John Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker and author. He was born in Garden City, Michigan in 1947 and followed his father into the ministry. He studied at Ohio Christian University and received a Master of Divinity degree at Azusa Pacific University.
Maxwell is the author of more than 60 books primarily focusing on the topic of leadership. He has sold more than 19 million copies of his books, some of which were on the New York Times Best Seller List. A notable title include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Becoming the Person Others Want to Follow. Each year, Maxwell speaks to Fortune 500 companies and organizations around the world on the topic of leadership.
The following are John C Maxwell’s exceptional comments on what it is to be a leader:
A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.
Most people who want to get ahead do it backward. They think, ‘I’ll get a bigger job, then I’ll learn how to be a leader.’ But showing leadership skill is how you get the bigger job in the first place. Leadership isn’t a position, it’s a process.
Most people who want to get ahead do it backward. They think, ‘I’ll get a bigger job, then I’ll learn how to be a leader.’ But showing leadership skill is how you get the bigger job in the first place. Leadership isn’t a position, it’s a process.
Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.
The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.
People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.
Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.
A leader who produces other leaders multiples their influences.
Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.
Life doesn’t do anything to you. It only reveals your spirit.
Happiness simply cannot be relied upon as a measure of success.
To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another.
More than anything else, followers want to believe that their leaders are ethical and honest.
When your people see that you are not only competent to lead but also have a track record of successes, they will have confidence in following you, even when they don’t understand all the details.
As a leader, it’s your job to get your people excited about what their work will accomplish; it’s a natural motivator.
Creative leaders inherently know when rules need to be challenged, and they can see when a more flexible approach should be taken.
Sometimes giving your people permission to be creative is not enough; inspire them by modeling creativity.
Make a point to continually search for a better way of doing things, even when things are going well, to ensure that a better alternative has not been overlooked and to keep your creative talents in practice.
Consider who you are working with: Part of the art of leadership is discovering the unique relationship between the needs of the individual and the organization.
Determine how to help the person, tell them how you will do it, and follow through – before asking the individual to do things in return for you.
- The highest compliment a person can receive is one given by his or her leader; make a habit of being generous and sincere with your compliments.
Published in collaboration with BillRingle.com.