Read entire blog post here: John Maxwell On Leadership Blog

In recent years, people in the business world have rediscovered the significance of teams. In the 1980s, the buzzword in business circles was management. Then in the 1990s, the emphasis was on leadership. Now in the twenty-first century, the emphasis is on teams. Why? Because nobody does everything well.

Not everyone recognizes that those closest to you will make or break you. There are still leaders who hold up the Lone Ranger as their model for leadership. One of the best illustrations of how unrealistic that ideal of leadership really is can be found in American Spirit by Lawrence Miller:

Problems are always solved in the same way. The Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion … come riding into town. The Lone Ranger, with his mask and mysterious identity, background, and lifestyle, never becomes intimate with those whom he will help. His power is partly in his mystique. Within ten minutes the Lone Ranger has understood the problem, identified who the bad guys are, and has set out to catch them. He quickly outwits the bad guys, draws his gun, and has them behind bars. And then there was always that wonderful scene at the end [where] the helpless victims are standing in front of their ranch or in the town square marveling at how wonderful it is now that they have been saved.

What baloney! There are no Lone Ranger leaders. Think about it: If you’re alone, you’re not leading anybody, are you?

Leadership expert Warren Bennis was right when he maintained, “The leader finds greatness in the group, and he or she helps the members find it in themselves.” Think of any highly effective leader, and you will find someone who surrounded himself with a strong inner circle. You can see it in business, ministry, sports, and even family relationships. Those closest to you determine your level of success.

from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Right now I’m excited to share a unique opportunity with you. I’m assembling a special group of certified coaches, trainers and speakers worldwide, to participate in the John C. Maxwell Certification Program. This program will equip you with the knowledge, skills and tools for empowering a new generation of leaders.

This could be a wonderful opportunity for you to:

• Increase Your Value in Your Current Profession.
• Access Curriculum and Training for You and Your Team.
• Become a Coach, Trainer and/or Speaker and Start a Business!
• Add Curriculum, Skill Training and Business Tools to an Existing Coaching, Training and Speaking Business

We’ll be making a global announcement via two Special Live Calls onWednesday, March 2 – one at 4:00pm EST (GMT-5) and the other at 9:00pm EST (GMT-5). I’m honored to have Darren Hardy, Publisher and Editorial Director of SUCCESS magazine, as the host for the call.  ** The Highlights of the Special Call are now available here: http://JohnMaxwellTeam.com/replay

Enjoy the call!

(This post was originally posted on John Maxwell On Leadership Blog)

I was recently in Aruba and was having a unique discussion on the many different ways people now connect. I sent out a survey asking my friends on Facebook to answer some questions about how they connected with the world. Here are the results of this fun survey. I hope you find value in these results!

First, the questions:

How many ONLINE groups and organizations are you associated with? (ONLINE such as groups in Social Media, with Membership Sites, Online Certifications, etc)

How many OFFLINE groups and organizations are you associated with? (OFFLINE examples: Charities, Chambers, Spiritually, Wellness/ Fitness, etc)

Do you believe there is value in connecting with a coach or mentor on a regular basis?

When using social media, how much time per week do you spend growing your network and making connections?

In these current times, do you feel like you are being supported by your connections, or lacking in support from your connections?

How often are you connecting with other like-minded leaders, in a continuous learning environment? ( Ex. Seminars, Workshops, Trainings, Webinars, etc)

And the results (Click on the images to pull up a larger view):

Happy New Year! If you’re like me, you spent some time in the past few weeks reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the coming one. I’m already excited about what’s in store for the next twelve months!

What dreams do you have for 2011? Or maybe a better question is, do you have dreams for 2011? For some people, dreaming is easy. Your mind is full of dreams just waiting to be expressed. But what about those who find it hard to dream? What if you’re not sure if you have a dream you want to pursue?

Let’s face it: Many of us were not encouraged to dream. Others had dreams, only to see them actively discouraged. The world is filled with dream crushers and idea killers. Why? Some people without dreams of their own hate to see others pursuing theirs. Other people’s passion and success makes them feel inadequate or insecure. Others think they’re being helpful: keeping us from risk or hurt.

