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John C. Maxwell is known as America’s top expert leadership guru, and is an internationally recognized speaker and author who has sold more than 13 million books. His organizations have trained more than 2 million leaders worldwide.
Dr. Maxwell is the founder of Injoy and Equip, among other organizations. He is also a renowned author who has written more than 40 books, including “Developing the Leaders Around You,” “Your Road Map to Success,” “Winning with People” and the best-seller, “Twenty-One Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” which has sold more than 1 million copies.
“Developing the Leader Within You” is a book focused on distinguishing between leadership and management. It deeply expounds on the five levels of leadership, namely position, permission, production, people development and personhood. It also outlines the key things for leading others successfully. It shows how people grow on each succeeding level together with others. It emphasizes the need for people who will help you to make necessary changes, recognizing you as a leader who inspires others to do their best.
The book is geared toward helping you develop the vision, value, influence and motivation that is required of successful leaders now and in the future. The book starts by defining what leadership is. It states that, “leadership is influence,” with the ability of obtaining followers. Maxwell says, “The best investment in the future is a proper influence today.” We can influence people either negatively or positively. Therefore, it is our duty to know what kind of influencers we will be. Influence is a skill that can be developed.
Position is the basic entry-level of leadership. At this level, the only influence you have comes from your title. People who stay in this level get into territorial rights, protocol, tradition and organizational charts , which can become negative when you make them the basis of authority. Positional leadership is based on title and it comes through appointment. Positional leaders have more difficulty working with volunteers, white-collar workers and younger people because they lead by intimidation. Permission is the second leadership level, and leaders in this level lead by inter-relationships. The people are their great agenda and they focus more energy on individual needs and desires. Relationships are very important, because, “People who are unable to build solid, long lasting relationships will soon discover that they are unable to sustain long and effective leadership.” In this production level is where good things start to happen and morale is high. Problems are solved with minimum effort and leading others is fun.
The fourth level is people development and Maxwell says that, “A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.” This is a level when a leader feels comfortable being around the people he has developed. In this stage, you should have a way of keeping in touch with everyone and develop key leaders in your organization. The fifth level is person-hood, at which only few leaders in a lifetime have arrived. It is a distinguished leadership, which allows us to reap rewards that are eternally satisfying. Readers will learn that climbing the steps of the leadership ladder takes longer. As you climb, it requires a lot of commitment, and it becomes easier to lead. It should be noted that you never leave the base level. Maxwell says, “Efficiency is the foundation of survival, Effectiveness is the foundation for success.” He says that we should work smart, prioritize, choose, evaluate and organize.
Writer Bio Joseph Nzioki is a scholar, passionate educator, philanthropist, leadership strategist, coach and an accomplished writer. He earned a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership studies and a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Magna Cum-Laude) both from Beulah Heights University. He has won many academic honors among many other distinguished awards of excellence. He is an avid reader, writer, blogger and he is also a certified Leadership/life Coach. His sole vision in life is to help and empower others realize their potential and live their dreams.
A virtual spokesperson for black technology, BlackEngineer aspires to serve as leading news and information provider on the advancements in black technology with deep insights into black engineering, black entrepreneurs, black education, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). In fact, BlackEngineer is one of the very few to promote the achievements of black technology. The Black engineer of the year awards (BEYA) is one of our successful ventures to promote black technology, progress and achievements made in black technology, and the sentiments of the Black community in the US, the UK, Caribbean, and Africa.
Black technology entrepreneurs are increasingly providing the horsepower that drives the global economy. Over the last two decades, black entrepreneurs have created more jobs, and contributed much more to the economic expansion of the Black community as a whole, than any black pastor or politician. Black entrepreneurs are taking risks and building businesses that generate economic growth and increase prosperity in underserved areas, as more minority-owned and minority-focused businesses emerge, willing to serve the financial needs of Black entrepreneurs. US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine's annual list of Top Black Technology Entrepreneurs reflects the expanding scope of leading Black entrepreneurs in information technology, homeland security, and defense.
