Leadership Gold Nuggets

I decided to participate in the staff group studying John Maxwell’s book Leadership Gold, even though I’m not a huge fan of John Maxwell.  I thought I’d go into it with an open mind and glean a few nuggets that would help in my role at Kiwanis.    There are times when I’m reading that I will have a twinge of irritation with the writing style, but I recognize that is his style and garner what I can from the message. We are through chapter 12 and I have to say I have found more than a few nuggets.

 For me it has come down to following the golden rule(s) as you deal with people.  You have to love those you lead, and to do that you have to build a relationship with them by listening and showing respect; you have to follow some times to be a good leader and criticism is part of the territory so don’t take it personally, but use it to improve.   He goes on to say that if you aren’t being criticized you probably aren’t doing anything.  I chuckled at this thought, since the department I lead gets its share of criticism, we must be doing a lot.

It also drove home that who you are is part of being a good leader. We’ve all seen those types who display the plastic façade of leadership; they are acting like a leader, potentially thinking this is what others expect as a leader, not being true to themselves in the process.  I found this comforting that it’s okay to bring all my idiosyncrasies and quirks with me in a leadership role.

As we are at the halfway point of the book, I have additional insight on improving my leadership skills and have learned that, with an open mind, even an author I’m not a fan of can provide wisdom worth knowing.