John C. Maxwell - What Successful People Know about Leadership: Advice from Americas #1 Leadership Authority

I chose my career path at age eighteen, earned my degree, and went to work. That first job gave me a leadership position. But it didnt make me a leader. I worked in that position for three years and I thought I was successful. However, it wasnt until I was in my next position that I realized how little I knew about leadership. I discovered that I was a hard worker, but not much of a leader.

Thats when I started asking myself, What do successful people know about leadership that I dont? That was the start of my lifelong leadership journey. I started reading books to help me become a better leader. I started paying attention to how successful people in my field led. And I started asking questionslots of questions. In fact, Ive often told the story of how I researched who the top ten leaders were in my profession, contacted them, and offered them what was a large amount of money to me for thirty minutes of their time.

Many said no. Some said yes, and gave me exactly thirty minutes. Others graciously gave me even more of their time and refused to take the money I offered.

I learned a lot from those leadersand from many others. More than forty years have passed since those meetings, but I continue to learn as much as I can about leadership.

Today, some people call me an expert, though I still consider myself a student. And nearly every day, others are asking me questions about leadership. Im glad to share what Ive learned so far. And thats what Im doing in this booksharing insights on leadership that Ive gleaned through personal experience and observing successful people.

Whether youre a brand new student of leadership, as I was fifty years ago, or a seasoned veteran, I believe you will find useful insights in these pages that will help you to lead others better or to mentor other leaders. The chapters were prompted by questions people have asked me, and teach some of the essentials for successful leadership:

1. How to Lead Yourself

2. How Leadership Works

3. How to Get Started in Leadership

4. How to Resolve Conflicts and Lead Challenging People

5. How to Succeed Working Under Poor Leadership

6. How to Navigate Leadership Transitions

7. How to Develop Leaders

You can read the book from front to back, tackling the progressively difficult subjects, or you can go straight to the topic that will help you most right now. This book is designed to meet you wherever you are on the leadership journey.

I wish you great success, and encourage you to pass on to others what youre learning.