John Maxwell: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Thomas Nelson, Introduction

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1 John Maxwell: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Thomas Nelson, Summarised by George Wells This summary was written as a weekly to the staff in George s Department. The Some things to think about sections are by George and were geared for the staff in their context. Introduction Maxwell (51 when he wrote this book) has been in leadership positions for almost 30 years, and has led four companies of his own. His main focus is on leadership consulting and training. I like this quote from his website: "Everything rises and falls on leadership. If I can make others become better leaders, it can make a positive impact in every aspect of their lives. That's really the heart of what I want to do - add value to people's lives. That's my greatest desire, and my greatest privilege". The book is his attempt to answer the question "If you were to take everything you've learned about leadership over the years and boil it down into a short list, what would it be?". The book uses a lot of examples, both from Maxwell's personal experiences as a leader and from other leaders. Some of it is a little "American", but we'll try not to hold that against him! There are four key points to bear in mind as we work through the book: 1) The laws can be learned. They are not unobtainable goals, although they may take more or less effort to put into practice, depending on one's natural ability. 2) The laws can stand alone. While complementary, they do not form a sequence and can be learned and applied in any order. 3) The laws carry consequences. "Apply the laws and people will follow you"! 4) These laws are the foundation of leadership. They must be applied to be of any use. Law 1: The Law of the Lid Leadership Ability Determines a Person's Level of Effectiveness This really comes to the heart of why leadership ability is important. "The lower an individual's ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness". To illustrate this principle Maxwell goes a detailed examination of the success of the McDonald's organisation. The original McDonald brothers turned a small drive-in restaurant into a highly successful fastfood and franchise operation. However, their vision was rather lacking. When the first franchisee said he wanted to call his restaurant McDonald's, the brothers response was "why?!". In three years they sold fifteen franchises, only ten of which actually opened. During this time Ray Kroc, the owner of a milk-shake machine company, who supplied McDonald's, caught the vision. He bought a franchise that he could use as a model and started to build an organisation. In four years he had 100 restaurants; another four years later there were 500. After seven years he bought out the McDonald brothers for $2.7million. Today there are something like resturants in 100 countries. What Kroc brought to the company was leadership, both in vision and selfsacrifice (he did not draw a salary for the first eight years, but took out personal loans to help get the organisation going). "The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be. Whatever you will accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead". Maxwell also makes the point that this is recognised in business and politics: if a company is struggling, the shareholders will often toss out the leadership; if the country's in a mess, the voters will toss out the governing party (certain examples just to our North excepted!); when a sports team is in trouble, they will often replace the coach. Another example he gives is Apple: Steve Wozniak, while the brains behind the technology was not a great

2 leader - it took Steve Jobs to build a highly successful company. One last quote: "You can find smart, talented people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership". Law 2: The Law of Influence The True Measure of Leadership is Influence - Nothing More, Nothing Less John Maxwell starts this chapter with the observation that leadership IS influence. He illustrates this with the story of Princess Diana, who used the position and title that she obtained by marrying Prince Wotsisname to gain incredible influence. Even after her divorce and the loss of the position and title she continued to have an ever-increasing impact on society. A specific example that he mentions is the fact that the Clinton administration changed its stand on the banning of landmines following a meeting with her, just a few months before her death. Colin Powell: "You have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow you everywhere if only out of curiosity"! Maxwell also discusses a number of misconceptions or myths about leadership: 1) The Management Myth: Leading and managing are not the same thing (despite many so-called "leadership" books that really deal with management). "...leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes". 2) The Entrepeneur Myth: Just because someone can persuade you to buy some product or service does not make them a leader. This calls for short-term persuasion, rather than long-term influence. 3) The Knowledge Myth: Rather close to home, Maxwell points to the fact that universities are filled with highly intelligent and knowledgable people, who are utterly incapable of leadership (I'm sure we can all think of examples!). 4) The Pioneer Myth: "Being first isn't always the same as leading". The example he gives here is Edmund Hilary. While he was the first to reach the summit of Everest, that expedition was led by John Hunt. When Hilary travelled to the South Pole, it was under the leadership of Sir Vivian Fuchs! 5) The Position Myth: This is probably one of the most common misconceptions about leadership - that it is based on title or position. The example that Maxwell gives here is when Maurice Saatchi was dismissed as CEO of the Saatchi and Saatchi advertising firm by the shareholders. When he left, several of the top executives followed him, as did a number of major accounts, including British Airways and Mars (as in Bars). Saatchi lost his position and title, but clearly still had the influence (i.e. was the real leader). In emphasising the point that "Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less", Maxwell gives an example from the Denver Broncos (an American "football" team). The coach of the Broncos, Dan Reeves, was successful, but had a a number of disagreements with the deputy coach, Mike Shanahan, and one of the key players. The problem was that Shanahan had the influence with the player - Reeves' title and position were useless in the face of this. Several years later, after leaving the team, Shanahan