Leadership 101- What Every Leader Needs to Know Description:

Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know review:
4 stars (Leadership 101 by John Maxwell) - Many people attain positions of leadership in the organisations, community and other spheres of life but with no guidance of what good leadership entails. John Maxwell did a good job of writing a small book packed with useful guidance on how to be an effective leader. He divided the book into three parts. The first part describes how one can develop as a leader, whilst the second part explains the traits of a leader and the last part is on the impact that a leader can have on people.



The need for a clear vision as a leader becomes very apparent after reading the book. As a leader one should be aiming at producing a lasting legacy, that is, one should be aiming at making a difference to the lives of others. Followers should be willing to follow you because of the positive influence that you have on people as a good leader. To be an effective leader, one needs to continually develop oneself. High quality leadership entails empowering others to exercise their huge potential for the benefit of the organisation or the team. Followers have to trust you as a leader and trust has to be earned from one's actions.



One cannot hope to be an exceptional leader unless one is self-disciplined. Leadership starts with being able to lead yourself before one can lead others.



The book is written in simple easy to follow style which makes it readable by anyone at leadership position in an organisation or other sphere of life.


5 stars (Vision) - A leader cant lead without vision. He/she cant reach that vision without people who are willing to follow and share that same vision. And in order for others to follow that leader has to show integrity, passion and earn respect in the process. He/she has to put the interest of the organization and its people above his/her own personal interests... then he/she can earn the title of a leader.
3 stars (A good entry level book into the world of leadership.) - John C. Maxwell has apparently spent the majority of his life striving to become one of the leading members of society. Maxwell is an ex-preacher, a key notes speaker, and runs a leadership development consultant firm. Needless to say Maxwell's rhetoric is very impressive. I enjoyed "Leadership 101" as much as anybody can really enjoy a textbook. I felt that the book was very well organized, but that Maxwell used his stunning organization to tip-toe around the fact that the book actually contained few useful guidelines to becoming a leader.

It is not very often that you find a book so well written that you do not mind reading on despite that lack of inspiration from the text. John Maxwell does cover many topics concerning leadership during his book. Such topics are the Lid of Leadership, or the Four Stages of Developing into a Leader, and the Development of Personal Vision. These topics cover tangible ideas about leadership theory, but do not really create any solid conclusions about how the reader should begin to attain these goals. Maxwell uses stories about famous icons such as Jerry Rice, Princess Dianna, and Mother Theresa to explain his theories of how to become a leader, but somewhere along the way the messages seem to fall shortof their goal. The stories seem to overwhelm the information, and Maxwell offers no real plan to the reader to follow on their own

As a student of Communications I am very aware of the ideas that leaders are born and also created. but to a certain degree all characteristics of being a good leader can be studied, copied, and eventually learned. This journey towards leadership, even if guided by a personal mentor, will always be a personal experience. Despite this,you would think that after 21 books on Leadership John C. Maxwell would have developed a more tangible plan for his audience to follow.

In defense of this book, I am aware that it is one of Maxwell's shorter works, and that with a more compact text not all the information required to become a leader can be squished into just 108 pages. If I was to describe the type of person I would recommend this book for I would have to say a person looking for an entry-level book on the topic of Leadership. This book will give you a good base structure from which to work. Maxwell emphasizes that individuals must work on personal traits such as discipline, perseverance and commitment, while working towards developing their personal character. This is important ground work for anybody working towards becoming a leader.

Unfortunately I would say that a more advanced student of leadership would be mildly disappointed by this book. If you are a fan of Maxwell's work and wish to check it out; I would recommend this book as a quick read while traveling. This book will remind you of the qualities you must possess as you continue your journey towards becoming a leader. Maxwell's "Leadership 101" will be a nice refresher course, but if you are a true leader you will be thirsty for more information when you finish the last page.