25 Lessons Learned from John Maxwell
Here are 25 key lessons that capture and distill what I think are some of the most important insights from John Maxwell:
1. Leadership is influence.
Maxwell defines leadership as influence. It’s simple, effective, and precise. In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Maxwell says, “True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can’t be mandated. It must be earned. The only thing a title can buy is a little time – either to increase your level of influence with others or to erase it.”
2. Leadership isn’t a position, it’s a process.
Leadership starts right where you are, from the inside out. Maxwell says, “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.”
3. Just do it.
Forget motivation and just do it. Maxwell says, “The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.”
4. Your attitude towards life is still under construction.
According to Maxwell, your attitude towards life is constantly being shaped by the following factors: personality (who are you), environment (what’s around you), word expression (what you hear), adult acceptance/affirmation (what you feel), self-image(how you see yourself), exposure to new experiences, association with peers (who influences you), physical appearance (how you look to others), and marriage, family, and job (your security and status.) Maxwell believes that your environment shapes you more than your personality or other inherited traits, and that your outward actions are a direct reflection of your self-image (we tend to act consistently with how we see ourselves.) In Attitude 101, Maxwell says, “Whether you are eleven, forty-two, or sixty-five, your attitude toward life is still under construction. It’s never too late for a person to change his attitude.”
5. Use principles to guide you.
Drive from durable principles instead of a bunch of rules and policies. According to Maxwell, “policies are many, principles are few, policies will change, principles never do.”
6. Leadership is a collection of skills.
Leadership is something you can learn and improve at. Maxwell says, “Although it is true that some people are born with greater natural gifts than others, the ability to lead is really a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved.”
7. Build trust through competence, connection, and character.
You won’t follow somebody you don’t trust. As a leader, you have to build trust. Maxwell says, “There are three qualities a leader must exemplify to build trust: competence, connection, and character.”
8. Success is a journey, not a destination.
Don’t think of success as a place. Think of it as a path. Success is a journey you can enjoy a day at a time. Take the right people with you on your success journey. In Your Road Map for Success, Maxwell identifies 10 things to look for when figuring out who to invest in or who to bring with you: 1) make things happen, 2) see and seize opportunities, 3) influence others, 4) add value, 5) attract other leaders, 6) equip others, 7) provide inspiring ideas, 8.) possess uncommonly positive attitudes, 9) live up to their commitments, and 10) have loyalty.
9. Success is a daily thing.
You can be successful one day or one decision at a time. Maxwell says, “If you can handle today correctly, tomorrow will take care of itself.”
10. Success is a decision at a time.
Maxwell says, “You don’t become a success when you get your diploma. You became a success when you decided to go to college. When you get your diploma you get the rewards of success.”
11. Seven Steps for success
In Success One Day at a Time, Maxwell shares 7 steps for success: 1) make a commitment to grow daily, 2) value the process more than events, 3) don’t wait for inspiration, 4) be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity, 5) dream big, 6) plan your priorities, and 7) give up to go up.
12. Look for the landmarks of success.
The highest levels of success require a series of significant trade-offs. Maxwell identifies the following trade-offs that serve as landmarks: 1) achievement over affirmation, 2) excellence over acceptability, 3) personal growth over immediate pleasure, 4) future potential over financial gain, 5) a narrow focus over scattered interests, and significant over security.
13. Leadership is a visual thing.
The greatest leadership is by example. Maxwell says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
14. Everybody needs encouragement.
No matter who you are, you still need encouragement. Maxwell says, “Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
In Your Roadmap for Success, Maxwell says we need to be able to laugh at ourselves, “… success depends more on your attitude than it does on how important you think you are. Life should be fun. Even if your job is important and should be taken seriously, that doesn’t mean you should take yourself seriously. You’ll go farther in life and have a better time doing it if you maintain a sense of humor, especially when it comes to yourself.”
16. Use failure as a springboard.
Unsuccessful people avoid taking any risks to try and avoid failure. Successful people turn failure into feedback. They don’t dwell on mistakes or the negative consequences of failures. Instead, they focus on the rewards of success and on learning from their mistakes. In Your Road Map for Success, Maxwell shares 10 ways to fail forward effectively:
1) appreciate the value of failure2) don’t take failure personally3) let failure redirect you4) keep a sense of humor5) ask why, not who6.) make failure a learning experience7) don’t let failure keep you down8.) use failure as a gauge for growth9) see the big picture10) don’t give up.17. Win with people.
