Leadershift Summary – Effective Leadership Tips to be Embraced

Author: John C. Maxwell

Short Summary
Leadershift (2009) gives tips on good leadership and guides leaders about the changes they need to bring. Moreover, the author advises changing the outdated mindset to be successful.
leadershift
Source: amazon.com

Detailed Leadership Summary

The book Leadershift is written by John C. Maxwell, a well-known leadership expert who has revealed the 11 essential changes in his book that you need to bring to become a good leader.

According to the author, change is something that is essential for everyone, especially leaders. He believes leaders should be humble and connect with their teams to become good leaders.

The book teaches us how to shift our minds so that you, our company, and the people you lead may achieve greater success.

Leadershift Summary Key Points

Being a leader means you have enormous responsibilities upon you. But sometimes, the traditional ways of leadership do not work out. What will you do then? The Leadershift Summary teaches how to develop and change the leadership to advance the team’s potential.

Change the outdated Mindset

The author says that people think leaders know everything and they do not need to learn anything new. To better understand this, Maxwell says that people have this outdated mindset that leaders have to climb the ladder and consider them bad leaders who have this attitude of climbing the leader.

Instead, he advises the leaders to help the team by building the ladder themselves so that people can learn things better. You must change your mindset about your experience. It’s not a badge of honor but rather a reservoir of knowledge from which you might draw lessons to benefit others.

According to Kevin Myers, the pastor of 12Stone Church, the finest leaders are those who want more for their people than they expect from them. You must master the art of mentoring if you want to assist your employees in attaining their maximum potential. It all starts with you choosing someone you’d like to mentor. Because you don’t have infinite time, you must make wise decisions.

How to help your team reach their full potential

The book also guides us about how we can start to bring change and help our team to reach their full potential. The first you should do is to start questioning yourself.

Are the people you’re thinking of mentoring genuinely eager to learn? You’re on the correct route if they say things like “I’ll find a way” rather than “maybe there’s a way, but I don’t know.” Next, consider whether the individuals have the ability to lead themselves. They’ll have much power, and you want to ensure it’s positive.

After you’ve found the perfect people to mentor, regularly give them small morsels of advice from your wealth of experience. Allow them to choose various career paths to further their education.

Start communicating with your team and stop directing

“If you want to be successful as a leader, you need to learn to become comfortable with uncertainty and make shifts continually.”
― John C. Maxwell

Another tip shared by the author in the book Leadershift to become a good leader is to start communicating with your team. Begin with assessing your own communication abilities by asking others to rate your listening skills on a scale of 1 to 10.

To understand this, the author has shared a life experience.

While visiting the locker room of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team, Maxwell uncovered this truth. Pat Summitt, their coach, was well-known for her accomplishments.

It’s halftime, and the athletes are making their way inside the locker room. Rather than immediately approaching Summitt to learn from her, they congregate around a whiteboard. They pose three questions to themselves: What went particularly well? What didn’t go as planned? And What are we going to do differently?

After the team has finished debating, they present Summit with a report and request her advice. She interacts with kids by listening rather than lecturing.

It would have been simple for the coach to guess what the team required and tell them in the dressing room. Instead, she used inquiries and listening to understand their viewpoints and needs better. Summitt was more linked than directed; you must also develop this talent.

You’ll be a pro in no time if you practice asking the proper questions and actively listening. Maxwell uses a notepad to help him achieve this when meeting people. He marks it with a big “L” to remind himself to listen more than he speaks.

Build Trust

“TO GET THE BEST OUT OF PEOPLE, LEADERS MUST ASK FOR THE BEST FROM PEOPLE.”
― John C. Maxwell

According to the author, you must be able to influence others to be an effective leader. Maxwell realized early on in his profession that it has nothing to do with your job title. He became the pastor of a small church shortly after graduating from college. He was astonished when a member named Claude took command of the first of the church’s board meetings, which he had expected to be in charge of.

Claude presided over the gathering, with Maxwell merely saying the opening and closing prayers. Maxwell found that difficult to accept, but he recognized that this man’s honesty spoke louder than any title he could possibly have.

Moreover, people who always live their values and do what they preach will have moral authority. You can spot someone who possesses these characteristics because they are trustworthy and dependable.

Others are more ready to follow you if they believe you will keep your promises than if they believe you will keep your position. You must also be courageous to assist yourself and those you lead in reaching their greatest potential.

Who would I recommend Leadershift Summary Book to?

The book Leadershift is highly recommended to everyone aspiring to be a leader. The Leadershift Summary will guide them about leadership. Moreover, an experienced leader should also read this book to understand that changes are necessary and there is always room for improvement.

Leadershift Summary - February 2022

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