The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell Book Summary

One thing will undoubtedly help if you want to have a beneficial impact on the world, and that is your capacity for leadership. John C. Maxwell lists his top 21 tried-and-true leadership concepts in this book.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership book summary

Internationally renowned leadership expert, lecturer, and author John C. Maxwell has sold more than 16 million books. Around the world, his organisations have trained more than 2 million leaders.

The companies EQUIP and INJOY Stewardship Services were founded by Dr. Maxwell. He addresses Fortune 500 corporations, world leaders in government, and groups as various as the National Football League, ambassadors to the UN, and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Maxwell, a best-selling author for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week, was crowned the World’s Top Leadership Guru by Leadershipgurus.net. Additionally, he was one of only 25 writers and artists selected for the 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame at Amazon.com.

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership are three of his books that have each sold over a million copies.

Law No. 1: The Law of The Lid

According to this law, the key to your performance as a leader is your capacity for leadership. Realizing the value of leadership skills and assessing where you stand in them are the key goals of this law. Ranking your skills in these areas on a scale of 1 to 10 is a useful exercise.

  1. People skills
  2. Planning and strategic thinking
  3. Vision
  4. Results

Have people who know you well rate you after completing this exercise so that you can compare the results. That ought provide provide a decent starting point.

Law No. 2: The Influence Law

According to Maxwell, leadership is nothing more than influence; therefore, the more influence one possesses, the greater their potential for leadership. And while everyone’s level of influence varies, try concentrating on these seven areas to increase yours in a positive way.

  • Character
  • Relationships
  • Knowledge
  • Intuition
  • Experience
  • Past success
  • Ability

Law No. 3: The Law of The Process

Although inspiration can strike at any time, progress requires time. The good news is that persistence in the process will bear fruit. These are the five stages of leadership development.

  • not being aware of your ignorance
  • Realizing the desire to know
  • recognising your ignorance
  • Knowing and developing, and it’s beginning to show
  • Going merely because of what you are aware of. And this final step is advantageous because it is the point at which effective leadership can become instinctive, if not automatic. This does occur, especially for those who adhere to the law of process.

Law No. 4: The Law of Navigation

Anyone may steer a ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course, according to a proverb. And this law shows that a leader will frequently have to guide a team through trying situations. Consider organising a road trip or camping trip, launching a new company, or even travelling to the moon. All of this is an illustration of the law of navigation.

Law No. 5: The Law of Addition

In essence, this law says that leaders improve the lives of others by providing service. And Maxwell offers four useful suggestions for improving service.

  • really valuing others
  • to increase our own worth
  • to learn about and connect with other people’s values
  • to live a life in accordance with God’s ideals, such as treating people how you would like to be treated.
  • According to Maxwell, 90% of people who provide value to others do so on purpose. As a result, in order to improve as a leader, try to serve those you are in charge of and others on purpose.

Law No. 6: The Law of Solid Ground

According to Maxwell, the basis or solid ground on which truly effective leaders are formed over the long term is their reliability and honesty. So try concentrating on such three areas to help you build a stronger foundation.

Integrity: Make a vow to yourself to always be completely truthful. Do not fudge numbers, tell white lies, or shave the truth. Even though it hurts, tell the truth.

Be genuine with everyone you interact with. No role-playing, claiming to be someone you’re not, or politics.

Do what you need to do when you need to do it with discipline, regardless of how you feel. If you commit to these things, your groundwork or foundation will be steadfast as a rock.

Law No. 7: The Law of Respect

The idea of this example, which builds on the last, is that people tend to follow and appreciate leaders who are stronger than they are—and not just physically, financially, or in other ways. Some of history’s most revered figures came from modest backgrounds and were regarded highly by their contemporaries. Consider people like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Harriet Tubman. Here are a few traits that respectable people frequently exhibit.

  1. They have respect for others
  2. They have courage
  3. They have usually some sort of a success record
  4. Loyalty
  5. They add value to others

Law No. 8: The Law of Intuition

Good intuition is another quality of effective leadership. It essentially stems from good social instincts and is particularly useful in leadership. Try these three suggestions to strengthen yours.

  • Read relationship-related books
  • Take part in more dialogue
  • Take up people-watching

Or, to put it another way, keep communicating, learning, and observing, and you’ll eventually develop into a more perceptive leader.

Law No. 9: The Law of Magnetism

The phrase “Who you attract is not determined by what you want” appears in a quotation in this section. The answer depends on who you are. And energy and talent are two aspects that show this. People tend to desire to follow those who are more energetic or talented, and the same is true for giftedness or talent. So, for instance, who would a math student or aspiring chef, musician, businessperson, or whatever else want to go to for a tutor? They would want to seek out an expert who they could learn from. Right? The main conclusion is that your leadership will become more compelling as you develop as a leader.

Law No. 10: The Law of Connection

The secret of influence is connection, and a leader needs two elements in order to connect effectively.

