June 13, 2018

Summary: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Last year a colleague, Jared Smith, suggested I read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by Dr. John C. Maxwell.

This post gives a quick overview of what I learned, with more details to be found in this PDF.

Overview

The author shares patterns he’s observed in his career of communication, coaching, and leadership. These “laws” are applicable regardless of where a leader is on his/her journey and are vocation-agnostic.

  1. The Law of the Lid: The higher the ability to lead, the higher the lid.
  2. The Law of Influence: The true measure of leadership is influence; nothing more, nothing less.
  3. The Law of Process: Leadership develops daily, not in a day.
  4. The Law of Navigation: Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.
  5. The Law of Addition: Leaders add value by serving others.
  6. The Law of Solid Ground: Trust is the solid foundation of leadership; it’s the glue that holds the system together.
  7. The Law of Respect: People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
  8. The Law of Intuition: Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias.
  9. The Law of Magnetism: Who you are is what you attract.
  10. The Law of Connection: Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
  11. The Law of the Inner Circle: A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him.
  12. The Law of Empowerment: Only secure leaders give power to others.
  13. The Law of the Picture: People do what people see.
  14. The Law of Buy-in: People buy into the leader, then the vision.
  15. The Law of Victory: Leaders find a way for the team to win.
  16. The Law of the Big Mo: Momentum is the leader’s best friend.
  17. The Law of Priorities: Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.
  18. The Law of Sacrifice: A leader must give up to go up.
  19. The Law of Timing: When to lead is just as important as what to do and where to go.
  20. The Law of Explosive Growth: To add growth, lead followers to multiple lead leaders.
  21. The Law of Legacy: A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.