2 leadership lessons that made me cry
If you know me, then you know I open my water gates frequently. It’s no secret that I cry quickly, especially now that I’m pregnant.
When a string in my body is touched, I get moved. And this happened when I was reading the book 21 irrefutable laws of leadership by John Maxwell.
If you don’t know John Maxwell; he’s a top teacher in leadership.
He used to be a pastor and now speaks each year to Fortune 500 companies, presidents of nations, and many of the world’s top business leaders – wouldn’t it be great to have him on the Born to Fly Podcast once?!! :)
He’s on my guest wish list! Just so you know.
So, I was reading his book and two quote-on-quote “laws” spoke to me.
I will share them with you in the hopes it will benefit you too to become a better leader and solopreneur in 2023.
The 1st law
The first law that made me cry after reading about it, is the law of empowerment.
Great leaders empower others, they enlarge them.
Maxwell ends the chapter by saying: “That’s the impact of the law of empowerment. It is an impact you can experience as a leader as long as you are willing to believe in people and give your power away.”
The whole idea of empowerment is that you help people become good at what they do, essentially so good that they don’t need you any longer.
I would LOVE to do that for our accountability community Born to Fly, but then Maxwell asked a very critical question in his review section of the chapter.
It said: How would you characterize yourself in the area of self-worth?
Are you confident? Do you believe you have value?
I started crying right away because as soon as I read that question I knew I had to answer ‘no’.
Maxwell made it pretty clear that you can’t lead or empower people if you lack confidence.
After reading that chapter and the corresponding question, I started working on my self-worth right away. Rationally, I know I’m loved by God—that I’m His daughter and that nothing can stand against me, but sometimes believing that is a bit difficult.
That’s why I started to write down truths and promises God mentions in His Word. And of course, I prayed for more confidence too.
The 2nd law
The second law that made me cry was: the law of buy-in.
I always thought that people followed a leader because they liked a vision first, but that’s not how Maxwell brings it.
He says that “People don’t at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote causes they can believe in. People buy into the leader first, then the leader’s vision.”
So the question I need to ask myself is: Have I given my people reason to buy into me?
I love sharing my vision Born to Fly and my other passion, which is writing. But apparently, people want to know me first.
Of course, this makes me uncomfortable, especially after sharing why and how the law of empowerment kicked against my self-worth.
But if God has called me to lead a group of solopreneurs and become better at doing our work, I have to be a leader. I have to get rid of any thoughts that are self-destructing and give people reason to buy into me.
So I started to focus on these 6 WAYS of earning credibility with individuals that Maxwell mentions:
developing a good relationship
being honest and authentic and developing trust
holding myself to high standards and setting a good example
giving the tools to do one’s job better
helping others to achieve their personal goals
developing others as leaders
Needless to say, this book has spoken to the suppressed leader inside me.
I know that God wants to use all of us at some point to lead.
It might be a small group of people or a very large one, but you ARE CALLED TO LEAD.
Especially solopreneurs have the important task of being a clear leader for others. Your entire business stools on it.
So I pray that these laws, which made me cry because they revealed so strongly what I needed to change and improve, may be lessons for you too and that God will point out where there’s work for you to be done.
Until next time!
Warmly,
Jane
(Founder Born to Fly)