Growing people is the key to growing your success. Maxwell says, “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership” and “true success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation.” In 360 Degree Leader, Maxwell says, “Great leaders don’t use people so they can win. They lead people so they can all lead together. If that is truly your motivation, you can become the kind of person that people want to follow – whether they are beside, above, or below you in the organizational hierarchy.” Maxwell makes people development a priority. To avoid spreading himself too thin, he focuses 80 percent of his time developing only the top 20 percent of the people around him. Maxwell says, “your time is limited, and it makes more sense to help a few learn how to fly and reach their potential rather than show a big group only enough to whet their appetite.”
18. Let people fly with you for a while.
In Maxwell’s experience, the most effective way to mentor and ramp people up is the same way craftspeople have done for years: 1) do it, 2) I do it — and you watch, 3) you do it – and I watch, 4) you do it.
19. Ten principles for personal growth.
In Your Road Map for Success, Maxwell shares 10 principles for improving your personal growth: 1) choose a life of growth, 2) start growing today, 3) be teachable, 4) focus on self-development, not self-fulfillment, 5) never stay satisfied with current accomplishments, 6) be a continual learner, 7) concentrate on a few major themes, 8.) develop a plan for growth, 9) pay the price, 10) find a way to apply what you learn.
20. Don’t make happiness your measure of success.
Happiness is fleeting while success is a stable path. In Your Road Map for Success, Maxwell writes, “The continual search for happiness is a primary reason that so many people are miserable. If you make happiness your goal, you are almost certainly destined to fail. You will be on a continual roller coaster, changing from successful to unsuccessful with every mood change. Life is uncertain, and emotions aren’t stable. Happiness simply cannot be relied upon as a measure of success.”
21. Achievement over affirmation.
Focus on achievement rather than worry about fitting in. Maxwell says, “Affirmation from others is fickle and fleeting. If you want to make an impact during your lifetime, you have to trade the praise you could receive from others for the things of value that you can accomplish. You can’t be ‘one of the boys’ and follow your destiny at the same time.”
22. Four kinds of people when it comes to relationships.
In Success 101, Maxwell says there are 4 kinds of people when it comes to relationships: 1) some people add something to life (we enjoy them), 2) some people subtract something from life (we tolerate them), 3) some people multiply something in life (we value them), 4) some people divide something in life (we avoid them.)
23. Lead yourself exceptionally well.
Leadership starts from the inside out. Lead yourself first. In Success 101, Maxwell identifies 7 areas that successful people must self-manage: 1) you emotions, 2) your time, 3) your priorities, 4) your energy, 5) your thinking, 6) your words, and 7) your personal life.
24. Treat people like a “10.”
Who gets your better effort? … a leader who treats you as a “2” or a leader who treats you as a “10”? Maxwell says that in his experience, people usually rise to the leader’s expectations – if they like the leader. Treat people like a 10 if you want their best. Maxwell says one way to do this is to focus on a skill or strength that somebody has that is a “10.” If you can’t find a “10” in terms of skill, then rather than write somebody off, look to a non-skill area where the person can grow into a “10”, independent of skill, such as attitude, desire, discipline, and perseverance.
25. Focus on production over politics.
In the 360 Degree Leader, Maxwell says there are two ways to get ahead: production and politics. Maxwell says avoid office politics and instead focus on production. Maxwell says that people who rely on production: depend on how they grow, focus on what they do, become better than they appear, provide substance, do what’s necessary, work to control their own destiny, grow into the next level, base decisions on principles. On the other hand, people who rely on politics: depend on who they know, focus on what they say, appear better than they are, take shortcuts, do what’s popular, let others control their destiny, hope to be given the next level, base decisions on opinions. Maxwell shares 6 ways to avoid politics: 1) avoid gossip, 2) stay away from petty arguments, 3) stand up for what’s right, not just for what’s popular, 4) look at all sides of the issue, 5) don’t protect your turf, and 6) say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Success Defined
Maxwell defines success in a very simple, but elegant way that’s empowering:
“Success is … knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum
1. You can not make others carry out what you want to implement it, and refrain from what you want to refrain ,But you can use three motives to let them do it and those are:
إنك لا تستطيع أن تجعل الآخرين ينفذوا ما تريد أن ينفذوه, ويمتنعوا عما تريد أن يمتنعوا عنه إلا عن طريق ثلاث دوافع:
A- By love and respect. B- the desire and reward. C-fear and punishment.
