Leadership Revised

Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 – John C. Maxwell – (Harper Collins Leadership)

Twenty-five years ago, John C. Maxwell first released the leadership development book Developing the Leader Within You, one of the truly classic texts that offered his early insight into how individuals could develop a leadership vision and values and put them to work influencing their teams and others around them.

Now, Maxwell has revisited and revised this classic to account for the trends and influences that have impacted on his process over the course of the past two and half decades, in Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. Reading through the revised text offers you a real insight into how prescient Maxwell’s original work truly was.

Current business and leadership buzzwords like influencer and change agent were part and parcel of what Maxwell did and continues to impart on his readers. For so many, developing influence and then knowing how to wield it is one of the most challenging aspects of being a leader. Maxwell offers a grand primer of how you can not only become influential, but the proper use and maintenance of it once it is in place.  

One thing I always like about Maxwell’s books is that they offer guidance and insight based on experience, but they never fall into the realm of snake oil by promising the magic elixir of leadership. Let’s face it, there is a lot of hard work and heavy lifting that goes into becoming a leader and while Maxwell is a master at offering tools and resources you can utilize to become a leader or a better leader, he also maintains a level of realism that is refreshing in a world filled with folks huckstering a new program to solve all of your leadership problems for a price.