“The Power of Leadership”
Many of you will be familiar with the name John C. Maxwell. Maxwell is well known in the field of Leadership Development; he’s a highly sought after speaker and a widely read author. One of John’s cornerstone works is a book titled The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership which recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary in print. On that anniversary, John was asked if his experience since writing the book would cause him to make any changes today and he reported that he would like to make some additions.
We’ll look at those new additions in this current ‘Thought of the Day’ series…
New Law #1 – The Law of Addition
The Law of Addition states that leaders add value by serving others. John asks you to ask these questions of yourself as a leader:
- Since I’ve been leading my team, are things better or worse for them?
- Am I adding value to them or subtracting value from them?
- Are my people better off because I’m their leader?
- Am I taking others to a higher level?
Maxwell says that it isn’t how far we advance ourselves, but how far we advance others that matters. You are either adding or subtracting value. He say’s if you’re adding value it’s intentional; but if you are subtracting value it’s likely unintentional. Your goal as a leader should not be to get people to help you, but to help others.
“When you help others climb a hill, you will get closer to the top yourself.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf
Have a great day helping others!
Shawn
Performance Institute – A Global Leader in Human Capital and Business Development
Russ M. Miller, LLIF – Chairman and CEO
Sunny Hong Zhang – Managing Partner – China
Shawn M. Miller – Managing Partner – USA
P.S. Your thoughts on our Thoughts are valuable to us and other readers; please post your comments in the Reply box…
Each generation should be better prepared and stronger than the generation before them. At least this is how we all see it for our own children. Why then does this not also apply to the people you lead? They too are the next generation. Maxwell is right on with his adding or subtracting value to those you lead. Those you lead will grow and hopefully surpass our own efforts. They have three paths to follow. You as the leader will decide which path they take. They will either grow with you and possibly even through you, or they will go around you to someone who is your superior, or they will leave your company and join your competitor. It took me awhile to learn that those who grew through me would help lift me to heights greater than I could accomplish on my own!
This is certainly true. A good leader needs to know how to bring the best out of his/her people regardless of their age and experience and make them better. In reality, “leaders” pay way too much attention on what others can not do or are not good at rather than focusing on what their people are really good at. You often hear them complaining the incompetence or lack of experience of their people, and seldom hear what they have done to help improve their people. Truth is: it is simply easier to pick on others and some probably believe this helps make themselves look smarter. I would say a true leader should feel responsible for his people’s development, and a person can not be a truly great leader without such sense of responsibility.
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