not productive yet we do these things on the job daily. I am also guilty of â€Å"busyness†, but if I prioritized I can better myself by studying my job or building relationships instead of surfing the interne t. Not to say I always do those things but it’s very important to stay on task with your vision for your life. I honestly never looked at it this way and I am currently applying this to every area in my life especially in the vision for my family. I would recommend The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership to leader and subordinates. It’s a very easy read. The short chapters make for easy, interesting reading and do not suffer from long chapters that tend to make one constantly lose concentration. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership- the short chapters sped along the reading of the book, and easily keeps the attention of the reader (especially for those with short attention spans like myself). Lastly, the content seems to be excellent. I am no authority on leadership or leadership principles, but it was clear that these `irrefutable laws are excellent guidelines for leadership. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the pages of this book. Many of them are common sense, yet are principles that leaders need to know and may possibly be overlooked because of their simplicity. Personally, I learned a great deal about leadership from the content of this book. The stories and examples alone provide enough conviction and clear teaching about the principles that Maxwell writes about. I honestly believe that anyone, regardless of position in their employment, can learn and make themselves better people from applying the values and philosophies of this book. Dont expect a spiritual book, however. While the laws are solidly founded on Scriptural principles, they are expressed in a non-religious manner. Finally, some of the â€Å"Laws† discussed are ideas that I have already come across at one time or another. The power this book has for me is that it will serve as a handy reference going forward. At one time or another you will need help with one or more of the â€Å"Laws†, be it Influence, Connection, Respect, or Solid Ground. Maxwell suggests that all of the Irrefutable Laws are important for a leader, but admits that it is rare for everyone to do each perfectly. This is where the Law of Inner Circle comes in. The author opines that a leaders potential is determined by those closest to him/her. Thus, if you are weak in certain areas, you can strive to get better. But if you know that you have a weakness in a specific area, you should ensure that your inner circle comprises leaders that have the skills you lack. A real life example that Maxwell gives is Lance Armstrong. Although Armstrong was a wonderful bike rider, he always credited his team for helping him reach the great achievements he enjoyed in the Tour de France. The author quotes another great leader in Mother Teresa whose life embodied many of the Laws; especially Sacrifice and Legacy who stated, You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things. This is one of the examples that Maxwell uses to drive points home. Above all I will apply the Law of The Inner Circle. I will constantly remind myself to surround myself with a strong inner circle. I have experience working in the prison system and all of the prisoners did not have a strong inner circle to help them make the correct decisions to help them become productive citizens instead of criminals. I will also make sure to instill this law in my children as they will soon have to deal with peer pressure. It’s important that when the time comes for them to make a life changing choice that they have an inner circle to go to or bring to remembrance clear direction from that circle.