The Law of Process

"Leadership develops daily not in a day"

Law of Process is about the methodology of learning leadership.

You cant become a great leader overnight, it is a long and continuous process of learning, further improving yourself. 

Practice leadership skills on a daily basis hence you will gain more experience and learn more about yourself as a leader. 

there are 4 phases for the growth of leadership

Stage 1 : I dont know what i dont know

At this stage, many people don't understand the value of leadership. They assumed that only a few people can be leaders. But as the law of influence stated, leadership is about influence, when one recognise that leadership is merely influence, they will begin to be interested in it. If people dont what they dont know, they won't grow and assume their leading position.

Stage 2 : I know what i don't know

The next step for a leader to grow is to understand what they have to learn in order to lead.  it is vital for a leader to know what they don't know as this will kickstart the process of learning to lead.  "To be conscious that you're ignorant of facts  is a great step towards knowledge"

 Stage 3 :  I Grow and Know and it starts to Show

After recognising what you are lacking and you begin practice leadership and personal growth on a daily basis, you will start to see results.

Stage 4 : I just go simply with what i know

Back at stage 3 your leadership is effective as you have equiped yourself with what you have lacked , however it takes time for you to think to excute actions. When arriving at stage 4, decisions like that would become automatic for you as you have already incorporated it into your thinking and leading system, thanks to continuous process of personal and leadership growh.

 

Chapter 2- The Law of Influence

We are following the leader..the leader..the leader.......

" leadership is about influence, nothing more, nothing less"

The second law, John introduces is the the law of influence.  It shows what is leadership is all about.

Leadership is purely about influencing people, changing their direction. If you cant influence people into following you, you are not considered a leader.

In the book, John listed out the common misconceptions about leadership ( i only listed out 3 of out 5 of them as i dont really understand them, once i m get it i will reedit this post) :

1. Leadership is not about position you hold. It is assumed that those who holds the highest ranks is considered a leader, but the truth is that even if you are the king of the world, if not you cant change or influence people, you are no different from a commoner. 

2. Leadership is not about pioneering, the first one who started a thing doesnt make him a leader, people might follow his footsteps but if they are not inspired by the pioneer's vision it does not make him a leader. 

3. Leadership is not about knowledge, though knowledge is power, the smartest one doesnt make him a good leader.   

In a nut shell, if people dont get influenced by you, if people dont follow you, you are not a leader.

here's a nice quote from the book which basically tells you the whole picture of this law :

"He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk"

Chapter 1- Law of the Lid

" The level of effectiveness is linked with the strength of leadership"

The first law that the author introduces is the law of the lid,  it emphasize on the importance of a person's ability to lead and it's impact on the level of efficiency and productivity. 

John uses the Macdonald franchise to illustrate this law. Before Macdonald becomes a international corporation, it was founded by the Macdonald brothers (Dick and Maurice). Though they excel in fast food restaurant system however the company never really take flight as their leadership skill is lacking . It was not until the addition of their new partner Ray Kroc that turn Macdonald into a nationwide franchise and subsequently a global phenomenon.

As you can see, due to the lacking ability of the Macdonald brothers to lead, the potential of the company has been limited. hence it can be said that their "lid" is very low. In contrast, Ray, is a leader ( "lid" is high)  hence was able to brought the company up to new heights.  In a nut shell, a company or a team is as good as the one who is in charge.

" Personal and organisational effectiveness is directly proportionate with the strength of leadership"

"The higher you want to climb, the more leadership you need in order to achieve it ; The greater impact you want to make, the greater influences you need to be" 

21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

this is the first John Maxwell book i m going to tackle first.

A slight introduction on the author, john maxwell is a veteran in the leadership fields,  having founded 4 companies , john has a vast extensive knowledge and experiences in leading and inspiring people. He has organised countless talks and conventions which hundred of thousands attended and his works has sold millions of copies worldwide.

21 irrefutable laws of leadership presents his insight in creating a leader within readers by providing them these 21 laws as a foundation for their leadership skills.