How to Lead When Your Boss Can't Quotes

“The desires to innovate, to improve, to create, and to find a better way are all leadership characteristics.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“make the most of the difficult situation of working for a bad boss, learn to think like a leader yourself. Think people, think progress, and think intangibles.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“leading isn’t about controlling; it’s about releasing.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Years ago, I used to tell new leaders I hired that every person in our organization walked around with two buckets. One bucket contained water, and the other gasoline. As leaders, they would continually come across small fires, and they could pour water or gasoline on a fire. It was their choice. When you choose the water bucket and represent your boss positively, he will appreciate it. That will be especially true when the “fire” you encounter is about your boss. Anytime people work for someone who can’t or won’t lead, there is grumbling. Don’t pour gas on it. Pour water.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“If you want to influence your team, your boss, and the people at the top of your organization—and keep influencing them—then you need to keep getting better. An investment in your leadership growth is an investment in your ability, your adaptability, and your promotability. No matter how much it costs you to keep growing and learning, the cost of doing nothing is greater. Founding father Ben Franklin said, “By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid only of standing still. Forget your mistakes but remember what they taught you.” To be better tomorrow, become better today.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Few things are more frustrating for a leader than having someone refuse to do a task because it is “not his job.” (In moments like those, most of the top leaders I know are tempted to invite such people to be without a job altogether!) Good employees don’t think in those terms. Their goal is to get the job done and to fulfill the vision of the organization. That often means doing whatever it takes—and then some. If you do more than is expected of you, you stand out. People who want to be effective are willing to do what others won’t. And because of that, their leaders are willing to resource them, promote them, and be influenced by them.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Few things gain the respect of a boss, a team, and the top leaders of an organization more quickly than someone with a whatever-it-takes attitude. These people are willing and able to think outside of their job description and tackle the kinds of jobs that others are too proud or too frightened to take on. These things are what often create job security, elevate them above their peers, and get them promoted to a role where they can make a greater positive impact.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“The only way to improve at your craft is to practice it until you know it inside and out. At first, you do what you know to do. The more you practice your craft, the more you know. Then the more you practice, the more you recognize what you don’t know. Hopefully, this spurs you on to dig deeper and learn more. But as you do more and learn more, you will also discover more about what you ought to do differently. At that point you have a decision to make: Will you do what you have always done, or will you try new things, take risks, and seek new levels of ability? The only way you improve is to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. People often ask me, “How can I grow my business?” or, “How can I make my department better?” The answer is for you personally to grow. By making yourself better, you make others better. And the time to start is today.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Politics is often about power. Political leaders protect whatever is theirs because they don’t want to lose power. If they lose power, then they might not win, and winning is their primary motivation. People who want to win at all costs fight and scrape to keep everything that belongs to them. They fight for their budget. They fight for office space. They fight for their ideas. They hoard their supplies. If it belongs to them, they protect it. To gain influence and work well with other people, you need to take a broader view. You need to look at what’s best for the team, not just yourself. You need to let go of your agenda if it benefits the team. If it makes more sense for someone else to do a job you want to do, you need to stop fighting to keep it. What matters is the team, not your turf.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“If you want to test your ability to develop positive influence, then try leading volunteers. Why is that so difficult? Because with volunteers, you have no leverage. It takes every bit of influence and leadership skill you have to get people who don’t have to comply to do what you ask. If you’re not challenging enough, they lose interest. If you push too hard, they drop out. If your people skills are weak, they won’t spend any time with you. If you cannot communicate the vision, they won’t know where to go or why. If your organization has any kind of community service focus, volunteer. Test yourself. See how people respond when you try to get things done through a team. If you can thrive in that environment, then you have an idea of how good your influencing ability is. Lead volunteers well, and you probably possess many of the qualifications to go to another level in your organization.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Most people who work for a boss who can’t or won’t lead typically want one thing: a new position with power that will free them from their boss. I’ll tell you the biggest problem with that thinking. A position isn’t the answer. If I had to identify the number one misconception people have about leadership, it would be the belief that power comes from having a position or title. It’s not really true. The Law of Influence in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership states it clearly: “The true measure of leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.” You don’t need to possess a position to lead or get things done. Nor do you have to work for a great boss to be successful. The best way to get work done, get along with colleagues, lead a team, and even work better with a boss, is to develop your influence.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“In an organization I led many years ago, a whole bunch of apparent “Lucys” working for me seemed to continually dump problems on my desk and then go away to look for more problems. So I instituted a rule. Anyone who wanted to bring a problem to me to be solved had to also come up with three potential solutions before coming to see me. Did I do that because I didn’t want to help them? No. I did it because I wanted them to learn to help themselves. They quickly became creative and resourceful. As time went by, they needed less help and became better decision makers and leaders, who not only solved their own problems, but also implemented those solutions. They raised them in my estimation. Follow that same pattern. Always be prepared with at least one viable solution when you go to your boss with a problem. More than one is even better.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“When you do a job well, and you know the impact of the work you did, let that give you great satisfaction. Let it motivate you. The definition of high morale is: “I make a difference.” When you know you’re making a significant contribution, you need less external motivation and less praise from a boss who may never give it.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“Not everyone will understand or appreciate the work you do, so it’s important that you do. Every position has value, but too often we don’t value that position. You make what you do important by valuing it yourself and doing your best. If you despise the position you have, it may be because of what I call “destination disease” or the “greener grass syndrome.” If you focus your attention on being some other place because you think it’s better, then you will neither enjoy where you are nor do what you must to be successful. Stay in the present.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't

“I have observed that most people put too much emphasis on decision making and too little on decision managing. As a result, they lack focus, discipline, intentionality, and purpose. We often think that self-leadership is about making good decisions every day, when the reality is that we need to make a few critical decisions in major areas of life and then manage those decisions day to day.”
― John C. Maxwell, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't