was invited back as head coach and the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl under his leadership. The next scenario that Maxwell gives is that of church leadership. He quotes Bill Hybels (leader of the biggest church in North America, Willow Creek Community Church, near Chicago): "The church is the most leadership-intensive enterprise in society". While possibly a suprising claim, Hybels' argument is that church leaders have no "leverage": they can't fire people, they can't pay them more, none of the conventional levers that leaders can use in the business world apply in volunteer organisations like churches. "[In voluntary orgaisations] leaders have only their influence to aid them". "If the leader has no influence... [people] won't follow". As an encouraging example showing that the ability to influence people can be developed, Maxwell gives some background on Abraham Lincoln. As a young man Lincoln was appointed as a captain (title and position) in the militia. Apparently, he was unmitigated disaster, and ended the war as a private! Later in life he had undistinguished terms as an elected politician at state and national level. Fortunately, he developed as Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 2 of 29)

3 a leader and became a person of great influence and impact on the entire nation. Maxwell ends this chapter with one of my favourite quotes from the book: "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk"! Can you think of an occasion when in a meeting (perhaps Senate or Faculty Board) someone other than the person with the title and position (VC, Dean) has clearly been leading/influencing the group? Who has had the greatest influence in your life? Who do you influence? Law 3: The Law of Process Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day The point of this law is rather obvious, but often overlooked or neglected in our "instant coffee, microwavable world", namely that leadership ability is something that is developed gradually over a long period of time. Maxwell likens this to the process of financial investment, where great financial gains take time and perseverance. He illustrates this with a story of an elderly spinster, who retired from her job with the IRS in the 1940's with a salary of $3 150 per annum. When she retired she had saved $5 000, which she invested in the stock market. When she died fifty years later she had amassed a fortune worth $22 million! "Becoming a leader is lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful. What matters most is what you do day by day over the long haul." "Although it's true that some people are born with greater natural [leadership] gifts than others, the ability to lead is really a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved. But that process does not happen overnight." One of the keys to the growth and development of leadership is dedication to learning and personal growth: "Successful leaders are learners". Maxwell characterises the learning process of a typical leader into the following four stages: 1) I don't know what I don't know (unaware and ineffective) 2) I know what I don't know (aware and ineffective) 3) I grow and I know and it starts to show (aware and effective) 4) I simply go because of what I know (unaware and effective) Stage 1 is where many people are: failing to recognise the importance of leadership, often under the impression that it is only important for a few people. Stage 2 marks the transition into awareness of the lack of ability to lead. This often occurs when someone is thrust into a position of leadership and realises no one is following! Stage 3 is where dedication to learning and development starts to bear fruit. Growth may be gradual but will come with time. "Make yourself a lifelong learner of leadership... you can become a great leader, but it won't happen in a day." Stage 4 is where the lessons learned in stage 3 no longer have to be conciously remembered and thought about, but become second nature. Maxwell ends this chapter with a detailed examination of Theodore Roosevelt's life. Roosevelt was apparently a skinny, puny, sickly child. From his early teenage years he started to tackle this with a vigourous, daily exercise routine. At the age of 55, after retiring from politics, he led a group to explore an uncharted South American river! His political career was also a lengthy process of development as he held jobs ranging from police commissioner to president. He became president when Mckinley was assassinated, which led people to question his leadership ability, but he went on to win the next election by the widest margin of any president up to that time. His term of office was marked by a number of remarkable achievements, not least establishing the USA as a world power, winning a Nobel peace prize, and seeing the Panama canal project through. "If you want to be a leader, the good news is that you can do it. Everyone has the potential, but it isn't Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 3 of 29)

4 accomplished overnight. It requires perseverance. And you absolutely cannot ignore the Law of Process. Leadership doesn't develop in a day. It takes a lifetime." Where would you put yourself in Maxwell's four stages of awareness and effectiveness as a leader? Gradual processes are often easily overlooked. If you reflect on your life what signs of growth and development as a leader can you identify? What steps can you take to further develop your leadership ability? Law 4: The Law of Navigation Anyone Can Steer the Ship, But It Takes a Leader to Chart the Course Maxwell opens this chapter with a very telling and detailed comparison of the expeditions to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott. Amundsen's original goal was the North Pole, but he changed direction when Perry was the first to reach the North Pole. Even after this fairly drastic change of direction, his attention to the details of planning for the trip was absolutely meticulous. He had studied the methods used by the Eskimos and chose to use dog sleds for transport. He had left supply depots all along his route to minimise the amount of stores that they would need to carry with them. He also equipped his team with the very best equipment. The worst problem they encountered was an infected tooth that required extraction en route! Robert Scott, on the other hand, dashed into the expedition in a highly cavalier fashion. He decided to use a combination of ponies and mechanised transport (in 1911!) - neither lasted very long, forcing the men to carry their own supplies. The clothing and other equipment that he had selected was of poor quality leading to serious problems with frostbite and snow-blindness. His supply