Thursday, August 26, 2010

JOHN MAXWELL'S KEY POINTS TO LEADING YOURSELF

There is not a better book or resource out there for assistant coaches on the subject of leadership than John Maxwell’s 360 Degree Leadership. The book deals with the subject of not being the leader but being a leader and how to succeed. Maxwell believes strong in the importance of “leading yourself exceptionally well” in order to best benefit your organization. Here are some of his key points in leading yourself:

1. Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.

2. The key to leading yourself well is to learn self-management.
Nothing will make a better impression on your leader than your ability to manage yourself. If your leader must continually expend energy managing you, then you will be perceived as someone who drains time and energy. If you manage yourself well, however, your boss will see you as someone who maximizes opportunities and leverages personal strengths. That will make you someone your leader turns to when the heat is on.

3. Manage your emotions.
Good leaders know when to display emotions and when to delay them.

4. Manage your time.
Time management issues are especially tough for people in the middle. Leader at the top can delegate.

5. Manage your priorities.
You must be ruthless in your judgment of what you should not do.

6. Manage your energy.
What is the main event? The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness. “the ABCs energy-drain”
Activity without direction
Burden without action
Conflict without resolution

7. Manage your thinking.
Poet and novelist James Joyce said, “Your mind will give back to you exactly what you put into it.” A minute of thinking is often more valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work.

8. Manage your words.
“Show me what you can do; don’t just tell me what you can do.”

9. Manage your personal life.
If I can’t lead myself, others won’t follow me.
If I can’t lead myself, others won’t respect me.
If I can’t lead myself, others won’t partner with me.