The successful administrator start-stimulating others through love and respect, when you do that you will find all your desires may come true. If you can not reach the target by using these tactics you have to resort to the temptation and rewards. IF this fails , and only then, you have to resort to another treatment: and that is discipline action or a memo must be followed.
من أساليب التحفيز..
أ-الحب والاحترام. ب- الرغبة والثواب. ج-الخوف والعقاب.
ومن هنا على الإداري-الناجح-أن يبدأ بتحفيز الآخرين عن طريق الحب والاحترام,أن تحبهم فتجعلهم يحبونك,وتحترمهم فتجعلهم يحترمونك ,وسوف تجد كل رغباتك قد تحققت.عندما يتعذر الوصول إلى الهدف عن هذا الطريق لك أن تلجأ إلى الإغراء والثواب.عندما يفشل هذا المسعى, وعندها فقط, لك أن تلجأ إلى آخر العلاج:العقاب أو التلويح به.
punctuality
2. It is not hard as you think. If the Boss arrive on schedule the workers will almost do the same, and when the boss leave at the end of the working day the workers will will not dear to leave early.
ضبط الدوام
. إن ضبط الدوام ليس معضلة كبرى كما يتصور البعض.وصول الرئيس في الموعد المحدد يضمن وصول بقية الموظفين في هذا الموعد,وبقاؤه إلى نهاية الوقت المحدد كفيل ببقاء الجميع.
do not hurry.
3. The decision maker should not take any decision unless the information has been completed in front of him.
لاتستعجل.
على صانع القرار ألا يتخذ أي قرار إلا إذا اكتملت أمامه المعلومات.
Powers before making decisions
4. Do not deal with any situation without having the necessary permission, and powers to deal with it.
الصلاحيات قبل اتخاذ القرارات
. لا تتعامل مع أي موقف دون أن يكون لديك الصلاحيات الضرورية للتعامل معه.
Memory impairment is the original !!
5. Be sure to record everything in the stock (agreements, the results of meetings, ….) because the power of memory is not of the majority of people attributes.
ضعف الذاكرة هو الأصل!!
احرص على تسجيل كل شيء في الأوراق(اتفاقات,نتائج اجتماعات,….) لأن قوة الذاكرة ليست من سمات غالبية الناس.
look for it!!
6 Look for a physical partner bears the tasks with you, until you find enough time for reflection and planning for the future.
ابحث عنه!!
ابحث عن شريك فعلي يتحمل المهام معك, حتى تجد الوقت الكافي للتأمل والتخطيط للمستقبل.
Open field ..
7. Open the field of opportunities in front of others and you will be amazed of what you see of their achievements.
افتح المجال..
. افتح المجال أمام الآخرين وسوف يذهلك ما تراه من منجزاتهم.
Know your people Before you start your new job.
8. Do not go to a new job only after you know all there is to know about the new work, either the meeting some of its employees, or reading about him, or both of them.
تعرف قبل أن تعمل
. لا تذهب إلى عمل جديد إلا بعد أن تعرف كل ما يمكن معرفته عن العمل الجديد,إما باللقاء ببعض العاملين فيه , أو بالقراءة عنه ,أو بهما جميعا.
Tested yourself
9. Test the administrative service that you be part of, ask questions check the satisfactory survey and collect previous data about the work place.
اختبرها بنفسك
. اختبر بنفسك الخدمة التي يقدمها الجهاز الإداري الذي تعمل فيه.
No favoritism at work
10-Dont keep those friends or relatives in a position where they dont know nothing about or they can not improve ,or if their position effect the work progress. Management is a science ,people study 4 or more years and gain more experience in the field of certain management, and if you put your family member as a manger or director it will contribute to the system failure.
لا محاباة في العمل
. لا يجوز للاداري- مهما كانت عواطفه الانسانية نحو زميل- أن يبقيه في موقعه ؛إذا كان بقاؤه يعرض العمل أو الآخرين للخطر.
