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Developing the Leader Within You
Book

Developing the Leader Within You

John C. Maxwell
Thomas Nelson, 2000
First Edition: 1993
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Editorial Rating

7

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Recommendation

In this early work, leadership expert John C. Maxwell lays out 10 principles of leadership and team building. According to Maxwell, leaders are not born; instead, they develop their skills throughout a lifetime of practice. Perhaps because he was a minister for 25 years, Maxwell is somewhat overly fond of well-worn anecdotes and even ditties, but some readers will find that his charts, pull-quotes, bulleted lists and cartoons help make his ideas easily accessible. getAbstract recommends this book to beginning managers who want to learn leadership and to experienced ones who want to progress farther.

Summary

Learning to Lead

No matter how good you are at your work, how ambitious your goals are, and how much energy and stamina you have, if you're not a leader, none of it guarantees your success, since, "The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others."

A group of people was strolling through a village. When they passed an old man, one of them asked condescendingly, "Were any great men born in this village?" "Nope," the old man answered, "Only babies." The moral of the story: Although some people seem to be "born leaders," most need to learn leadership from experienced role models.

You can use the following 10 principles to become a mature leader:

Principle One: "The Definition of Leadership: Influence"

Leaders need followers, whom they attract because of their influence. Everyone has influence with at least a few people. In fact, everyone is a leader at some times and a follower at others. The difference between the average person and the leader is scope.

Leadership has five successive components; each one depends upon the one that precedes it.

  1. "Position: People follow...

About the Author

John C. Maxwell develops leadership materials and has consulted for Fortune 500 companies and professional sports organizations. He is the author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 360 Degree Leader.

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