depots were poorly stocked, poorly marked and too far apart, which led to major problems with food and fuel shortages and dehydration. They eventually arrived at the Pole a month after Amundsen. However, that was the least of their problems! On the way back (carrying 15kg of geological samples that Scott refused to leave behind!) things went from bad to worse until the last three surviving team members died 250km from their base camp. "Because [Scott] was unable to live by the Law of Navigation, he and his companions died by it... Followers need leaders able to effectively navigate for them. The truth is that nearly anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. That is the Law of Navigation." Maxwell makes the statement that good leaders not only control the direction in which their organisation moves, but also have a vision for the journey, or visualise it before they set out. This means that they can plan ahead, get the right people on the team, recognise potential obstacles ahead of time and plan around them, etc. Maxwell quotes Leroy Eims: "A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees further than others see, and who sees before others do". He also makes the point that this becomes vitally important as the size of the organisation grows, due to the inertia involved in trying to change the direction once committed. Maxwell then gives a number of important steps to ensure the best chance of success: 1) Navigators draw on past experience Past successes and failures can be a valuable source of guidance. Leaders need to learn what their strengths are, and also to learn from their mistakes. 2) Navigators listen to what others have to say Good leaders gather information and advice from many sources: members of the leadership team, other team members and leaders from outside the organisation who can contribute with a different perspective. 3) Navigators examine the conditions before making commitments It is important to take stock before taking steps that will impact on the organisation and its people. 4) Navigators make sure that their conclusions represent both faith and fact Good leadership requires a positive approach - faith that the destination will be reached. But it also requires pragmatism - obstacles and challenges must be assessed realistically. "Sometimes it's difficult balancing optimism and realism, intuition and planning, faith and fact. But that's what it takes to be effective as a navigating leader." Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 4 of 29)

5 [Aside: I've recently been reading the story of Joshua as he led the Israelites into the "Promised Land", which graphically illustrates these points.] Maxwell also presents an acrostic that he uses to help in "charting the course" (particularly when facing major changes): P)redetermine a course of action L)ay out your goals A)djust your priorities N)otify key personnel A)llow time for acceptance H)ead into action E)xpect problems A)lways point to successes D)aily review your plan Some of the key aspects of this approach lie in the "people factors": getting key people to buy into the direction ahead of time, giving people time to buy in, and encouraging people by reminding them of the incremental successes. "The secret to the Law of Navigation is is preparation. When you prepare well, you convey confidence and trust to the people." Can you think of a major project where the leader displayed very good (or very bad) "navigational" skills? What lessons can be learnt from this experience? If you are facing a situation that requires leadership to steer through some change, how can you best put the guidelines that Maxwell gives into practice? Law 5: The Law of E.F. Hutton When the Real Leader Speaks, People Listen If you're anything like me the name E.F. Hutton means nothing to you! Apparently, this is the name of a financial services company in the USA, whose motto is: "When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen". One of their TV adverts featured a busy restaurant with two businessmen. The first would repeat some advice that his broker had told him. The second would then say, "Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says..." and everyone in the restaurant would stop what they were doing and lean in to hear the advice! Hence, Maxwell's law of E.F. Hutton: When the real leader speaks, people listen. Maxwell starts this chapter with the tale of his first board meeting as a young twenty-two year old minister in his first church, where it became very apparent that the meeting was being led by one of the board members and not by him! One of his options was to insist on his positional right to leadership, but this was likely to be counter-productive (he quotes Margaret Thatcher: "Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't!"). Another option was try to push out the board member, Claude, who was actually leading the board, but this was also likely to backfire as he had the respect of the entire community. The third option, which he adopted, was to get Claude "on his side". From then on Maxwell would make a point of taking ideas for new initiatives to Claude for "discussion" in advance of board meetings. Almost invariably, Claude would adopt the idea, propose it at the meeting and have it agreed to without a murmur by the other board members! Whenever Claude spoke, the people listened and followed! Maxwell makes the point that this makes it very easy to ascertain who the actual leader is in any situation: when an idea is proposed or a question asked, who do the people watch, and wait to hear from. That's the real leader. He gives the following checklist: Positional leaders: - Speak first - Need the influence of the real leader to get things done - Influence only other positional leaders Real leaders: - Speak later - Need only their own influence to get things done - Influence everyone in the room Maxwell makes the point that anyone starting out in a new leadership position will take time to establish themselves, and so initially it is highly likely that someone else will be the de facto leader. "The real test of leadership isn't where you start out. It's where you end up". This follows from the Law of Process (Law 3). So how do real leaders develop? Maxwell identifies seven areas for growth that bring about this development: Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 5 of 29)

