Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Your Leadership Potential is Tied to Others
— From Equipping 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
I’m sure you’re familiar with Jim Rohn’s quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Thus, your leadership potential is tied to other leaders that surround you: not outside or industry leaders and peers, but internal ones—in your business or organization—with whom you spend the most time with.
In Equipping 101, leadership guru John C. Maxwell says, “The greatest leadership principle that I have learned in over thirty years of leadership is that those closest to the leader will determine the success level of that leader.” And he points out that the negative reading of this assertion is true as well: “Those closest to the leader will determine the level of failure for that leader.” In other words, the people with whom you surround yourself make or break you.
“Most leaders have followers around them. They believe the key to leadership is gaining more followers. Few leaders surround themselves with other leaders, but the ones who do bring great value to their organizations. And not only is their burden lightened, but their vision is carried on and enlarged.”
Maxwell goes on to say, “Often, leaders wrongly believe that they must compete with the people closest to them instead of working with them [… but if] you really want to be a successful leader, you must develop and equip other leaders around you.”
Peter Drucker, management guru, famously said, “No executive has ever suffered because his people were strong and effective.” And Maxwell points out that surrounding yourself with other leaders and growing and equipping them to lead helps lift the load in two important ways:
First, other leaders become a sounding board. “Followers tell you what you want to hear. Leaders tell you what you need to hear… An opinion before a decision has potential value. An opinion after the decision has been made is worthless.”
Second, other leaders possess a leadership mind-set. “Fellow leaders do more than work with the leader, they think like the leader… This becomes invaluable in areas such as decision-making, brainstorming, and providing security and direction to others… They can carry on effectively [while the leader is away].”
Finally, to illustrate the points above, Maxwell shares a conversation with his father: he served as the president of a college for 16 years, and told the author that the most expensive workers on campus were not the highest paid but the people who were nonproductive. While leaders indeed were paid more, they were true assets because they were more productive, attracted a higher quality of persons, and added value. Maxwell’s father finished the conversation by saying, “Most people produce only when they feel like it. Leaders produce even when they don’t feel like it.”
ACTION
TODAY: Take a moment to think: Who are the closest people to you in your organization? Are you making the most out of your leadership potential and theirs?
FUTURE: Make sure that you are attracting the right people to your team and equipping them with the ability to lead.
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