Business professors Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad wrote about an experiment conducted with a group of monkeys. Four monkeys were placed in a room that had a tall pole in the center. Suspended from the top of that pole was a bunch of bananas.

One of the hungry monkeys started climbing the pole to get something to eat, but just as he reached out to grab a banana, he was doused with a torrent of cold water. Squealing, he scampered down the pole and abandoned his attempt to feed himself. Each monkey made a similar attempt, and each one was drenched with cold water. After making several attempts, they finally gave up.

Then researchers removed one of the monkeys from the room and replaced him with a new monkey. As the newcomer began to climb the pole, the other three grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground. After trying to climb the pole several times and being dragged down by the others, he finally gave up and never attempted to climb the pole again.

The researchers replaced the original monkeys, one by one, with new ones, and each time a new monkey was brought in, he would be dragged down by the others before he could reach the bananas. In time, only monkeys who had never received a cold shower were in the room, but none of them would climb the pole. They prevented one another from climbing, but none of them knew why.

Perhaps others have dragged you down in life. They’ve discouraged you from dreaming. Maybe they resented the fact that you wanted to move up or to do something significant with your life. Or maybe they were trying to protect you from pain or disappointment. Either way, you’ve been discouraged from dreaming.

Take heart. It’s never too late to start dreaming and pursuing your dreams. My friend Dale Turner asserts, “Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.”

If you haven’t done any dreaming yet this year, set aside some time to explore possibilities and commit yourself to new opportunities. It’s never too late to dream.

~Adapted from my book Put Your Dream to the Test

This story was originally posted on: John Maxwell On Leadership.
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Recently, I was asked a question that I hear pretty often.

Usually the questioner is young, perhaps newly-graduated from school. They’re almost always new to their current job. And I can often hear their frustration when they ask:

Please tell me, how can someone just entering the workforce create change?

Maybe you’re familiar with this question. Do you see a need for change in your organization? Are you frustrated because you can’t get anyone else to see it – much less do something about it? Maybe you’ve just graduated from university and gotten your first job. Or perhaps you’re a veteran worker, but newly-hired. Either way, it seems like a cruel joke.

As a new member of the team,

You see things with fresh eyes; you see problems that others might have just gotten used to. And if you’re young, you’re probably willing to take on any challenge.

BUT

You’ve also just joined an established group. No one knows you, so you have no credibility, no trust, no goodwill. You may have wonderful ideas, but how do you impress them on others?

What can you do to be heard?

You need to CONNECT.

Based on the definition I used when I wrote Everyone Communicates, Few Connect,

Connecting is the ability to identify with people
and relate to them in a way that increases
your influence with them.

Think about it: Where does change begin in an organization? With the people! So your ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in increasing your influence. And increasing your influence with them is your way of making change happen.

Here are some next steps to take:

1. Keep in mind that connecting requires energy. You must be intentional – not casual – in your interactions. Devote the time and energy necessary, but DON’T steal it from the work you were hired for. The energy you put toward connection needs to be above and beyond what you’re already doing for your job.
2. Focus on others. True connection is all about others. If you’re still working on making your agenda happen (i.e. creating change), that’s not connection; it’s manipulation.
3. Work on finding common ground. When two people come together to communicate, each has a reason for doing so. To connect on common ground, you must know your reason and the other person’s reason, then find a way to connect the two.

All of this may sound complicated and roundabout when all you want to do get your goals accomplished. But you need to remember: Making a difference in your work is not about productivity; it’s about people. When you focus on others and connect with them, you can work together to accomplish great things.

This story was originally posted on: John Maxwell On Leadership.

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Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “Criticism is something you can avoid easily—by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” Obviously, that isn’t an option for anyone who wants to be successful as a leader.

Good leaders are active, and their actions often put them out front. That often draws criticism. When spectators watch a race, where do they focus their attention? On the front-runners! People watch their every action—and often criticize.

Since criticism is a part of leadership, you need to learn how to handle it constructively.  The following has helped me to deal with criticism, so I pass it on to you.

Know yourself.

