John C. Maxwell's Blog

Do I Believe The Best In Others?

Do I believe the best in others?

This is a question that I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. Because believing the best in others is not something to be assumed; you must be intentional in checking the lens you’re looking through when viewing others.

John Maxwell teaches a simple exercise to help cultivate the practice of valuing people – “put a 10 on their heads.” What he means by that is, give each person a score of 10 when you meet them (on a scale from 1 to 10 of course!).

As ...

Does Love Work as a Leadership Principle?

[image error]Photo Credit: (KY3)

As I stumbled for my alarm at 3:00 a.m. on my first day on the job as a street washer, I wondered what I was getting myself into. CBS had asked my company to participate in its hit reality show Undercover Boss. As the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) at that time, I’d agreed to work at Silver Dollar City, our original theme park in Branson, Missouri. I had no idea that what was about to transpire would change my life and my leadership approach forever.  

Befo...

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

The John Maxwell Enterprise Announces an Innovative Partnership Series for 21st Century Leadership: The League of Extraordinary Leaders

The globe’s premier leadership organization shares a fresh strategy for expanding leadership training and influence through a series of strategic partnerships with five unique thought leaders and their organizations.

Every significant brand—especially those built around a game-changing personality—arrives at a point where thought must be given to how i...

The 5 Key Resilience Traits You Need Right Now

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This message is excerpted from the book Life Coaching for Successful Women: Powerful Questions, Practical Answers by Valorie Burton.

Research shows that resilient people think differently. They have a set of skills – sometimes learned, other times innate – that allow them to persevere, manage stress, and triumph in the face of challenges. In the midst of your current challenges, which of the five traits of resilient people is it time to lean on?

1. They a...

When Will Your Organization Have Its “Feel-It Moment”?

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How can we build Great Teams within our organizations? And how can we sustain excellence once Greatness is captured? To find answers, where might we turn for a model of success?

I suggest you start with USA Basketball. The collection of elite NBA and college basketball talent once known as the Dream Team lost its way a few years ago – as many successful teams do – and was in desperate need of a reboot when it turned to Mike Krzyzewski from Duke to serve a...

An anecdote for COVID-19

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our lives. We went from a booming economy to great uncertainty almost overnight. We have seen illness, death, job loss, social unrest, increased anxiety, and a loss of normalcy in our lives. We are grieving over many things, including the sense of security many thought we possessed. But the truth is, the only things we can control are our own reactions and attitudes to what is put before us! 

As we start to wind down 2021 and set our mind to a better 2022, I ...

Four-step vision inventory

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There’s a difference between a movement and a promotion. 

A promotion starts big but quickly fades. 

A movement starts small but eventually builds. 

As leaders, we should be about movements — building something that lasts over time.  

Many organizations spend more energy promoting events and products instead of reinforcing vision. 

Sure, promotions have their place.  The problem is they compete with the language of the organization. 

A pro...

Your Leadership Moment

A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the front row at a conference,preparing to go on stage and share how servant leadership can transform a culture.This is the message that’s been heavy on my heart for some time now; I couldfeel the excitement build within me as I imagined the people this message wouldhelp.

Just before my time to speak, I paused to reflect on everythingour country—our world— has been through over the past year (plus). As I lookedback on our collective journey, I becam...

Will You Join My Community?

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I recently enjoyed a few days of rest with Margaret, mywife. We were able to spend time together doing the things that we love,right in the middle of the busy summer season. Now that COVID restrictions arechanging, in-person events are coming back, which means my calendar is fillingup again with incredible opportunities to add value to leaders all around theworld.

Add to that the digital conferences that are now a mainstayof business culture, and the fac...

Seven Decades of Lessons (and A Gift)

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This Saturday, I will turn 74 years old.

Like most birthdays when you get older, I’ll celebrate insome way with my family and friends, but for the most part I’ll treat it likemost other days: focused on the mission of transformation. But that doesn’tmean I won’t reflect on my life and what I’ve been blessed to accomplish overits course. I’ll spend a lot of time thinking about thelessons I’ve learned in seven decades.

Of course, I’ve been doing t...