Posts by John Maxwell
Leading difficult people: Critical Carl
There’s room in any organization for every type of person. From the big-picture person to the detail-conscious, all can make a valid contribution. But sometimes a team member’s strength can be their weakness. Attention to detail can become fixation on the negative. And the voice of reason turns into the voice of discouragement. This is…
Read MoreLeading difficult people: Disorganized Debbie
Do you know anyone who’s always busy but never seems to get anything done? Maybe this person works for you. How do you lead someone who’s motivated and a doer, but still doesn’t contribute any meaningful results? Meet Disorganized Debbie. She works hard and wants to succeed. Unfortunately, she looks like a rocking horse: always…
Read MoreLeading difficult people: Excited Eddie
I love spending time with enthusiastic people. I’m pretty high-energy myself. An enthusiastic follower can be a joy to work with. His excitement about his work has the potential to energize the entire team. With one exception. Let’s talk about Excited Eddie. He’s got loads of enthusiasm for his work, but only to a point.…
Read MoreLeading difficult people: Slumped Susan
Here’s a truth that I’ve believed for a long time: Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less. If a leader has no one following, he’s only taking a walk. Of course, not everyone is easy to influence. Some followers are difficult to connect with. Last week we talked about the art of influencing difficult people,…
Read MoreDo You Remember the Time?
“Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.” ~ Cicero What memories does Christmas bring to your mind? Perhaps you remember the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning to find a pile of presents under the tree. Maybe you recall sledding, snowball fights, or sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace. You may even…
Read MoreGreat Expectations
A primary responsibility of leadership is to communicate expectations, both with words and actions. When leaders carefully and consistently set expectations, they engineer a flourishing work environment. However, when leaders abdicate their duty to communication expectations, chaos ensues. Here are six rules of thumb to follow as you set expectations in your organization. 1) Set…
Read MoreThe High Road Principle
“It’s nothing personal; it’s just business,” is a commonly heard phrase in the workplace. However, I tend to disagree with anyone who tries to impersonalize business. At its heart, commerce is a human enterprise, founded upon relationships between people. Most of us spend a majority of our waking hours in our business or at work,…
Read MoreA Leader’s Inner Circle
Months before President Obama took the oath of office he began assembling an inner circle of advisors. He and his transition team painstakingly pored over the qualifications of candidates to identify the strongest leaders for cabinet posts. In methodically vetting future leaders of his administration, President Obama demonstrated that he understands the law of the…
Read MoreBig Mo Comes to Those Who Know and Do
How do leaders generate positive momentum? It’s very simple: by learning and then applying what they have learned. In the knowledge economy, leaders are distinguished by their ability to process information and put it to use.There are three ways in which leaders interact with information, and each impacts momentum. 1) Ignorance The recipe for perpetual…
Read MoreLeading a Life of Intentional Influence
In the classic Christmas film, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is given a tremendous gift: the opportunity to see what life would be like without him. As he wanders through a world that has no memory of his existence, George is dismayed by the plight of his friends and family. Devoid of his influence,…
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