6 1) Character - Who They Are True leadership begins within. He cites Billy Graham as an example here - someone who has been an adviser to every US president since Harry Truman. Closer to home, I would include Nelson Mandela as a leader of outstanding character. 2) Relationships - Who They Know This refers to the "team relationships" with the people you are leading. Positive relationships build trust - an essential ingredient for leadership (see Law 6). 3) Knowledge - What they Know Information is vital for a leader. The facts and figures also need to be combined with vision. Leaders need to do their homework. 4) Intuition - What They Feel Maxwell devotes an entire "law" to this topic (Law 8). He describes it as the ability to "deal with... intangibles", rather than just the raw facts of the previous point. 5) Experience - Where They've Been Past challenges will give you a certain amount of credibility with the people you lead. While experience is not a guarantee of leadership ability it will usually "buy time" to prove yourself in a new situation. 6) Past Successes - What They've Done As with good relationships, a good track record will contribute to a climate of trust. 7) Ability - What They Can Do "The bottom line for followers is what a leader is capable of. Ultimately, that's the reason that people will listen to you and acknowledge you as their leader. As soon as they no longer believe you can deliver, they will stop listening". As a final example, Maxwell describes people's reactions to Mother Theresa. Many people might not think of her as a great leader, but as one of her biographers described her: "...the quintessential, energetic entrepreneur, who has perceived a need and done something about it, built an organisation against all odds, formulated its constitution, and sent out branches all over the world". (In the face of declining numbers of Catholic nuns worldwide, Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity order grew dramatically, spreading to twenty-five countries on five continents). The reactions Maxwell describes were at a "National Prayer Breakfast" in Washington with all the major political and religious leaders present. Apparently, she started off speaking about families, and the need for people to love and care for one another. Every one at the meeting agreed whole-heartedly. She then started to talk about caring for the elderly and how forgotten, unhappy parents are neglected in old-age homes. That left a lot of people in the audience feeling more than a little uncomfortable! She then launched into an uncompromising condemnation of abortion. At the end of this there was a short, uncomfortable silence before applause started. Notably, (then President) Bill Clinton and his wife and Al Gore and his wife did not join in the applause at all. Maxwell makes the point that almost anyone else saying the same things would have been treated to a very hostile reception, but the respect that Mother Theresa commanded gave her the platform to speak. While many people disagreed (in many cases, very strongly) with her viewpoints, they listened to what she had to say. Can you think of any situations where a highly-respected figure has been able to speak very bluntly and "get away with it"? Would you describe them as a "real leader"? How do people react when you speak? Do they listen, or do they wait for someone else to speak? Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 6 of 29)

7 Law 6: The Law of Solid Ground Trust is the Foundation of Leadership Maxwell starts this chapter with a personal illustration from a time when, under a lot of pressure, he introduced a number of major changes. In time, he became aware that the people he was leading were unhappy and there were "rumblings"! His initial reaction was that they needed to get over it, but then he realised that he had mishandled the situation. All the decisions that he had made were the right ones, but he had failed to take the people through the process of the change (see Law 4) and had acted autocratically. The end result was that the people's trust in him had decreased. Maxwell then apologised to his followers and quickly regained their confidence. He had "learned firsthand that when it comes to leadership, you just can't take shortcuts, no matter how long you've been leading your people". He notes that he regained their confidence quickly because of his track record with them, and likens this to earning pocket change with good decisions and spending it with bad decisions. All leaders start out with a certain amount of change in his or her pocket. After a series of bad decisions there will be nothing left to spend. Many good leadership decisions will lead to a pocketful of change - enough to compensate for the occasional blunder, even a large one. (Those who are familiar with Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits" will recognise the parallel here with Covey's concept of an "emotional bank account"). "Trust is the foundation of leadership". Trust is built up from competence and character, but the latter is by the far most important (people will forgive occasional failures of ability, but lapses of character are far more serious). Maxwell quotes Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf: "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without strategy"! "Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible". Maxwell then describes a number of aspects that are communicated to followers by character. 1) Character Communicates Consistency Inner strength is needed to perform consistently - people will not follow someone whose mood swings determine their decisions. As an example, he cites Billy Graham who is widely admired by people from all religious convictions due to a long life of high integrity. 2) Character Communicates Potential Maxwell quotes John Morley: "No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character". He gives the example of Mike Keenan, an NHL coach, who, despite an incredible record of coaching very successful teams with many wins, was continually moving from one team to another. A journalist noted that this was easy to explain: "Everywhere he has been, he has alienated players and management". In other words, he wasn't trusted, despite his proven ability. "When a leader's character is strong, people trust him, and they trust in his ability to release their potential". 3) Character Communicates Respect "When you don't have strength within [i.e. character], you can't earn respect without". Respect is earned by making good decisions, admitting mistakes and putting the good of individuals and the team before personal benefit. J.R. Miller: "The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man... What a man is survives him. It can never be buried". Maxwell ends with a negative illustration of how broken trust undermines leadership. The example is that of Robert McNamara (then Secretary of Defense) and President Johnson mishandled the Vietnam war. In 1966 the majority of Americans were fully behind the war in Vietnam. However, McNamara and Johnson started to mislead their people, minimising the set-backs and only telling part of the truth. In time, Americans realised that there was a gap between the reality that they were observing and what their leaders were telling them. "As the American people's trust in their leaders eroded, so did their willingness to follow them". Eventually McNamara resigned and Johnson was wise enough not to seek reelection. Maxwell believes that this has lead to a general distrust of politicians in America that still lasts to today. A closing quote: "No leader can break trust with his people and expect to keep influencing them". Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 7 of 29)

