John Maxwell on the Three Phases of His Journey Pt. 2
The first phase of leadership is gathering followers; the second is developing leaders.
If you just have followers you can add but you can’t multiply.
John Maxwell
Having followers isn’t a bad thing, it’s just not the only thing.
John Maxwell in his own words (0:32):
Leaders who develop leaders:
- Extend the impact of their vision.
- Deepen the influence of their lives.
- Enrich people around them.
- Multiply results.
Successful leaders move from addition to multiplication by developing leaders.
Stingy prevents multiplication:
Stingy leaders can’t multiply results.
- Stingy with knowledge. Knowledge makes fearful leaders feel powerful. They don’t share knowledge, they hoard it.
- Stingy with permission.
- Stingy with praise.
- Stingy with authority.
- Stingy with feedback. You’re doing the best you can. Growing beyond your current capacity requires insight from those outside yourself.
Top 7 qualities of leaders who develop leaders:
Developing leaders is about character first, technique second.
- Belief in others. Who do you believe in? The challenge of developing leaders is trusting that those who aren’t there yet can be.
- Open-heartedness. Who are you vulnerable with?
- Forgiveness. Progress requires second chances.
- Passion for excellence. How are you pressing for higher standards?
- Courage to address tough issues. How do you address negative patterns?
- Patience to let others find and test their own answers. How can you be hands-off yet near-by?
- Humility to enjoy lifting others beyond yourself.
What prevents leaders from developing leaders?
How can leaders develop leaders?
Phase three of the leader’s journey tomorrow!
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Read insights from Facebook fans: People grow as leaders when _______.
Maxwell’s latest book: “Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership.”
Dan, Persistence, patience, will help develop performance, the maturing will come if time is given. Some people are content being followers at which point accept the fact and nurture the individuals that have desire and willingness to lead and the others can still follow if they so choose. If we get them to believe in themselves we have accomplished something, if they believe in others they are progressing on their own journey. Happy Friday!
Thanks Tim. Impatient leaders can’t develop others. Development takes time. Great challenge.
Dear Dan,
Fear of being led prevents leaders from developing leaders. Leaders should have adaptability to be led, if needed. As we know, leadership is not a position. So, leaders should be ready to accept that others can have better impact. As long as leaders intend to lead, things generally go well, but sooner someone question them, they feel threatened. This happens to self-centric leaders.
Leaders should be open to have mentor and encourage others to lead others. They should provide opportunity, create opportunity etc. Those who do not provide opportunity for others, are not leaders. They do not want to develop others.
So, leaders can develop others by keeping their intention clear. They should create platform for people to jump. If they make platform for only few people, then they are not leaders. When they create platform as legacy, they are truly leaders.
Thanks Dr. Gupta. Successful leaders are willing to be led. When we are willing to be led we provide opportunities for others to lead. Glad you joined in.
I thought I’d just throw in a bit of a curved ball and see how you would accommodate your lone ranger in these practices? Some people, often highly intelligent and a great asset for these skills have neither leadership of follower potential and I guess probably end up as “experts”. The discussions I’ve read so far haven’t addressed this issue as far as I can tell. I went to an author talk the other night by Graeme Simpsion who wrote The Rosie Project and the Rosie Process two novels where the protagonist could be described as asbergers but isn’t in the book. Simpsion manages to write both books in the first person from this character’s perspective and it is quite intriguing watching him grapple with the rules we usually take for granted.
Thanks roweee. Wonderful addition. I think you are right. I’ve been involved with experts who aren’t equipped to lead and don’t play well with others. They are important to any organization if we can learn to protect and leverage them. (And protect others from them.)
I had to add this comment because I attended an author talk with Graeme Simpsion author of the Rosie Project and the Rosie Process the other night. His main character Don has been described as asbergers by readers, although Simpsion never defines him. The novel is narrated by Don throughout and Simpsion does an excellent job of maintaining Don’s voice right through. Don is constantly getting into trouble at work and socially for his behavior but proves his worthiness. They are currently working on a film. A very funny and insightful read.