  1. Confidence in his or her vision and
  2. The ability to communicate it well

Two practical suggestions for doing so are provided in this section.

  • defining your identity and your values. This will assist you in deciding which area and why you want to lead in.
  • to improve your speaking in front of groups. Warren Buffet recently remarked that taking a public speaking course and putting what he learned into practise was one of the best things he ever did. Work on these two qualities, and you’ll see an improvement in your ability to connect and lead.

Law No. 11: The Law of The Inner Circle

This law demonstrates how people who are closest to you, to whom you turn for advice or counsel, or even your closest employees, frequently influence your capacity for leadership. In order to build a strong inner circle, strive to locate the finest mentorship you can, hire the best employees you can, and then give them as much responsibility as you can.

And this brings us to law #12, sometimes known as the law of empowerment.

The finest executive, according to Theodore Roosevelt, is the one who has the common sense to select capable individuals to carry out his directives and the self-control to refrain from interfering with them while they work. And that essentially encapsulates this law.

Law No. 13: The Law of the Picture

Since you are the example that others will frequently follow, it is important for us to set the highest standards for them. American workers were questioned in a study by the Opinion Research Corporation for Ajilon Finance what they believed to be the one quality that a leader should possess most highly. The top three are listed below.

  1. Knowledge of the business
  2. Strong ethics and morals
  3. Leading by example

And so the bottom line is, the most effective leaders will give their followers exactly what they want, and that is a good example.

Law No. 14: The Law of Buy-in

People must also believe in the messenger for a message to have real influence. The vision won’t have much of an impact if they aren’t. This is demonstrated by the observation that leaders typically create the vision first and then seek out the people, but the people typically first seek out a leader they trust before discovering the vision. But regardless of the circumstances, a person’s influence will increase the more people buy into them, whether it’s because of their likeability, charisma, trustworthiness, competency, or respect.

Law No. 15: The Law of Victory

Rich Froning, who for a while held the title of world’s fittest man, wrote in his book First: What it Takes to Win, “In training, you listen to your body. When competing, you instruct your body to be silent. And perseverance in the face of adversity to achieve success is a characteristic of outstanding leaders. And in this section, the four components of team success are shared goals, talent variety, commitment to winning, and developing people to their full potential.

You should start to witness more victories as you concentrate on these, which brings us to law #16—the law of Big Mo.

Law No. 16: The Law of Big Mo

The best part about momentum is that it always starts at zero, but as leadership skills are established, triumphs will grow and Big Mo, or greater momentum, will follow. It happens inevitably and accelerates downward like a snowball. Growth is accelerated, and leadership is made simpler and more pleasurable.

Law No. 17: The Law of Priorities

A leader must make a distinction between activity and accomplishment in order to sustain progress. Similar to leadership, a farmer might need to remove a very attractive portion of a plant that isn’t bearing fruit in order for the remainder of the plant to continue developing to its full potential. It will frequently be necessary to choose between what to keep and what to give up for the benefit of the whole, which brings us to our second law, the law of sacrifice.

Law No. 18: The Law of Sacrifice

Understanding that sacrifices must increase as one advances in leadership would be beneficial. As Maxwell puts it, “A growing leader’s sense of personal rights falls, while his feeling of personal responsibility to others develops.” Jesus once stated, “If anybody aspires to be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all.” Having children can also serve as a wonderful illustration of this. Bottom line: Determine your willingness to make sacrifices for others if you want to be a leader.

Law no. 19: The Law of Timing

In addition to doing the correct things, a good leader also emphasizes doing them at the appropriate times. Consider a marriage proposal as an illustration. Everything can be made or broken by timing. Again, in agriculture, timing is essential if you want to have the best and most abundant crop. The people who understand this law will always have a powerful and timely influence. It is beneficial throughout life.

Law No. 20: The Law of Explosive Growth

This law is the outcome of capable leadership or carefully adhering to previous laws. The first step to getting there is concentrating on personal development, where personal success is felt. The second would be team development, where the company grows, and the third would be leadership development, where leaders are created who can take the reins and carry on the process, creating the opportunity for rapid expansion.

This connects to law #21, often known as the law of legacy, which is our final law.

Law #21: The Law of Legacy

You and I will ultimately be recognised for the legacy we leave behind. If that’s the case, why not choose what our legacy will be while we still have the power to do so? It’s essentially the ability to influence or lead beyond our years. A few things are needed in order to accomplish this.

  • understanding our life’s purpose. Finding our values and talents can help us select what kind of contribution we want to make, and this can be done.
  • deciding whom to support in order to continue that legacy. The ideal candidates would be those who share our beliefs but possess higher talent, allowing them to in a way stand on our shoulders.

Therefore, as we draw to a close with this legislation and this book, I challenge myself and anybody else reading it to choose a legacy that will be positive. That concludes our discussion of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. And if you want a copy for yourself, click the link in the following description.

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