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What Every Leader Needs To Know
Author: John C. Maxwell
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003
ISBN: 0-7852-6352-7
112 pages
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“One is too small a number to achieve greatness,” says New York Times best-selling author and leadership expert Dr. John C. Maxwell in this engaging primer on how to build and equip a team. Equipping 101 offers valuable insight and practical tools in a pocket-sized format that delivers what you need to know on such topics as the power of teamwork, why equipping is essential to a leader’s success, the qualities to look for in potential leaders, ten steps for investing in others, how to become an “enlarger” of people, and investing in your team for the future
WHY DO I NEED TO EQUIP OTHERS?
C. Gene Wilkes, in his book Jesus on Leadership, asserts:
- Teams involve more people, thus affording more resources, ideas, and energy than would an individual.
- Teams maximize a leader’s potential and minimize his or her weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals.
- Teams provide multiple perspectives on how to meet a need or reach a goal, thus devising several alternatives for each situation.
- Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. This fosters genuine humility and authentic community.
- Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal.
WHY DO WE STAND ALONE?
Knowing all that we do about the potential of teams, why do some people still want to do things by themselves? Here are a number of reasons:
1. Ego. There are no supermen or superwomen. So the question is not whether you can do everything by yourself; it’s how soon you’re going to realize that you can’t.
2. Insecurity. Insecurity rather than poor judgment or lack of intelligence most often causes leaders to surround themselves with weak people. Only secure leaders give power to others.
3. Naiveté. Some leaders naively understand the difficulty of achieving big things. As a result, they try to go it alone.
4. Temperament. Some people aren’t very outgoing and simply don’t think in terms of team building and equipping. As they face challenges, it never occurs to them to enlist others to achieve something.
HOW TO INVEST IN YOUR TEAM
1. Make the decision to build a team – this starts the investment in the team.
2. Gather the best team possible – this elevates the potential of the team.
3. Pay the price to develop the team – this ensures the growth of the team.
4. Do things together as a team – this provides community for the team.
5. Empower team members with responsibility and authority – this raises up leaders for the team.
6. Give credit for success to the team – this lifts the morale of the team.
7. See that the investment in the team is paying off – this brings accountability to the team.
8. Stop your investment in players who do not grow – this eliminates greater losses for the team.
9. Create new opportunities for the team – this allows the team to stretch.
10. Give the team the best possible chance to succeed – this guarantees the team has a high return.
QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR IN A LEADER
1. CHARACTER. You can tell much about a person’s ability to lead others from how well he manages his own life. Look at his interaction with others too.
2. INFLUENCE. Leadership is influence. Every leader has these two characteristics: (A) he is going somewhere; and (B) he is able to persuade others to go with him.
3. POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Attitude sets the tone.
4. EXCELLENT PEOPLE SKILLS. Excellent people skills involve a genuine concern for others, the ability to understand people, and the decision to make positive interaction with others a primary concern.
5. EVIDENT GIFTS. Make an assessment of those gifts when considering a person for employment or for equipping.
6. PROVEN TRACK RECORD. Everyone who breaks new ground, who strives to do something, makes mistakes. People without proven track records either haven’t learned from their mistakes or simply haven’t tried at all.
7. CONFIDENCE. Confidence is not simply for show. Confidence empowers. A good leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in himself. A great leader also has the ability to instill within his people confidence in themselves.
8. SELF-DISCIPLINE. Great leaders always have self-discipline – without exception.
9. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS. A leader’s ability to convey confidence and his ability to communicate effectively are similar. Both require action on his part and a response from the follower.
10. DISCONTENT WITH THE STATUS QUO. Dissatisfaction with the status quo does not mean a negative attitude or grumbling. A person who refuses to risk change fails to grow. A leader who loves the status quo soon becomes a follower.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENLARGER
1. Believe in others before they believe in you.
2. Serve others before they serve you.
3. Add value to others before they add value to you.
TO PUT PEOPLE IN THEIR PLACE
1. KNOW THE TEAM. You’ve got to start where the team actually is; only then can you take it somewhere.
2. KNOW THE SITUATION. Even though the vision or purpose of an organization may be fairly constant, its situation changes constantly.
3. KNOW THE PLAYER. You must know the person you are trying to position in the right niche.
START BY FINDING THE RIGHT PLACE FOR YOU
• Be secure: If not, you’ll be inflexible and reluctant to change.
• Get to know yourself: You won’t be able to find your niche if you don’t know your strengths and weaknesses.
• Trust your leader: A good leader will help you to start moving in the right direction.
• See the big picture: Your place on the team only makes sense in the context of the big picture.
• Rely on your experience: Try what seems right and learn from your failures and successes.
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