The Theory Of Leadership By John 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

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

Before going through this journey of self-discovery, my view of leadership was accurately described by John C. Maxwell “ Leadership is influence.” (Maxwell, para. 25, 2012). I believed, before taking this class and Northouse’s (2013) assessments, leaders were defined by the extent to which they could influence others to achieve company goals. I thought that, when discussing leadership, the leader was the most important aspect of the leader-member dyad and that it was the leader who had the greatest influence over how successful the organization was. Leaders themselves, in my view, should have been the focus of leadership studies and it should have been up to the leader to develop his/her skills in

The topic of leadership continues to attract several theoretical arguments as the practice of leadership varies depending on a variety of factors (Loveridge, 2014). However, the contributions made by John Wooden in transforming leadership are impeccable, with his many years as a basketball coach earning him admiration and success in equal measure. John Wooden, therefore, explains how leaders can get the maximum potential out of their followers through enhancing the individual abilities and shaping the personal efforts in a manner that guarantees personal peak performances and subsequent improvement of team or organizational performance.

I chose this book in hope that it could help me understand the difference between managing and leading. In addition, I wanted to gain more knowledge and tools to help myself grow as a leader and help develop all of my subordinates that I may have to time throughout my career. The book jacket for this book is ultimately why I decided to read the book because it truly grabbed my attention. I found it interesting that John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author (Maxwell, 2013). Moreover, the book jacket continued to catch my attention by stating to be more than a boss people are required to follow, you must master the ability to inspire and invest in people (Maxwell, 2013). I particularly found the “invest in people” line most interesting and caused me to want to read and learn more about the authors perspective on leadership.

James MacGregor Burns said it best, “Leadership is leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations-the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations-of both leaders and followers. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their fellow 's values and motivations”. As one reads this statement, one naturally reflects on personal leader experiences or ones learned through academic or professional studies. Abraham Lincoln, especially during his presidency, exemplified Burns definition of a leader.

Chapter sixteen discusses various leadership theories which can implemented by leaders to achieve success. The choice of leadership theory differs from leader to leader as they possess different vision and way of managing. A theory isn 't always perfect in itself, it is the endless effort of the leaders which makes the theory a perfect one. Two approaches of leadership that I prefer are Situational Leadership Theory and Servant Leadership Theory. Among many theories I prefer these two because I tend to practice those principles most of the time and I assume these are theories that I truly tend to continue in a long run.

“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” John Maxwell. Not everyone is equipped to be a leader. Great leaders have the ability to establish a set direction and principles to guide their companies in an efficient way. It is believed that certain people possess traits that make them good leaders and researcher focus in personality, social, physical, or intellectual qualities that would identify them as leaders from the rest of the people. A few ideas have been developed over the years in the effort of define leadership. One of this is the Fiedler contingency model and Hersey and Blanchard’s Situation Theory. One of the situations that comes to mind is the story found in the Bible about Joshua when he was selected to spy the land of Canaan, and return to report on what was found, the land flowed with milk and honey. While others may only see problems before it true leaders can see possibilities and endure the opposition until they see an open door.

A large amount of credit is given to Bass 's transformational leadership theory identifies four aspects of

Organizations depend on the management and leadership skills of individuals in order to be successful. Leaders do not have to be managers but are equally important. Leaders are individuals who possess traits, behavior and abilities to influence others to accomplish tasks and other needed objectives for the company. Leadership is defined as “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization. . . .” (House et al., 1999, pg. 184).

Over the years, a great deal of time, and research has been dedicate to the study of leadership. Even with extensive data on the topic, many still disagree on what leadership really means. Hence, leadership is a word that has many different meanings and different researched theories associated with it. On a basic level, leadership involves having and establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with followers, respecting followers, and leading an organization with excellence while ensuring that everyone is part of the team. Leadership is also a method by which a leader uses his or her influence towards getting a group of followers to take ownership or buy into a vision.

Within each organization there should be effective leaders who should be able to maintain an organization’s vision and mission. These leaders are part of the management that can effectively lead a growing organization to succeed. There are various tools such as character traits, influence, persuasion, and change which can help an effective leader manage. A manger/leader should be prepared to persuade and influence others by using their character traits. Theories of leadership, management, and influence and change will be a major topic in this paper. This paper will discuss each of the elements of leadership and management, and how influence, persuasion, and change can affect the outcome.

“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)

The next theme that Gombrich incorporates into his book is leadership amongst societies and organizations. I understand that Gombrich has used the theme of leadership in his book, due to the major influence on society and the organization of communities today. Leadership is what one does with the power to control those united in a society, along with the responsibility and respect gained by the public. Although people may be united under a common cause, there may not be someone to direct that power into a field that is effective towards their cause. Leadership guides a community to the right path when faced with challenges, and is assumed to take control of the power granted, using it effectively. An example is that the pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and makes a lot of decisions on how to keep the Church organized, guiding the community to their ideal goals and beliefs in which they want to live by. Leadership transforms society, because without someone to direct the power and control the community, there would be chaos, with a community that is dysfunctional and unorganized. I believe that Gombrich has accepted the importance of

For decade’s individuals, companies, and organizations have spent an unprecedented amount of money on researching, molding, modeling and working to define what a leader is and what characteristics make successful leaders. Despite all the research, there is not a quick answer or even full agreement as to what makes an individual an effective leader. The definition of a leader is “someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.” (Robbins, Decenzo, Coulter, 2015. P.370)