8 Can you think of an occasion when you lost the trust of people who were following your lead? What did you do to regain their confidence? Can you think of a leader who has a large amount of "pocket change" (or a healthy "emotional bank account")? Can you think of a time when that person has been able to make a large withdrawal without it affecting their leadership? Law 7: The Law of Respect People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger Than Themselves As usual, Maxwell opens this chapter with an illustration. He describes a woman: short, in her late 30's, dark brown, weathered skin, illiterate, dressed in poor clothes, missing front teeth. She had abandoned her husband at the age of 29, after which she only spoke to him once and never even mentioned his name again after that. She worked as a cleaner/maid in small hotels in the summer and winter, and would disappear in spring and autumn, coming back penniless. Not the typical profile of a great leader! Yet, this woman would speak at rallies and in homes throughout the North-East of America and in Canada. Senator William Seward, who later became Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln, sought her out. John Brown, a "famed revolutionary" in America called her "General Tubman", and said that she was "a better officer than most whom he had seen and could command an army". She was Harriet Tubman, and she "brought more people out of slavery than any other American in history - black or white, male or female". She started out as a slave herself, born in 1820 on a farm in Maryland. She married her husband at the age of 24. He was a freeman, but would not allow her to even talk of escaping from slavery, but threatened to report her himself. Hence, in 1949, she left him, without a warning. She escaped to the North through the "Underground Railway" (a secret network of freemen, abolitionists and religious supporters), and then became a "conductor", leading other slaves to freedom. This was where she went in spring and autumn, after working to raise money to support her work for the "Railway". Southern slave-keepers put up a reward of $12,000 (a huge sum at that time) for her capture. Southern slaves called her "Moses"! Despite the huge obstacles and great danger, she persevered, and wouldn't let any escaping slave give up (partly because of the threat of their being tortured to give up details of the escape routes). She made nineteen trips, bringing out over 300 people, without losing one. This was what led leaders in the Northern states to seek her out and to praise her leadership. "People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. Everyone who came in contact with her recognized her strong leadership ability and felt compelled to follow her. That's how the Law of Respect works." Maxwell points out that people will normally only follow people who are stronger leaders than themselves. Sometimes a strong leader will choose to follow a weaker leader (perhaps due to position or respect for past accomplishments or potential for future accomplishments), but in general followers are attracted to stronger leaders than themselves. "Usually the more leadership ability a person has, the more quickly he recognises leadership - or its lack - in others." Maxwell again gives a lengthy illustration from the sports world: Dean Smith, an outstanding and very successful basketball coach at the University of North Carolina (his retirement even brought a message from the President!). What was most remarkable about his career was the respect that the players in his team had for him. Notably, he was interested in far more than their basketball careers: he encouraged their personal development, and pushed them to succeed academically (not always a priority for university sports coaches!). His coaching at North Carolina produced a remarkable 49 professional basketball players, including none other than Michael Jordan. Jordan's father said of Smith: "People underestimate the program that Dean Smith runs. He helped Michael realize his athletic ability and hone it. But more important than that, he built character into Michael that took him through his career... I think that's what made Michael the player he became". Maxwell ends with a personal illustration that gives a way of assessing the respect that a leader has earned: how do the followers react to a major change? He tells the story of how he decided to move his company's Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 8 of 29)

9 headquarters from San Diego, California to Atlanta Georgia - a major relocation. Before announcing the move, he estimated that perhaps 50% of his core leaders would be prepared to move. To his delight the figure turned out to be 100%! He wrote the 21 Laws book a year after the move and all those leaders were still with him in Atlanta at that time. That's a powerful illustration of the Law of Respect at work! Can you think of anyone who, like Harriet Tubman, rose above the most appalling circumstances to become a great leader? Can you think of a situation where a strong leader has managed to bring an organisation successfully through a major change due to the respect that their followers had for them? Law 8: The Law of Intuition Leaders Evaluate Everything with a Leadership Bias Leadership intuition depends on facts plus instinct and a number of other intangible factors. It is often very evident in the leadership of sports teams: a captain or a coach with strong intuition about how to play the game in a given situation will usually be capable of taking a team to great heights (Maxwell dwells on several examples from American football at this point). As another example of this law in practice, Maxwell gives a couple of examples from the career of General Norman H. Schwarzkopf. Apparently he often had difficult assignments, which he frequently chose himself. After 17 years service, he was given a battalion to command in Vietnam. This battalion, the First of the Sixth Infantry, had a terrible reputation (their nickname was the "worst