Leadership 101 by John C. Maxwell
What is leadership? Leadership is simply influence. The first person we have to lead is ourselves. “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 others.”

“Leadership begin with the heart, not the head.”

The author John Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and influencer who has sold over a quarter million books in over 50 languages. He was recognized as the #1 leader in business, and the most impactful leadership guru in the world. John Maxwell’s Leadership Foundation have trained more than 5 million leaders globally. He’s recognized as the leadership expert who has trained leaders from every country in the world and was the receiver of the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership. His resume lends him irrefutable credibility with regards to developing leaders.

I chose to read his leadership book series to increase my knowledge of developing my leadership skills and empowering others to reach their full potential. John Maxwell’s books are filled with so many gems of knowledge that my pen’s ink quickly drains empty, and my journals are filled with blue writing on front and back of their pages. I’ve learned many applicable strategies that have increased my awareness of how to be an effective leader. I love how he teaches, but I appreciate the real life examples he outlines beside the teachings to help his wisdom proverbs stick.

I learned to treat trust as the most precious asset when leading. Trust is the foundation of leadership, and trust has a direct correlation to a person’s character. Strong character and trusts makes leadership possible. “When a leader’s character is strong, people trust him, and they trust his ability to release their potential.”

Character is something my father has ingrained in me since I was young. He would always say to me, son it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but it can all be erased with one bad choice. I hear his words over and over in my head, it resonates, I never once doubted what he said, but yet I still made some bad choices. One of my struggles about coming to federal prison was the negative ripple effect this stigma could place on me as an effect of a bad decision. I found solace when I read a quote from this book that stated “Almost all of our faults are pardonable than the methods we think up to hide them.” To me that simply means, face your mistakes and fears head on, and that’s what I’m doing.

People in my inner circle are aware when I make mistakes, but the real question is, will I face my mistakes? I have learned the quicker I leap to action in owning my faults, this can often be advantageous in repairing trust. Facing my mistakes builds inner strength, and “Leaders without inner strength can’t be counted on day after day because their ability to perform changes constantly. Leaders have to continue to work even if they don’t feel good.”

There were many days before my self surrender to prison that my heart would be heavy, my mind a chatterbox of thoughts of inner disappointment, and the chakra of my solar plex contracted with anxiety, but yet still I mustered the energy to walk into my boxing gym, put my game face on, instruct, lead, and pour my heart and soul into those who believed in my cause to help them on their path. For me I found these difficult times some of my purest sessions with my students because I was giving them everything I had, I was present with them, and while serving my purpose, nothing else mattered. This was me displaying pure authentic leadership.

“If a person fails trying to succeed, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” Some of the characteristics of an effective leader are strong emotional strength, people skills, vision, respect, experience, momentum, timing, resilience, optimism, and dedication. Each day I constantly reflect on these values and ask myself have I positively contributed to my growth in these areas, or have a slid south? I feel all leaders need to consistently perform self gut checks on these qualities when in leadership roles.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s breakdown of the 5 levels of leadership, and the difference between a boss versus a leader.

5 Levels of Leadership

1. Position – People follow because they have to.
2. Permission – People follow because they want to.
3. Production – People follow because of what you have done for the organization.
4. People Development – People follow because of what you’ve done for them.
5. Personhood – People follow because of who you are & what you represent

The Mentality of a Boss vs Leader

1. The boss drives the worker; the leader coaches them.
2. The boss depends upon authority; the leader on goodwill.
3. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
4. The boss says I; the leader, We.
5. The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.

At the core of this book, I believe a person has to first have a desire for leadership. “Man is made so that whenever anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.”

My desire is to continue to learn as much as I can in order to be a successful leader. The first person outside of myself I lead is my family. I am working each day on modeling the behavior I want to see reflected in my children, and secondly the lives of children I’m humbly tasked with leading and coaching inside the sanctuary walls of my boxing training school. I am preparing myself through the wisdom in this book to become the best leader I can be for myself, so I can be the best leader for others.