Developing Leaders Around You

John C. Maxwell starts this important edition in his collection of many with a question.  I love the opportunity to ponder a good question and it is one of my favorite teaching methods for developing leaders.  Chapter one, page one begins with the book’s key question and a call to action…… 

Am I raising up potential leaders? 

Regardless of the size of your team, your ability to develop those around you into leaders will ultimately determine your success. This book is a mash up of topics around leadership. Mr. Maxwell offers plenty of U.S. sports analogies; basketball, baseball and football, which I could easily understand because I grew up playing sports and my parents watched all the major US sports. For those with limited sports knowledge, I do believe he adds enough context to understand the analogies. 

The book has ten short chapters, draws from a variety of wisdom models, and is sprinkled with powerful quotes.   One of my favorite quotes in chapter three comes from Poet Archibold MacLeish which is, “There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from experience.” Mr. Maxwell adds that leaders who learn this truth will develop successful track records over time.  

Developing the Leaders Around You offers plenty of new concepts for green leaders, and some good reminders for seasoned leaders on how to create a climate for potential leaders as well as ways to identify, nurture, and equip rising leaders.  It is an easy read that seems to encourage skimming.  At least that’s what I found myself doing once I picked it up at a used book store several years ago.   

That is until I reached chapter four and found myself highlighting heavily and taking notes. Chapter four is titled, Nurturing Potential Leaders, and offered me some fresh perspectives and approaches to consider for myself and my clients.  One I will share here from the book is the anacronym B.E.S.T.  It is a simple reminder of what rising leaders most need from those guiding them. 

B – Believe in them 

E – Encourage them 

S – Share with them 

T – Trust them 

I found chapter five, Equipping Potential Leaders, to be the most beneficial for me.  In this chapter, a new version of the 80/20 rule appeared.  Maxwell elaborated (using a sports analogy) that for the best outcomes, a leader should spend 80 percent of their time on things that require their greatest gifts and abilities.  This will keep the leader fulfilled. This prompted me to re-evaluate workloads among my team (and myself) and make improvements. 

A particularly important theme covered in chapter ten, The Leaders Lasting Contribution,  is focused on how leaders continue to evolve themselves. This incorporates learning from other leaders, soliciting feedback from the team, and spending time in self-evaluation to maintain accountability. Mr. Maxwell offers us the reminder that Developing the Leaders Around You also includes you!