of the Sixth"), and had just failed an annual inspection (scoring only 16%!) when he took over. His first task was to prepare the battalion for a fresh inspection in a month's time - a seemingly impossible task. It seems that the previous commander had had very little leadership ability, and as a result the battalion was in chaos. "The officers were indifferent, the most basic military security procedures weren't being followed and soldiers were dying needlessly... It was a lousy battalion with lousy morale". When Schwarzkopf took over he reinstituted correct procedures, developed the leaders beneath him, and instilled a sense of direction and purpose. Thirty days later they passed the follow-up inspection! To turn produce that kind of turn-around in such a short space of time requires very quick, intuitive approaches to decision-making and leadership. Even better than the inspection scores, as they formed a cohesive, disciplined unit, fewer men died and morale improved. Soon the battalion was being entrusted with more difficult missions that they would never have been given before. At a later time, Schwarzkopf was appointed to lead a brigade, and once again followed after a poor leader. (Again the brigade had a derogatory nickname, in this case "the circus brigade"!). Schwarzkopf's intuition told him that the people he was leading had the potential to rise above their reputation. Again, he developed his leaders and cast a positive vision for the men under his command. As the improvement began he pushed them hard, and set them the challenging goal of participating in desert manoeuvres in the following summer. When the time for the manoeuvres came, Schwarzkopf had turned around his brigade so successfully that the three battalions from which it was composed thoroughly embarrassed the thirteen marine battalions who they faced off against in the drills! Maxwell makes the point that some people naturally have a good leadership "bias", while others have to work to develop it. "The best way to describe this bias is an ability to get a handle on intangible factors, understand them, and work with them to accomplish leadership goals". He then moves on to describe some of the factors that go to make up the intuition of a leader: 1) Leaders are readers of their situation He speaks here about how, after some time away travelling, he could often sense on his return to his work that something was wrong, and could quickly isolate the problem. 2) Leaders are readers of trends This is a case of keeping an eye on the "big picture", and being able to tell where the organisation is likely to be going in the future. 3) Leaders are readers of their resources Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 9 of 29)

10 Leaders are always aware of the available resources to tackle a challenge: money, raw materials, technology and especially people. "They never forget that people are their greatest asset". [Personal aside: I firmly believe that this is particularly true of a university: our "raw materials" are people, our "end products" are people and our "processes" are carried out by people.] 4) Leaders are readers of people "Intuitive leaders can sense what's happening among people and almost instantly know their hopes, fears and concerns". 5) Leaders are readers of themselves Good leaders are critically aware of their own strengths, weaknesses, skills and state of mind. Maxwell then lists three "levels" of leadership intuition: 1) Those who naturally see it. These people are born with good leadership skills. "They instinctively understand people and know how to move them from point A to point B". 2) Those who are nurtured to see it. Some people aren't born with great leadership skills and instincts, but these can be developed. 3) Those who will never see it. Maxwell states that sometimes "I come across someone who doesn't seem to have a leadership bone in his body _and_ who has no interest in developing the skills necessary to lead. Those people will never think like anything but followers". As a final illustration Maxwell draws on the history of the Apple computer company. After founding the company (with Steve Wozniak) Steve Jobs was eventually forced out by John Sculley, who he had hired as CEO two years previously. Things went from bad to worse, and Apple's market share plummeted from a high of 14.6% to 3.5% by At this time, the company brought Steve Jobs back in to try to help turn the situation around. Jobs came in with the hatchet swinging: he fired all but two of the board members and canned 70% of the projects and products under development. Most daring of all, he made a "deal with the devil"! "He made a leadership decision that went absolutely against the grain of Apple's previous thinking. It was an incredible intuitive leadership leap." At that time Apple was embroiled in a lawsuit against Microsoft. Jobs went to Gates and negotiated a settlement, whereby Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple, opening the doorway to future cooperation. The initial signs were that Job's strategy was paying off, and in the first quarter of 1998 Apple made a profit of $47 million (from a loss of more than a billion dollars the previous year). [Checking their website last night showed that they made a profit of $65 million in the last financial year, to the end of September 2002, so it seems that they are still well on track.] "Leadership is really more art than science. The principles of leadership are constant, but the application changes with every leader and every situation. That's why it requires intuition". How well do you read situations, trends, resources, people and yourself? Where would you rate yourself in Maxwell's three levels of leadership intuition (those who naturally see it, those who are nurtured to see it, and those who will never see it)? Law 9: The Law of Magnetism Who You Are Is Who You Attract Maxwell opens this chapter by inviting the reader to list the qualities that they would like to see in the people that they bring into their organisation. He then makes the assertion that the qualities that will be seen are not necessarily those listed, but rather those manifested in the life of the leader. "In most situations, you draw people to you who possess the same qualities you do". He gives a personal example from his own experience as a church leader before he started his leadership development company. In his last appointment as a church leader he followed on after a man who had been a Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 10 of 29)