Do not hesitate
11. Do not hesitate to take the necessary decisions even it is painful ;such as changing of an employee,or transfer them.what ever it takes to keep your business success but you need to discuss it with your workers ,explain why it is important and if there is any reward for them.
-على القائد الإداري ألا يتردد في اتخاذ القرارات الضرورية ولو كانت مؤلمة(مثل تغيير موقع موظف,… وإذا لم تكن للقائد الإداري القدرة على نقل موظف – لم يعد قادرا على العطاء- من موقعه,فمن الأفضل ألا يتصدى للقيادة الإدارية.
A SUCCESSFUL LEADER
12. There are three qualities that must be present in SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP.
* Mentality: The ability to know the correct decision.Wisdom is the essence of the first character.
* Psychological: A decision-making capacity,Courage is the essence .
* A combination of mental and psychological capacity: the ability to implement.
Skillful operator , These include among others: the ability to stimulation, the ability to explain the decision, the ability to remove the obstacles, a lot of patience.
صفات القائد الإداري الناجح
. هناك ثلاث صفات لا بد من توفرها في القائد الإداري الناجح:
* صفة عقلية خالصة:وهي القدرة على معرفة القرار الصحيح.الحكمة هي جوهر الصفة الأولى.
* صفة نفسية خالصة:وهي القدرة على اتخاذ القرار الصحيح.الشجاعة هي جوهر الصفة الثانية.
* مزيج من الصفة العقلية والنفسية:وهي القدرة على تنفيذ القرار.المهارة هي جوهر الصفة الثالثة .وهذه المهارة تشمل فيما تشمله: القدرة على التحفيز,القدرة على شرح القرار,القدرة على إزالة العقبات,الكثير من الصبر
Organization before planning
13 In order for you plans to work, you must create a plan that others can follow and explain your plan so your team know the vision , mission, and goal of the company, what is your target and do not start implementation until all your your your protocols, policy and procedures in place .
التنظيم قبل التخطيط
. لكي تخطط لعمل جهاز ما,يجب ان تكون الصورة الإدارية للجهاز متضحة في أذهان المخططين. بعض الإداريين يخطئون خطأ بينا عندما يبدؤون التخطيط بجهاز لم يستكمل مقوماته التنظيمية.
Recognize your limitations and learn.
14 Never be ashamed to recognize your weakness.ed.who knowing your weaknesses will help you to transform them into strengths.
لا ينال العلم مستح
. لا تستح أبدا أن تعترف بجهلك وأن تعالجة بخبرة الخبراء.فالانسان الذي يعرف نقاط ضعفه يملك فرصة حقيقية في تحويلها إلى نقاط قوة.
Media and achievement
15.Try to advertise in the right place and in the right time for the right crowd, if your place is doing some thing good and different, and giving a unique service you must exposed this to the media and other agencies so they know of your new service , make sure you advertise the truth of what you can offer.
الإعلام والإنجاز
. لا يمكن أن يكون القائد الإداري فعالا إذا ظلت إنجازاته طي الكتمان.جزء مهم من فعالية القائد أن يكون فعالا أمام رؤسائه و مرؤوسيه والناس. وهذا لايتم إلا عبر وسائل الاعلام. ولكن الاعلام بدون انجاز حقيقي جعجعة لا تلبث أن تهدأ دون أن تترك خلفها طحنا.
Be prepared to deal with strong personalities.
16. selecting qualified assistants half of the problem, and the other half is the ability to handle them.. If you only want to hear Yes!”yes, yes sir it is easier for you to buy a tape recorder, try to learn from strong personalities that oppose your ideas, or if they have different insights , learn from them and see if their new approach work. You hire the smart team so they can run the work and learn from them not to listen to what you tell them.
لابد من تحمل الشخصية القوية
اختيار المساعدين الاكفاء نصف المشكلة, والنصف الآخر هو القدرة على التعامل معهم.الذي يريد مساعدا قوي الشخصية, عليه أن يتحمل متاعب العمل مع هذه الشخصية القوية. أما إذا كنت لا تريد ان تسمع سوى “نعم نعم نعم!” فمن الأسهل – والأرخص- أن تشتري جهاز تسجيل.أما إذا كنت تريد بالفعل مشاركة الرجال عقولهم,فعليك أن تتذرع بصبر لا حدود له.
Contradiction!