Do you really know yourself? Are you aware of your weaknesses as well as your strengths? Where do you fall short as a person and leader? Not sure what your weaknesses are? Ask five trustworthy people close to you. They’ll be able to tell you where you come up short.

Know the criticism – and the critics.

When you receive criticism, how do you tell if it’s constructive or destructive? (Some say constructive criticism is when I criticize you, but destructive criticism is when you criticize me!) Here are the questions I ask to get to determine what kind of criticism it is:

• Who criticized me? Adverse criticism from a wise person is more to be desired than the enthusiastic approval of a fool. The source often matters.
• How was it given? I try to discern whether the person was being judgmental or whether he gave me the benefit of the doubt and spoke with kindness.
• Why was it given? Was it given out of a personal hurt or for my benefit? Hurting people hurt people; they lash out or criticize to try to make themselves feel better, not to help the other person.

Stay open to change.

Let’s assume you now know yourself pretty well. You can tell when a criticism is way off-base; maybe it’s directed more at your position than at you. And you know when a criticism is 100% legitimate because it’s about a weakness that you’ve already discovered.

But what about the gray areas? The criticisms that might hold a grain of truth? A good leader stays open to improvement by:

• Not being defensive,
• Looking for the helpful grain of truth,
• Making the necessary changes, and
• Taking the high road.

Accept yourself.

Jonas Salk, developer of the Salk polio vaccine, had many critics in spite of his incredible contribution to medicine. Of criticism, he observed, “First people will tell you that you are wrong. Then they will tell you that you are right, but what you’re doing really isn’t important. Finally, they will admit that you are right and that what you are doing is very important; but after all, they knew it all the time.”

How do leaders who are out front handle this kind of fickle response from others?

The Serenity Prayer, made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, gives direction in this area:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

If you have endeavored to know yourself, and have worked hard to change yourself, then what more can you do?

Forget yourself.

The final step in the process of effectively handling criticism is to stop focusing on yourself. Secure people forget about themselves so they can focus on others. By doing this, they can face nearly any kind of criticism—and even serve the critic.

I try to live out a sentiment expressed by Parkenham Beatty, who advised, “By your own soul learn to live. And if men thwart you, take no heed. If men hate you, have no care: Sing your song, dream your dream, hope your hope and pray your prayer.”

As leaders, we must always be serious about our responsibilities, but it isn’t healthy for us to take ourselves too seriously. A Chinese proverb says, “Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves. They shall never cease to be entertained.”

This story was originally posted on: John Maxwell On Leadership.

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As I have watched effective communicators inspire people, I have come to the conclusion that there is a kind of formula, which I call the Inspiration Equation, which comes into play. It works like this:

What They Know + What They See + What They Feel = Inspiration

Do people know that you care? That you understand them? Can they see that you are credible? That you live what you say? Can they feel your passion for your message and your confidence in yourself and them? When a communicator is able to bring all three factors into alignment, it creates a synergy that inspires people. And from that place of inspiration, you can often lead people to take action.

Norm Lawson tells the story of a rabbi and a soap maker who went for a walk together. The soap maker said, “What good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery of the world! Still there, even after years—thousands of years—of teaching about goodness and truth and peace. Still there, after all the prayers and sermons and teachings. If religion is good and true, why should this be?”

The rabbi said nothing. They continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter.

Then the rabbi said, “Look at that child. You say that soap makes people clean, but see the dirt on that youngster. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the child is still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is, after all!”

The soap maker protested, “But, Rabbi, soap cannot do any good unless it is used!”

“Exactly,” replied the rabbi.

According to some scholars, there hasn’t always been such a divide between understanding and action. One linguist says that in up to twenty primitive languages, the words for “hearing” and “doing” are the same word. Only in our modern context have we divided them.

Actor Will Smith once said, “The way I like to measure greatness is: How many people do you affect? In your time on earth, how many people can you affect? How many people can you make want to be better? Or how many people can you inspire?” In the end, what good is our communication if its impact ends the moment we stop speaking? The true test of inspiration isn’t people’s applause; it’s their actions. That’s what makes a difference.

This story was originally posted on: John Maxwell On Leadership Blog.
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