Developing the Leaders Around You - John C. Maxwell

What do you do to be a good leader? What are your best tactics for managing excellence? Learn with the book "Developing the Leaders Around You", by John Maxwell, that what often hinders the growth of the organization is poor directed and disjointed management and also, how to solve these problems.

Here you will learn some tips to recruit the best employees, design goals and work towards a better result in less time.

In this summary we will cover the bests insights from John Maxwell that he brings in the book, it is an easy way to improve your management skills and start extracting the best from your employees, giving them more freedom and power!

Got interested to learn these lessons? Stay with us in this summary!

About the book "Developing the Leaders Around You"

The book "Developing the Leaders Around You" was first published in 1995, and has fundamental leadership tips ranging from the essential characteristics of a successful manager to the process of recruiting and training new leaders works.

About the author John C. Maxwell

John Maxwell is a writer, lecturer and pastor. He serves on the board of Indiana Wesleyan University, is considered the number one leader in business by the American Management Association and the most influential expert in leadership and the art of managing people in the world by Business Insider.

To whom is this book indicated?

This book is recommended for leaders who want to have adequate guidance on running an organization and in the process of creating successful leaders goes.

John C. Maxwell knows the answer to build a successful business, and how the leadership you and the people around you can determine your organization's impact on the world.

Main ideas of the book "Developing the Leaders Around You"

• The most important task of a leader is to keep good professionals around;
• A successful leader must be an agent of change;
• The current leadership must know how to identify potential leaders;
• Equip a group means to transmit all the work of vision;
• The development of leaders requires time, attention and commitment;
• An influencer of people must be personally secure;
• A successful leader communicates about the company's goals and objectives;
• The ability to become a leader starts with desire.

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Overview: The importance of a team

A successful leader needs to understand, first, that he needs people.

The idea of collectivity and the notion of the importance of working in groups must be grounded in an organization.

One of the main mistakes among leaders is the misconception about what it means to be in charge of a business. Most of the time the sense of maximum authority is so much that it inflates the ego and the notion of who is in power.

But what people really need to understand is that the leader needs to care about forming other leaders, that is, to enable people to occupy this position that is so difficult and at the same time so desired.

The true leader must motivate people and be able to develop projects in which they help employees to reach the highest degree of a career.

It is about understand that the right way to win and achieve success is to use cooperation and not competitiveness.

Your success depends on the network of other employees. These skills can only be exposed through trained and available leadership. In other words, there is a link in which everyone needs each other.

We know how complex it is to run an organization. The act of leading goes far beyond orders and managing people, this function requires overcoming challenges.

Leadership challenges

According to "Developing The Leaders Around You", the biggest challenge facing leadership is the need to create methods to attract potential leaders.

For this to happen, proactivity must be one of the main characteristics. But not only that. The leader needs to be a modifying agent and this goes beyond identifying problems and resolving adversities.

He needs to create a positive atmosphere in the organization to the point of encouraging people to overcome obstacles and do good things.

There is a necessity of creating an enabling climate to build potential leaders. This is what John Maxwell calls as "momentum".

In order to initiate the importance of this moment the leadership must understand three factors:

1. Recognize the value of that moment;
2. Know the factors that triggered that situation;
3. Identify the necessary resources.

But what is this "momentum"?

It is the favorable environment and the necessary impetus to make a change, project an idea, observe an employee and seek some result.

And what are the essential requirements of a potential leader?

John Maxwell explains that positivity, obedience, growth potential, resilience, integrity, as well as discipline, are some points that must be taken into account when thinking about possible successors to leadership.

Overview: The technique of forming new leaders

This technique is based on four basic pillars stated by John Maxwell:

1. Credibility;
2. Incentive;
3. Sharing;
4. Confidence.

These characteristics are responsible for nourishing employees and always keeping them motivated and productive.

For this technique to be devised, leaders need to rely on successful people. It is called modeling. That is, you enjoy a winning model and then you become one for your entire team.

In this ritual of choice, it is also important that you do this consciously. Initially make an analysis of points such as the character of the chosen person and the credibility with what does the work.

If these points are favorable, the next steps to be analyzed will be the properties of the leadership and, if the chosen model is appropriate for reproduction. That is, if it is appropriate to the company's culture and can be added to the team's activities.

Formulating a successful group requires much more than professional experiences. Dealing with people require dealing with feelings, relationships and emotions. Investing in time is also an excellent method for bringing together the best employees.

People need the leader, to offer your time and attention. Credibility is essential and is entirely related to the motivation and progress of the results.

People want to impress the leader, but this is only possible if you place expectations on them. Encouragement has to come from you. But, also understand that for the formation of leaders to be efficient, it is wise to use consistency.

Nobody believes in fickle people. Putting trust goes beyond believing, what really makes the difference is the continuity of credibility. The leader trainer must be aware of the employees' self-image.

Don't just focus on hard work

If there is no positivity, people cannot successfully carry out their activities.

The coach of potential leaders needs to be concerned not with the simple fact of training, but of equipping for this event. There is a difference in meaning. Training brings the idea of mechanization, while the process of equipping has to do with training and continuous learning.

