Maxwell - The 360 [-degree] leader: developing your influence from anywhere in the organization

THE

LEADER

DEVELOPING YOUR INFLUENCE FROM
ANYWHERE IN THE ORGANIZATION

JOHN C.
MAXWELL

2005, 2011 by John C. Maxwell

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from The Holy Bible, KING JAMES VERSION.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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Published in association with Yates & Yates, www.yates2.com.

This publication includes a condensed version of The 360 Leader Workbook.

ISBN 978-1-4002-0359-8 (trade paper)

Library of Congress has Catalogued the Hardcover Edition as Follows:

Maxwell, John C., 1947

The 360-degree leader : developing your influence from anywhere in the organization / John C. Maxwell.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN: 978-0-7852-6092-9 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-7852-8811-4 (IE)

1. Leadership. 2. Organization. 3. Executive ability. I. Title: Three hundred sixty-degree leader. II. Title.

HD57.7.M39383 2005

658.4'092dc22

2005028424

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 QGF 5 4 3 2 1

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO DAN REILAND
A FRIEND
A STUDENT
A TEACHER
A PARTNER
A 360-DEGREE LEADER

CONTENTS

Id like to say thank you to

Charlie Wetzel, my writer;

Stephanie Wetzel, who reviewed the early drafts of the manuscript;

Dan Reiland, who helped us think through and land the concepts for this book; David Branker, Doug Carter, Chris Hodges, Billy Hornsby, Brad Lomenick, Rod Loy, David McKinley, Todd Mullins, Tom Mullins, and Douglas Randlett, each of whom have spent time leading as 360-Degree Leaders in the middle of organizations, for their valuable feedback on the outline of the book; and

Linda Eggers, my assistant.

SECTION 1
THE MYTHS OF LEADING FROM THE
MIDDLE OF AN ORGANIZATION

T hese are classic pictures of leadership: William Wallace leading the charge of his warriors against the army that would oppress his people and him. Winston Churchill defying the Nazi threat as much of Europe collapsed. Mahatma Gandhi leading the two-hundred-mile march to the sea to protest the Salt Act. Mary Kay Ash going off on her own to create a world-class organization. Martin Luther King Jr. standing before the Lincoln Memorial challenging the nation with his dream of reconciliation.

Each of these people was a great leader and impacted hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. Yet these pictures can also be misleading. The reality is that 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization. Usually, an organization has only one person who is the leader. So what do you do if you are not that one person?

Ninety-nine percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization.

Ive taught leadership for nearly thirty years. And in just about every conference Ive taught, someone has come up to me and said something such as, I like what you teach about leadership, but I cant apply it. Im not the main leader. And the person I work under is, at best, average.

Is that where you live? Are you working somewhere in the middle of your organization? You may not be a follower at the lowest level of the organization, but youre not the top dog eitheryet you still want to lead, to make things happen, to make a contribution.

You do not have to be held hostage to your circumstances or position. You do not have to be the CEO to lead effectively. And you can learn to make an impact through your leadership even if you report to someone who is not a good leader. Whats the secret? You learn to develop your influence from wherever you are in the organization by becoming a 360-Degree Leader. You learn to lead up, lead across, and lead down.

Not everyone understands what it means to influence others in every directionthose you work for, the people who are on the same level with you, and those who work for you. Some people are good at leading the members of their own team, but they seem to alienate the leaders in other departments of the organization. Other individuals excel at building a great relationship with their boss, but they have no influence with anyone below them in the organization. A few people can get along with just about anybody, but they never seem to get any work done. On the other hand, some people are productive, but they cant get along with anybody. But 360-Degree Leaders are different. Only 360-Degree Leaders influence people at every level of the organization. By helping others, they help themselves.

At this point, you may be saying, Leading in every directionthats easier said than done! Thats true, but its not impossible. In fact, becoming a 360-Degree Leader is within the reach of anyone who possesses average or better leadership skills and is willing to work at it. So even if you would rate yourself as only a five or six on a scale of one to ten, you can improve your leadership and develop influence with the people all around you in an organizationand you can do it from anywhere in the organization.

Leading in all directions will require you to learn three different sets of leadership skills. You may already possess an intuitive sense of how well you lead up, across, and down. I want to help you make a more accurate assessment of those skills because it will help you to know how to direct your personal leadership growth. For that reason, I have arranged for you to be able to go to www.360DegreeLeader.com and take a free assessment of their 360-Degree Leadership skills. Whats offered is a simple, straightforward on-line questionnaire that will ask you to rate yourself on issues related to leadership in each of the three areas. The assessment will take only about fifteen minutes, and when youre done, you will be able to download a lengthy report with your results.

When you go to http://www.360DegreeLeader.com, youll see a box asking for your passcode. In previous editions of the book, this passcode was provided on the dust jacket or inside the back cover. Now, though, you can retrieve your passcode by clicking Register Here just below the box. Youll fill out some basic information and receive an email with the passcode you need to take the assessment. This simple, free questionnaire will help you know where you are in your 360 Degree Leadership journey.