“ How you lead determines how well you succeed .”
influence with you . Why ? Because they are constantly adding value to you every day .”
Another way he adds value is by encouraging others to add value to people . “ If you and the people in your organization are very intentional in adding value to people , it ’ s a game-changer ,” he said .
The Law Of Solid Ground
Maxwell defines this law by saying , “ Trust is the foundation of leadership .” He discovered this law as he was teaching leadership skills around the world . He began teaching the golden rule : Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself . “ That value is taught in every religion and in every culture in the world ,” Maxwell said . “ It ’ s a wonderful value , and I began to understand right then how important trust was . Trust is the foundation of leadership . It always has been . And it always will be .”
When Maxwell was asked to speak at the United Nations , he taught a lesson called “ Three Questions Every Follower Asks of Their Leader .” He chose this subject because he wanted something that would work universally , from dictatorships and monarchies to democracies . “ These work in any country , any culture , and it works in your company ,” Maxwell said .
3 Questions People Ask As They Look At You As A Leader
The first question people ask when they realize you are their leader is “ Do you like me ?”
“ It ’ s nice to have a leader who likes you ,” Maxwell said . “ It makes it easier .” He adds that if you don ’ t like the people you lead , you should “ go home and stay home .” “ If you don ’ t like the people you lead , it ’ s only a matter of time before you manipulate them ,” Maxwell said . “ And manipulation is always wrong .” When you manipulate people , you move people for your own personal advantage , and that ’ s always wrong . Leaders move people , and there is nothing wrong with that as long as it ’ s for mutual advantage , but you should not move people for your personal advantage . The second question people ask is “ Can you help me ?” That ’ s what makes you a leader . If you can ’ t help people and make things better in your company because you are leading it , then you aren ’ t fulfilling your leadership role . “ If I follow you and you ’ re going to lead me , are you going to make things better for me ?” Maxwell said . “ Because when you think about it , leaders make things better . In fact , our company slogan is ‘ Everyone deserves to be led well .’”
The third question is “ Can I trust you ?”
– John C . Maxwell
5 . 6 .
This is where you begin to understand the importance of good values . Maxwell teaches values around the world .
“ We ’ re asked by the president of the country to come in and teach values to small groups ,” Maxwell said . “ What we ’ ve found is that when people learn good values , they live those good values and become more valuable . When kids have good values inside , they need less validation on the outside . But when they lack good values on the inside , they need more validation .”
In the law of solid ground , trust is the foundation of relationships , and it ’ s an important , life-changing law . “ Go inside yourself for a moment as a leader and think of the people on your team ,” Maxwell said . “ Ask yourself these simple questions : ‘ Do I like them ? Do I make life better for everybody ? Can people trust me ?’”
The Law Of Priorities
Maxwell defines this law by saying that “ leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment .” The Pareto principle , named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto , who wrote about the 80 / 20 connection , states that for many outcomes , roughly 80 % of consequences come from 20 % of causes . You may have also heard this called the 80 / 20 rule . “ It ’ s all about priorities ,” Maxwell said . “ The Pareto principle basically says that if you have 10 things to do , if you ’ ll list them in order of importance , where No . 1 is truly No . 1 , if you ’ ll just do the top 2 out of the 10 , you ’ ll get an 80 % return on everything you want in your life . The 80 / 20 principle is powerful . Forget priorities for a moment . The top 20 % of the people in your organization give you 80 % of the return . We tend to spend 80 % of our time with the bottom 20 %, and we get very little return . Instead , we need to spend 80 % of the time with the top 20 % of the people .”
The 3 Rs
Maxwell teaches what he calls “ the three Rs .” The three Rs are what ’ s required of you , what gives you your greatest return , and what gives you your greatest reward . “ Your goal is to do the things required of you , the things that give you the greatest return , and the things that give you the most important reward ,” he said . “ When those are all the same things , you are in your sweet spot .”
While it ’ s important to learn and understand all the laws of leadership , Maxwell points out that no one practices all the laws . Read “ The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership .” Start learning and practicing leadership . When you do that and develop a passion to learn how to lead , you ’ ll spend the rest of your life becoming a better leader than you are now . “ Every leader can grow ,” Maxwell said , “ but it takes dedication to do so and a willingness to work for it .” If you take the time to learn the laws of leadership , you ’ ll get better at leadership . And when you get better at leadership , you ’ ll raise the level of your company .
To watch the video of John ’ s incredible session about the 21 Laws of Leadership at TMT ’ s top-level peer group event , go to MSPSuccessMagazine . com / Maxwell . n
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