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The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization (Hardcover)
by John C. Maxwell
| Category:
Leadership, Management, Personal growth |
| Market price: ¥ 58.00
MSL price:
¥ 238.00
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| MSL Pointer Review:
A must-read by middle managers with the question “How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss?” |
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Author: John C. Maxwell
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition
Pub. in: January, 2006
ISBN: 0785260927
Pages: 336
Measurements: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01213
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0785260929
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- MSL Picks -
The author spends a good deal of time articulating the dilemma for middle managers in an organization. Their plight typifies why some people are best working for themselves rather than in an organizational setting. A good middle manager must concentrate on assigned duties and not dreams. Sometimes , it is necessary to do the work that others won't or to do the work that others are incapable of doing. The middle manager is squeezed between the demands from the top and the expectations of followers in the
organization.
There are a whole list of don'ts in an organization.
Don't do the following:
-be insecure or ineffective
-be selfish or overly controlling
-political or manipulative
There are times when it is necessary to let the boss take the credit. In other situations, you may have to compensate for specific weaknesses in a boss or human frailties. To some extent, a middle manager is limited by the amount of empowerment bestowed upon him/her in an organization. A strength of this work is that the author discusses many aspects of corporate governance that are not written down per se. Therefore, the presentation is
unique in many important respects.
(From quoting Joseph S. Maresca, USA)
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As a cutting edge entrepreneur, best selling author, and dynamic speaker, Dr. John C. Maxwell has cultivated an extensive following among the most highly respected and influential business leaders across the globe. Reaching more than 350,000 people a year through speaking engagements alone, and over a million through resources, Dr. John C. Maxwell is committed to developing leaders of excellence and integrity by providing the finest resources and training for personal and professional growth.
His philosophy that "everything rises and falls on leadership" motivates every endeavor to help individuals reach their highest potential, both in the home office and abroad through conferences, books, and audio and video resources. His passion has quickly caught on, and he has communicated his leadership principles to Fortune 500 companies, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and sports organizations such as the NCAA, the NBA, and the NFL.
Author of more than 30 books with more than 7 million copies sold, John C. Maxwell works diligently to make leadership tools easily accessible and convenient for the busy business leader. Both a Time Warner and Thomas Nelson author, some of Maxwell's hottest titles include Thinking for a Change, Running With the Giants, Leadership 101, Attitude 101, The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day, Failing Forward: Turning Your Failures into Stepping Stones for Success, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Many of his titles have landed on the best seller list in noted publications such as the New York Times, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CBA Marketplace. His book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership surpassed the 1,000,000 shipped/sold mark early in 2003.
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From Publisher
In his nearly thirty years of teaching leadership, John Maxwell has encountered this question again and again: How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss? It's a valid question that Maxwell answers in The 360 Degree Leader voted best business book of the year by Soundview Executive Book Summary subscribers, and 2006 recipient of their Harold Longman Award. In this award-winning book, Maxwell asserts that you don't have to be the main leader to make significant impact in your organization. Good leaders are not only capable of leading their followers but are also adept at leading their superiors and their peers. Debunking myths and shedding light on the challenges, John Maxwell offers specific principles for Leading Down, Leading Up, and Leading Across. 360-Degree Leaders can lead effectively, regardless of their position in an organization. By applying Maxwell's principles, you will expand your influence and ultimately be a more valuable team member.
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Publishers Weekly (MSL quote), USA
<2008-03-11 00:00>
In this latest treatise, leadership mega-guru Maxwell (The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership) taps a rich vein of corporate angst: the plight of the middle manager, saddled with responsibilities but lacking real power, torn by conflicting tasks and time-management dilemmas, seething with thwarted ambition. As Macbeth shows, it's a predicament fraught with tragic potential, but the staid, platitudinous treatment given it by Maxwell and ghostwriter Charlie Wetzel drains away the drama. They generally counsel acceptance of limitations. Maxwell tells middle managers to work diligently in subordinate positions, support the CEO's vision, find the good in incompetent or malevolent leaders, infiltrate their bosses' emotional lives ("Listen to your leader's heartbeat.... What makes them laugh?... Cry?.... Sing?") and "stand up for your leader whenever you can." They can thus exert an unsung but crucial "influence" over higherups, while themselves practicing a higher, sublimated form of leadership by selflessly nurturing the potential of their own colleagues and underlings. Unfortunately, Maxwell's practical advice boils down to vague truisms ("when you find a problem, provide a solution") or clichés ("If your boss is a golfer, you may want to take up the game"). His bland injunctions to resignation, patience and self-effacement are unobjectionable, but also uninspiring. (Jan. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Robert D. Steele (MSL quote), USA
<2008-03-11 00:00>
I do not share the somewhat down reviews of this book, and give it five stars to make that point. Instead of seeing this book as uninspired, I actually see it as reflective, and helpful in showing that we often overlook some of our most potential contributions.
Above all, the book stresses relationships and the nurturing of relationships up, down, sideways, all over. For this alone it is meritorious. The book also concludes with a comparison of the industrial era leaders versus the new leaders who take risks, serve others, nurture outsiders, etcetera.
My appreciation of this book is influenced by my interview of Alvin Toffler last night at the Lowes hotel in Beverly Hills. The new book that he and Heidi Toffler have coming out, on "Revolutionary Wealth," has many important insights but among those he summarized for me last night were three that help show the value of this book:
1) Sub-state and non-governmental organizations have been as important if not more important than national governments. How we study them, interact with them, nurture our relations with them, will have a lot to do with how promising a future we build.