11 highly gifted musician - the church had a reputation for excellence in music, was known nationally for its musical productions, etc. The fact that John Maxwell could barely hold a tune was apparently quite a major set-back when he was interviewed for the position! In time, while the momentum built by the previous leader meant that the church's musical aspect continued to be strong, things changed. Rather than attracting new musicians to the church they found that they were attracting people with strong leadership gifts. "By the time I left [this church], not only was the church filled with hundreds of excellent leaders, but the church had also equipped and sent out hundreds of men and women as leaders during the time I was there. The reason was the Law of Magnetism. Our organization became a magnet for people with leadership ability". Maxwell makes the point that good leaders will recognise their own weaknesses and seek to appoint new people who compensate for these, but he notes "it's crucial to recognize that people who are different will not naturally be attracted to you". He gives a couple of examples from the sporting world again. Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys (an American "football" team) was renowned in the 1960' and 1970's for their squeaky clean image, and excellent team spirit. However, when a new owner took over the team things changed. The new owner was "an individualist and... a maverick". The nett result was that the team changed. Rather than working as a strong team "they sometimes appear to be a loosely associated group of individuals who are in the game solely for their own benefit". Some of the players and even the coach have had brushes with the law. Maxwell quotes Al MacGuire (a basketball coach): "A team should be an extension of the coach's personality. My teams were arrogant and obnoxious"! Maxwell then lists a number of factors where you are likely to find that you and your followers match up: 1) Attitude Positive and negative people are seldom attracted to each other. "People who view life as a series of opportunities and exciting challenges don't want to hear others talk about how bad things are all the time". 2) Generation "People tend to attract others of roughly the same age". Maxwell points out that most of his key leaders are only one or two years different in age to him. 3) Background Theodore Roosevelt lead a volunteer cavalry group during the Spanish-American War. This was comprised of two types of men: wealthy aristocrats from the North East of the USA and "cowboys" from the West. Roosevelt was a wealthy North-Eastern aristocrat, but had developed a love of hunting in the wild lands of the West. "He was a strong and genuine leader in both worlds, and as a result, he attracted both kinds of people". 4) Values "People are attracted to leaders whose values are similar to their own". John F. Kennedy attracted young, idealistic people. Adolph Hitler attracted evil, anti-semitic monsters. 5) Life Experience Maxwell makes the point that he can tell within 30 seconds of speaking to a group of people what kind of communicator they are used to listening to. If their usual speakers are gifted and energetic, the audience is alert and responspive. If not, they tend to "check out" mentally. 6) Leadership Ability As we noted under the Law of Respect (Law 7) two weeks ago, people will usually follow leaders who are stronger than themselves, but generally close in overall ability. Maxwell makes the point that if you score a 7 in your leadership ability you will tend to attract 5's and 6's (more than 2's or 3's). "The leaders that you attract will be similar in style and ability to you". Maxwell ends this chapter with an illustration from the American Civil War. When the Southern states seceded from the Union the generals in the army were forced to choose sides. One of the most talented generals was Robert E. Lee, who was offered command of the Northern army, but chose to join the Confederacy in the South. Maxwell suggests that if Lee had joined the North many other generals would have followed his lead and that the war would have been much shorter and far fewer lives would have been lost. Good leaders attract other good leaders and that can have a huge impact, in this case, on history itself. Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 11 of 29)

12 A closing quote: "If you think the people you attract could be better, then it's time to improve yourself". What kind of people do you seem to attract to yourself? To what extent do you think that the University environment and employment practices affect the natural outworking of this law? Law 10: The Law of Connection Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand John Maxwell introduces the subject of this law with a description of Elizabeth Dole's public speaking ability, or, to be more accurate, her ability to "connect" with large groups of people (Elizabeth Dole is the wife of Bob Dole, a conservative American politician who ran for president in 1996). Apparently, she has the ability to make everyone listening to her feel that they are friends, even when speaking on television without the benefit of personal presence. In stark contrast, Bob Dole came across as "stern and distant" during his presidential campaign. Many US presidents have come to power after demonstrating their ability to connect with the people (Maxwell cites Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton as particular examples). Needless to say, Bob Dole was not elected, but after the election he appeared on a TV talk show and came across as "relaxed, approachable, and able to make fun of himself. And he was a hit with the audience... what might have happened if he had done more of that early in the campaign"? Closer to home, I think one can draw similar contrasts by looking at the public personas of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. While one comes across as the Grandfather of the Nation, the other comes across more as a stern lecturer! "Effective leaders know that you first have to touch people's hearts before you ask them for a hand. That is the Law of Connection. All great communicators recognize this truth and act on it almost instinctively. You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head". While the first section of this chapter is focussed on publicly connecting with large groups of people, the same thing needs to happen on a one-to-one basis with individuals. "The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader". As an example of this, Maxwell uses Sonny Bono. Bono started out as a performer (the other half of Sonny and Cher), and was something of a joke, wearing bizarre clothes, the object of Cher's jokes, and he couldn't sing! Later in life he went into politics and displayed a good grasp of the Law of Connection. At his funeral, New Gingrich said: "You looked at him and thought to yourself: 