The Law Of The Lid Relates A Leader 's Level Of Effectiveness

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell

In Leadership 101 by John Maxwell, the author uses practical application points to give guidance on what it takes to be good leader. The book is divided in three parts, linking the development, traits and impacts of a leader, with a series of questions that the author answers. He also uses real-life stories and quotes from leaders such as the McDonald brothers and Princess Diana, to demonstrate leadership principles. The author also uses these examples and a detailed framework to help the readers enhance the leadership abilities they already possess. Maxwell suggests that in order to be a successful leader you need to; Follow your vision and bring others with you, produce a lasting legacy, grow the loyalty of your followers, make continual

"There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust." Klaus Balkenhol

Maxwell states that true leaders are not solo act leaders but team leaders, as he gets his point across with quotes from different people. He also gives plenty of examples of great leaders form past to present in all various types of fields, from coaches to corporation leaders. As Maxwell puts it, a good leader seeks to accomplish goals as a team, while equipping team members for leadership.

“Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the

Regarding leadership or good leader, some of his opinions are similar and some of his opinions are different to opinion that the author in the text book argue. In this textbook, the authors define leadership as the process to affect other people for achieving an organization’s goals. It is similar to interviewee argument. Yet, interviewee emphasized the power in leadership. He states that it is very important to use the power fairly and ethically. He also argues that leaders need a strong relationship with lots of excellent in-group members for forming the power. It is in line with Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) that assumes leadership is formed through transacting mutual interests between leaders and followers.

As a student, I am learning to appreciate the process toward transformational leadership. After analyzing the characteristics of effective leaders on the Maxwell D2L discussions, I began to assess my leadership abilities. In my everyday life as a parent, I have led my children by having a significant influence over them. During this process of raising my children, I relied on my values to transform them into successful adults. My focus was to invest my time in each of my children by developing their individual talents. Maxwells’ Laws of Leadership gave me the insight to consider my role as a transformational leader within my small family group.

I believe this statement is related to the law of legacy because it is action oriented. John Maxwell states in his description of the law of legacy that leaders

"Leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully…they know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to fully deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others in order to gain their cooperation and support. Finally they know how to achieve their goals" (Ingram, 2004).

Leadership is defined as the ability to obtain followers (Maxwell). Obtaining a following is dependent on one's influence on others. Essentially, everyone influences someone, whether one intentionally influences a

In Kouzers and Posner’s view, leadership is to mobilize others to get extraordinary things done; and it is not about personality but it’s about behavior.

Leadership is something that comes natural for some and is a developed skill for others. If we take a look at the role of the leader, we look for certain traits in a person. For example, in grade school, there always seems to be clicks, large and small groups of people that cling together. When we examine these social sub-groups, we often find that there is always one person that leads the group. This person is usually the person that brings the group together. I remember being in social circles with people that I knew I would never be friends with. However, we may have one or two people in common, thus we remain friends. Overtime, we

Maxwell doesn’t claim that there are only 21 principles of leading. His intention through this book is to show what the laws of leadership are. These laws hold true, no matter which field you intend to lead in.

There are many kinds of leaders; some lead through position and authority, while others lead through inspiration and vision. Some people are simply natural born leaders. However, whether one was born a leader or has to become a leader, all great leaders spend time developing their traits. Similarly, when you train for a sport, you first learn to develop the fundamentals, and then you work to master and apply them. I’ve been told I am a born leader, but have always sought to improve my leadership abilities through experience. Maxwell states, “The learned leader; has seen leadership modeled most of life, has learned leadership through training, and has self-discipline to become a great leader” (Maxwell, 93). This statement is reflective of my experience during my military tenure, and what it means to me is; leadership must be developed in practice, as well as in theory.

“Leadership is influencing others by your character, humility, and example. It is recognizable when others follow in word and deed without obligation or coercion”.( Sonny Newman, president of contract manufacturer EE Technologies)