2) The industrial era corporations and government bureaucracies are broken beyond repair. Entirely new network and localized alternative organizations are emerging or needed, that take a task force approach that fully integrates what have up to now been confrontational forces (e.g. Defense versus State).
3) Decision making is broken also. The scientific method is repressed and under-funded, while decisions are made based on shared assumptions, comfort levels, and consensus, regardless of what the facts are.
This excellent book is on a level with the Tofflers, and in my own view, is a fine primer for middle managers that would like to avoid becoming yes men drones under the dinosaurs, and instead break out to find new paths to moral capitalist success. |
Thomas Duff "Duffbert", USA
<2008-03-11 00:00>
In a number of the self-improvement blogs I follow, one book title kept appearing over and over... The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization by John C. Maxwell. Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to see what the talk was all about. Bottom line is that I found it to be one of the most practical books on leadership I've ever had the pleasure to read. And you don't have to be a CEO to apply the truths...
Contents:
Section 1 - The Myths of Leading from the Middle of an Organization: #1 - The Position Myth - "I can't lead if I am not at the top."; #2 - The Destination Myth - "When I get to the top, then I'll learn to lead."; #3 - The Influence Myth - "If I were on top, then people would follow me."; #4 - The Inexperience Myth - "When I get to the top, I'll be in control."; #5 - The Freedom Myth - "When I get to the top, I'll no longer be limited."; #6 - The Potential Myth - "I can't reach my potential if I'm not the top leader."; #7 - The All-or-Nothing Myth - "If I can't get to the top, then I won't try to lead."
Section 2 - The Challenges 360-Degree Leaders Face: #1 - The Tension Challenge - The Pressure of Being Caught in the Middle; #2 - The Frustration Challenge - Following an Ineffective Leader; #3 - The Multi-Hat Challenge - One Head... Many Hats; #4 - The Ego Challenge - You're Often Hidden in the Middle; #5 - The Fulfillment Challenge - Leaders Like the Front More Than the Middle; #6 - The Vision Challenge - Championing the Vision Is More Difficult When You Didn't Create It; #7 - The Influence Challenge - Leading Others Beyond Your Position Is Not Easy
Section 3 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Up: #1 - Lead
Yourself Exceptionally Well; #2 - Lighten Your Leader's Load; #3 - Be Willing to Do What Others Won't; #4 - Do More Than Manage - Lead!; #5 - Invest in Relational Chemistry; #6 - Be Prepared Every Time You Take Your Leader's Time; #7 - Know When to Push and When to Back Off; #8 - Become a Go-To Player; #9 - Be Better Tomorrow Than You Are Today
Section 4 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Across: #1 - Understand, Practice, and Complete the Leadership Loop; #2 - Put Completing Fellow Leaders Ahead of Competing with Them; #3 - Be a Friend; #4 - Avoid Office Politics; #5 - Expand Your Circle of Acquaintances; #6 - Let the Best Idea Win; #7 - Don't Pretend You're Perfect
Section 5 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Down: #1 - Walk Slowly Through the Halls; See Everyone As a "10"; #3 - Develop Each Team Member as a Person; #4 - Place People in Their Strength Zones; #5 - Model the Behavior You Desire; #6 - Transfer the Vision; #7 - Reward for Results
Section 6 - The Value of 360-Degree Leaders: #1 - A Leadership Team Is More Effective Than Just One Leader; #2 - Leaders Are Needed at Every Level of the Organization; #3 - Leading Successfully at One Level Is a Qualifier for Leading at the Next Level; #4 - Good Leaders in the Middle Make Better Leaders at the Top; #5 - 360-Degree Leaders Possess Qualities Every Organization Needs
Special - Create an Environment That Unleashes 360-Degree Leaders; Notes; About the Author
As you can see above, the book is packed with a lot of information, but it's all very practical and applicable. The premise of 360-Degree leadership is that you don't become a leader when you're promoted into a position with the title. You become a leader when people start to follow you. It doesn't matter where you are in the organization, as you'll always be leading in an upward direction (to your superiors), an outward direction (to your peers), and a downward direction (to those who report to you). By using this book to understand the true meaning of leadership, you can start to hone your skills in your current environment, thereby building the bridges and relationships you'll need going forward.
I really like how this book is laid out. Section 1 destroys the common mindsets that middle managers often have towards being an official "leader" (higher than they are now). Upper management have different challenges, and there's no magic decree that makes them expert leaders when they are promoted. Section 2 takes a deeper look into the special challenges of being "in the middle" of an organization. Many things are expected from both directions (and from your peers), and it feels like you don't have the authority to lead as you'd like. But rather than just leave you floundering there, Maxwell covers how 360-Degree leadership is manifested in all directions... how to lead your boss and upper management by learning to lead yourself, how to interact with your peers to build a stronger overall team, and how to lead those who officially look to you for direction. The last direction can be hard, as you may have the title but not the respect and trust of your subordinates. If you strive to become the leader that Maxwell describes, you'll find that people willingly align themselves with you and your leadership "selling" is far easier...
In my working career, I've found that 360-Degree leaders (or whatever you want to call them) are by far the most effective leaders a company can have. People love working for them, things get done, and they're the ones that seem to handle everything with a level of grace and ease not often seen these days. I strongly recommend this book to just about anyone in an organization, as we should all be "leaders" in our own areas, even if you don't have a title that reflects that.
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