Understand that in this process the individuality of each individual must be respected. The equipment used in the training of professionals needs to be adapted according to the skill of each employee.

Overview: The art of developing potentials

John Maxwell considers this step difficult because it requires time and a lot of patience. Therefore, few leaders reach this level of leadership because they give up before this stage is completed.

At this stage but you develop the motivation, you need to study the pre-existing motivations of its employees. This can be initiated through communication.

A good leader must be a good listener. It is through dialogue and information exchange that increases motivation, strengthens links and creates an environment conducive to ideas and suggestions.

In order to be a good potential developer, you first need to carry out a personal growth plan. One of the main mistakes of managers is to imagine that professional evolution is something natural and proper to human beings.

It's quite the opposite. Growth needs to be modeled, planned and occasionally restructured.

If you don't strengthen this idea of projecting self-growth, you can't help someone else in the development process.

The book "Developing the Leaders Around You" cites some fundamental tips that help this process. They are:

• Plan a time for growth;
• Write what has been learned;
• Practice what you wrote;
• Share experiences.

Did the planning go wrong? Be calm!

It is necessary to rethink strategies and adopt new possibilities. The problem is that the human being has difficulty reformulating plans.

Giving up something that was previously designed is complicated, especially if the change of plans has to come from the employee.

Understand that this adaptability process has to go through four phases to generate a more comfortable and understandable situation for both. These phases are:

1. Visual: People need to see plans on paper to get an idea of what can be done;
2. Emotional: It is necessary to have time for the information seen to be processed;
3. Experience: In this phase, people are already prepared to face the new;
4. Conviction: This last stage, conceptualizes as the moment when the new idea is already part of the thought and there is the availability to execute the plan.

Understanding these steps will make it easier for you to identify which phase the potential leader will be in.

During this process, there may be divergent thoughts, some criticism or perhaps some disagreements.

It is up to you, the leader, to develop your emotional intelligence and to be personally safe, to work on your emotions and, above all, to be convinced of your actions and your work as a leader.

This is the secret of a successful leader.

Overview: The reflection of a good leader

Developing potential leaders is great, but for John Maxwell, building a team of leaders is sensational. Working with a prepared team is much more successful and everything works in less time.

Forming the dream team

Well, a successful team first of all needs to be united, communicative and experienced, but not only that.

Respect must be part of the primary characteristics. Collective interests must be above individual interests. But for that, team members need to be motivated and rewarded for these choices.

Remember that positive reinforcement must be part of the strategies in your organization. Bringing benefits to your employees, bonuses or career plan expansion are good examples of good incentives.

It is important to be aware of the importance of each one and that the role of each member is explicit with regard to the development of the company.

A successful team is committed to success. Even when something is not going well, the group remains focused and motivated for the common good.

Make the right choices

For all of this to work harmoniously, it is necessary to have a good recruitment of employees.

Choosing the right people is vital to your personal growth and the art of delegation is essential to your staying in power.

This is a powerful tool because it gives a "start" to the group's initiative and increases individual and collective productivity. Working in the people development process is rewarding. And it goes far beyond developing the skills of potential leaders.

Adding values to someone is contributing to learning and, consequently, to people's quality of life. Not only for increasing knowledge and self-esteem, but also for launching a more expanded vision for developing leaders.

If you are interested in building a group of managers, empower them. Empowerment can be constituted by three characteristics:

1. Opportunity;
2. Freedom;
3. Trust.

It's built over time. Understand that you, as a leader trainer, contribute significantly to their lives and in return personal values are added to you.

According to "Developing the Leaders Around You", loyalty, friendship, exchange of experience and increased influence are some benefits provided by the formation of leaders in development.

Contribution from a leader

Encourage and reproduce the generation of new leaders. Trapped knowledge is wasted. But what are the characteristics of a potential leader?

There are 3 fundamental points for a person to become a leader. They are:

1. Desire;
2. Empathy;
3. And pleasure to add knowledge.

A successful leader needs to make his team aware that change is essential.

But not only that, you must show step by step how to do this in order to create efficient motivation and, above all, real commitment to the necessary change.

That makes all the difference.

Think about it.

What do other authors say about it?

In "The 27 Challenges Managers Face", Bruce Tulgan talks about 27 challenges and solutions for everyone in management positions.

Another work that also talks about leadership is "The Leadership Pipeline". Its authors, Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter and James Noel, share that leadership is a set of skills that can be learned and must be practiced.

Brené Brown, in the book "Dare to Lead", says that a leader must take responsibility for recognizing the potential of people and their ideas and encouraging them to develop that potential. He knows that true power is that which is shared with everyone.

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

• Exchange competitiveness for cooperation. Value your team;
• Recruitment of employees is essential and their training is essential. Be aware of skills;
• An approved leader has a proven track record. Analyze your experiences;
• Conveying confidence is important, but forming an alliance is vital;
• Leadership only works on the basis of trust;
• Any good orientation starts with a good relationship. Communicate;
• Success is planned. Develop a personal growth strategy;
• Divergence of opinion does not mean rebellion. It means intelligence. Value opinions;
• Individualism wins trophy, but collectivity collects success. Encourage your team.

Did you like this summary of the book "Developing the Leaders Around You"?

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