Episode 197- John Maxwell on The One Question Every Leader Should Ask

Are people better off because you’re leading them? That’s the number one question that leadership expert John Maxwell says you need to ask as a leader. John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach and speaker whose passion is to develop leaders at all levels. He is the founder of The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team and EQUIP, a nonprofit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 180 countries. John was a pastor for more than 30 years before devoting himself full time to speaking and writing. His new book is called High Road Leadership. On this episode, we talk about the principles of high road leadership, the difference between success and significance, and why you should focus on growth over goals.

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Show Notes

• The difference between high road leaders and low road leaders (2:22)
• Are the people better off because you lead them or are they worse off? (3:59)
• Why he turned down the opportunity to run as a third party candidate (6:03)
• The reasons why people don’t choose high road leadership (7:51)
• The career advice John’s father shared with him that’s the foundation of his leadership: value people, believe in them, and love them unconditionally (9:33)
• 4 questions to ask yourself as a communicator: What do I want people to see? Know? Feel? Do? (11:15)
• The one question legendary basketball coach John Wooden asked himself every day: How can I make my team better? (17:22)
• There is no finish line (19:37)
• Grow in your strength zones (21:37)
• Be more growth oriented than goal oriented (23:00)
• The 24-hour rule (25:58)
• The biggest mistake leaders make: leading by assumption (27:21)
• Why John still does “learning leader lunches” monthly (31:52)
• You go through hard things so you can handle harder things (32:57)
• Success is about me; significance is about others. (35:48)
• To find your purpose, ask: What am I passionate about? What am I good at? (39:58)
• The unhealthy way people separate success and failure (43:08)

Resources / People Mentioned

• High Road Leadership by John Maxwell
• EQUIP
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
• Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell
• The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
• The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication
• John Wooden, basketball coach
• Mark Cole, Maxwell Leadership
• Good Leaders Ask Great Questions by John Maxwell
• Intentional Living by John Maxwell
• Doris Kearns Goodwin

Recommended For You

Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:

• Simon Sinek on How to Lead with an Infinite Mindset
• Adam Grant on Finding Motivation and Meaning at Work
• Patrick Lencioni on The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

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