TEAM COACH's CORNER

John Maxwell has written over 100 books on leadership but it is all based on his enduring thesis that “leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less."  As we have seen in the first two pillars the most important part of leadership is who we are, who we are becoming, and what do we have to offer others. Remember the Law of the Lid which says that an organization will never grow beyond the character and capacity of its leader(s). That’s why for all of us, it is imperative to be constantly and consistently growing. Then of course, no matter how much we know or how much we grow, if we are not connecting with others effectively and in a meaningful way, we will never be able to influence them – lead them. 

Even introverts can influence as many as 10,000 people in their lifetime. We are constantly influencing – constantly being observed – either for good or bad. Some would say that leaders are born, but working with the Maxwell team, we know there are lots of sounds steps that mangers can learn to take that can turn them into leaders.  Learned skills include: respecting others, nurturing others, listening to others, understanding others, enlarging others, empowering others, and reproducing others.  It’s pretty clear that having the title of boss / leader is the least influential way to lead – they obey because they don’t want to get fired. The top level of influence / leadership is based on who you are, how you connect, do you care, are you able to add value, and can you be trusted? Who are you influencing? How are you influencing them? It needs to be done intentionally as part of creating your own leadership legacy which is great for you and for your organization.

Watch for our next blog post where we will discuss the importance of the FORTH PILLAR for achieving leadership success – DEVELOPING THE LEADER WITHIN YOU. Please email me with your suggestions for blog posts or questions at: john.gardner@yourleadershipTEAMCOACH or call me at:     800-295-1750