17. When an employee receives instructions from two references: one higher than the other; it will tend to instructions issued from the minimum reference ignored.So make sure to make it clear in the protocol to put the chain of command for communications.
تناقض!
عندما يتلقى موظف تعليماته من مرجعين:أحدهما أعلى من الآخر ؛فإنه سوف ينزع إلى تجاهل التعليمات الصادرة من المرجع الأدنى.
Be responsible .
18. If you are happy for the good things you have done and you take the positive feed back be ready to accept the negative feed back too, and admit your mistake and put a plan to correct them. Dont pass the blame to others if you do you will lose respect of your employees and after while most workers will afraid of doing mistakes and that will kill the progress and achievements.
تحمل التبعات
إذا كان القائد الإداري يتلقى – راضيا مسرورا- المديح عن كل انجاز فعليه أن يتقبل – راضيا-المسئولية عن كل خطأ.القائد الإداري الذي ينسب النجاح إلى شخصه ويعلق الفشل في رقبة مسئوليه؛ يستحيل أن يحظى بثقة العاملين معه.وبعد قترة يخاف العاملون مغبة الخطأ فلا يعملون شيئا وينعدم الانجاز.
Leadership meetings
19. The secret of success in the leadership councils (meetings) are tow things .
A- full preparations: know what are you dealing with, be prepared so you be, able to answer most of the questions.
B-Respect to your workers, managers, and supervisors even if they disagree with your idea. give them a chance to explain and prove to show the data and recommend a follow up.
سر النجاح في قيادة المجالس(الاجتماعات) أمران سهلان/صعبان:
l التحضير الكامل:وذلك بأن يكون مستوعبا لكل مادة على جدول الأعمال, وقادرا على الإجابة على كل تساؤل يمكن أن يثيره الاعضاء. إذا لم يفعل ذلك فقد تسير الأمور في غير الاتجاه الذي يريده, أو تنتهي بغير قرارات حاسمه. أي أن الرئيس عليه أن يبذل قبل كل جلسة أضعاف ما يبذله أي عضو آخر.
l احترام مشاعر الأعضاء ورغباتهم:فقد يختلف معك أحد الأعضاء , فليس من الحكمة أن يحاول الرئيس الضغط أو يطلب التصويت.هناك عدة بدائل:طلب تقرير مفصل عن نقطة الخلاف,تشكيل لجنة لبحث الموضوع(يفضل أن تكون برئاسة العضو المخالف), او أن يطلب التأجيل في البت إلى جلسة قادمة وهذا أضعف الايمان.
Be the last to speak
20. It is wise that you start short and then listen to all members and you keep all your notes and thoughts to the ends to make recommendations and follow up plan.
كن آخر من يتحدث
على رئيس المجلس أن يكون آخر المتحدثين عند بحث القرارات ومناقشتها.
Fact!
21.The one who does not make mistakes is the one who dont work. Every body does wrong thing from time to time , find the facts and how to correct the mistake , implement the tools to educate and find why and how we can correct the mistake.
حقيقة!
إن الذي لا يخطئ هو الذي لا يعمل.
A common mistake
22 .Contrary to what people think of a successful leader that the work and the place can not function without him/ her , but if the work place can function just perfect without them as he / she organised the place and put the order to work perfectly with out the need of them been around every second, the secret is in the planing, organizing, and reassess the progress.
خطأ شائع
الإداري الناجح- على خلاف ما يتصور الناس-ليس هو الإداري الذي لا يمكن أن يستغني العمل عن وجوده لحظة واحدة , بل على النقيض من ذلك تماما. الإداري الناجح هو الذي يستطيع تنظيم الأمور على نحو لا تعود معه للعمل حاجة إلى وجوده.
Do not waste your time and effort
23. Dont waste your time, money and your efforts to implements new ideas using men who have set of old fashion believe that can not be changed. Progress need bold thinkers, visionaries,and those who can think out of the box.
لا تضيع وقتك وجهدك
إن محاولة تطبيق أفكار جديدة بواسطة رجال يعتنقون أفكارا قديمة هي مضيعة للجهد والوقت.
Dont make things complex make it easy for the workers to understand, try to adopt to knew culture and ideas, motivate your workers, reward your workers and dont be cheap , you will win the heart of men by kindness , respect and generosity.
Thank you for reading
Steve Ramsey, Phd.
Calgary, Alberta- Canada.