'This can't be a famous person'. He smiled, he said something, then you thought to yourself: 'This can't be a serious person'. Four jokes and two stories later you were pouring out your heart to him, he was helping you solve a problem and you began to realize that this is a very hard-working, very thoughtful man who covered up a great deal of his abilities with his wonderful sense of humour and is desire to make you bigger than him so he could serve you, which would then make it easier for you to do something the two of you needed to do together". Maxwell states that a key to connecting with groups of people is to see them as individuals. General Norman Schwarzkopf: "I have seen competent leaders who stood in front of a platoon and all they saw was a platoon. But great leaders stand in front of a platoon and see it as 44 individuals". Schwarzkopf practised this in his own leadership: apparently on Christmas Day in 1990 (during Gulf War I) he went from camp to camp, from mess hall to mess hall, shaking hands with the soldiers. Later he estimated that he must have shook hands with 4000 people that day! Maxwell makes the point that this law is often apparent in great military leaders, and cites Douglas MacArthur, Robert E. Lee, and Napoleon as examples, in addition to Schwarzkopf. Some leaders believe that the responsibility for making a connection lies with the followers: "I'm the boss. They can come to me". But Maxwell makes the point that successful leaders will be initiators and seek to build relationships themselves. He gives an example from his own experience where he took a new job in a situation where there was a person, Jim Butz (an unfortunate name!), with a lot of influence and who had a reputation as a negative maverick who often pulled in his own direction to the detriment of the organisation. When Maxwell started there he called Jim in, sat him down, told him that his reputation had preceded him Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 12 of 29)

13 and said that they could build a relationship, work together and achieve something great. Alternatively they could work in opposition, in which case Jim would no doubt win some battles, particularly at first, but that as Maxwell established himself and gained in influence Jim would inevitably be sidelined. Jim opted to join John Maxwell and together they did achieve a lot, but it took a great deal of courage on Maxwell's part to tackle the potential problem head-on at the outset and be proactive in establishing a positive relationship. "When a leader has done the work to connect with his people, you can see it in the way the organization functions. Among employees there are incredible loyalty and a string work ethic. The vision of the leader becomes the aspiration of the people. The impact is incredible". One last quote (an old saying): "To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others use your heart". Bob and Elizabeth Dole, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki: can you think of any other public figures who do, or don't, have the ability to touch the hearts of an audience? How good are you at forming relationships with the people you lead (e.g. the students in your classes)? How could you improve this ability? Law 11: The Law of the Inner Circle A Leader's Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him Once again Maxwell opens this chapter with a personal illustration. In 1981 he was asked to take over an organisation that had plateaued. When he took up his position there he met with each of the existing staff members and discovered that while they were good, capable people, they were not strong leaders. Consequently, over a three year period, he systematically replaced all but two of them, starting with the least capable and moving up. Maxwell also put a lot of effort into developing the new staff members' leadership abilities. The impact on the organisation was dramatic and it took off in all dimensions. Maxwell makes the point that any organisation has an "inner circle" and illustrates this with some sporting examples (successful American baseball teams). He also dismisses the "Lone Ranger" model of leadership: "There are no Lone Ranger leaders. Think about it: If you're alone, you're not leading anybody, are you?". To back up this point he quotes Warren Bennis (a leadership expert): "The leader finds greatness in the group, and he or she helps the members find it in themselves". As examples of people who have successfully surrounded themselves with highly competent leadership teams he points to Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan. He then moves onto an excellent example of this from the sporting world again: the Tour de France. "...the winner is almost always the person who is racing with the strongest team. They aren't the first to finish every day, but they are always in the first pack to finish each day". This example resonates strongly with me, having followed the Tour closely for the past few years as Lance Armstrong has cleaned it up (with almost monotonous predictability!). Armstrong seldom wins individual stages, and doesn't even shine particularly for the first week (although he is up among the top contenders during this time). Then they reach the mountains (Pyrenees and Alps) and he starts to come into his own. Even there he often doesn't win the individual stages, but, with the help of his team, he is almost always up near the front. The end result is that, after three weeks of almost continuous cycling, he is the overall winner. Last year I was struck by a comment that he made about the teamwork, which he said made him feel like he was sitting back in an armchair up the mountains! (That's also a good example of giving credit to the team when it is deserved - it would be very easy for him to bask in the limelight alone). In discussing how to build a winning leadership team, Maxwell makes the point that it is desirable to raise up existing members of the organisation (rather than using the rather drastic replacement approach described at the start of the chapter!). He quotes a manager from Hewlett-Packard, Ned Barnholt, who identifed three types of people found in an organisation: (1) those who "get it" (i.e. understand the impact of strong leadership) almost immediately and run with it; (2) the skeptics who aren't sure what do; and (3) the negative types who hope the whole thing will just go away! Barnholt used to spend his time trying to persuade the last group to change their approach, but now focusses on getting things done with the first group. Along these lines Maxwell identifies five types of leaders that one should try to add to the inner circle: Maxwell - 21IrrefutableLawsOfALeader(Page 13 of 29)