“Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing your team.
―
John C. Maxwell
“You can’t take the team to the next level when you haven’t mastered the skills it takes to succeed on a personal level.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“In ancient China the people wanted security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great wall. It was so high they believed no one could climb over it and so thick nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over it. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying on the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you pair excellence with humility, people not only won’t run over you, they will respect you.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Every message that people receive is filtered through the messenger who delivers it.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“what gets rewarded gets done. If you praise and honor the people who epitomize the values of the team, those values get embraced and upheld by other members of the team. There is no better reinforcement.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“One of the most striking scenes of the 1970s was Hubert Humphrey’s funeral. Seated next to Hubert’s beloved wife was former President Richard M. Nixon, a long-time political adversary of Humphrey, and a man disgraced by Watergate. Humphrey himself had asked Nixon to have that place of honor. Three days before Senator Humphrey died, Jesse Jackson visited him in the hospital. Humphrey told Jackson that he had just called Nixon. Reverend Jackson, knowing their past relationship, asked Humphrey why. Here is what Hubert Humphrey had to say, From this vantage point, with the sun setting in my life, all of the speeches, the political conventions, the crowds, and the great fights are behind me. At a time like this you are forced to deal with your irreducible essence, forced to grapple with that which is really important. And what I have concluded about life is that when all is said and done, we must forgive each other, redeem each other, and move on. Do”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Above all, don’t dwell on yesterday’s victory. If your focus is on what’s behind you rather than what’s ahead, you will crash.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“People need clear objectives set before them if they are to achieve anything of value.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The beauty of trust is that it erases worry and frees you to get on with other matters. Trust means confidence.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The sum of all your thoughts comprises your overall attitude.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Novelist Victor Hugo believed, "He who every morning plans the transactions of the day and follows out that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life . . . But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incident, chaos will soon reign.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Leadership is developed, not discovered. It’s a process.
―
John C. Maxwell
