21 Irrefutable Laws

1. LAWS OF
LEADERSHIP
By: John C. Maxwell

3. Law 1 The Law of the Lid
Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s
Level of Effectiveness.
* Personal and organizational
effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of
leadership.
= Leadership ability is always the lid on
personal and organizational effectiveness. If
the leadership is strong, the lid is high but if it is
not, then the organization is limited.

4. Law 1 The Law of the Lid
*The higher you want to climb,
the more you need leadership. The
greater the impact you want to
make, the greater your influence
needs to be.

5. Law 2 The Law of Influence
The True Measure of Leadership is
Influence – Nothing more, Nothing Less.
“ He who thinks he leads, but has no
followers, is only taking a walk.”

6. Law 2 The Law of Influence

7. Law 2
The Law of Influence

8. Law 3
The Law of Process
Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a
Day
Becoming a leader is a lot like
investing successfully in the stock
market. If your hope is to make a fortune
in a day, you’re not going to be
successful.

9. Law 3
The Law of Process

10. Law 4
The Law of Navigation
Anyone Can Steer the Ship, but it
Takes a Leader to Chart the Course.
“ A leader is one who sees more
than others see, who sees farther than
others see, and who sees before others
do.” – Leroy Eims

11. Law 4
The Law of Navigation

12. Law 5 The Law of E. F. Hutton
When the Real Leader Speaks,
People Listen
* The real leader holds the power ,
not just the position.
People become real leader because
of…
1. Character – Who they are
2. Relationships – Who they know

13. Law 5 The Law of E. F. Hutton
4. Intuition – What they feel
5. Experience – Where they’ve been
6. Past success – What they’ve done
7. Ability – What they can do

14. Law 6
The Law of Solid Ground
* Trust is the foundation of
leadership.
To build trust, a leader must
exemplify these qualities:
*Competence
*Connection
*Character

15. Law 7 The Law of Respect
* People Naturally Follow Leaders
Stronger Than Themselves.
*When people respect someone as
a person, they admire her. When they
respect her as a friend, they love her.
When they respect her as a leader, they
follow her.

16. Law 8
The Law of Intuition
* Leaders Evaluate Everything with
a leadership Bias.
Three Levels of Leadership
Intuition
1. Those who naturally see it
2. Those who are nurtured to see it
3. Those who will never see it

17. Law 8 The Law of Intuition
* Leadership is really more art than
Science. The principles of leadership are
constant, but the application changes
with every leader and every situation.
That’s why it requires intuition. Without it,
you can get blindsided, and that’s one of
the worst things that can happen to a
leader. If you want to lead long, you’ve
got to obey the Law of Intuition.

18. Law 9 The Law of Magnetism
* Who You Are Is Who You Attract
*Who you get is not determined by
what you want. It’s determined by who
you are.
*If you think your people are
negative, then you better check your
attitude.

19. Law 9
The Law of Magnetism
Characteristics of people who follow
their leader and share common ground:
*Attitude
*Generation
*Background
*Values
*Life Experience
*Leadership Ability

20. Law 10
The Law of Connection
*Leaders Touch a Heart Before
They Ask for a Hand.
*You can’t move people to action
unless you first move them with emotion.
The heart comes before the head.
*The stronger the relationship and
connection between individuals, the
more likely the follower will want to help
the leader.

21. Law 11 The Law of the Inner Circle
*A Leader’s Potential is Determined by
Those Closest to Him.
Five types of people who should be in your
inner circle.
1. Potential Value – Those who raise up
themselves
2. Positive Value – Those who raise morale in
the organization
3. Personal Value – Those who raise up the
Leader
4. Production Value – Those who raise up
others

22. The Law of Empowerment
*Only secure leaders can give power to
others.
*The best executive is the one who has
sense enough to pick good men to
do what he wants to be done, self-
restraint enough to keep from
meddling with them while doing it.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Law 12

23. Why do some leaders violate the law
of empowerment?
a. Desire for job security
b. Resistance to change
c. Lack of self worth
Law 12 The Law of Empowerment

24. 1. How they become leader?
Natural gifting --- 10 %
Result of crisis --- 5%
Influence by another leader--- 85%
2. Leaders who develop leaders are able to:
a. See the big picture
b. Attract potential leaders
c. Create an eagle environment
The Law of a Picture
Law 13

25. 1. The leader finds the dream and then the
people. The people find the leader and
then the dream.
2. If you consider the message to be
credible, then you believe the message
has value.
3. People want to go along with people they
get along with.
4. When followers that like the leader or the
vision, they look for another leader.
5. 5. When followers like the leader but not
The Law of Buy-In
Law 14

26. 1. Leaders find a way for the team to
win.
2. Three components to achieve victory
a. Unity of vision
b. Diversity of skills
c. A leader dedicated to victory and
raising players to their potential
The Law of Victory
Law 15

27. 1. Only leaders can create momentum
2. The truth about momentum
a. Momentum is the leaders best friend
b. Momentum makes leaders look better
than they are
c. Momentum helps followers perform
better than they are
d. Momentum is easier to steer than to
start
e. Momentum is the most powerful
change agent
The Law of Big Mo
Law 16

28. *Leaders Understand that Activity Is Not
Necessarily Accomplishment
“A leader is the one who climbs the
tallest tree, surveys the entire situation,
and yells, ‘Wrong jungle!’”—STEPHEN
COVEY
The Law of Priorities
Law 17

29. “There are many things that will catch
my eye, but there are only a few things
that will catch my heart.”
—TIM REDMOND
Law 17 The Law of Priorities

30. 1. WHAT IS REQUIRED?
2.WHAT GIVES THE GREATEST
RETURN?
3. WHAT BRINGS THE GREATEST
REWARD?
The Three R’s
requirement
return
reward
Law 17 The Law of Priorities

31. A Leader Must Give Up to Go Up
“The law of sacrifice maintains that one
sacrifice seldom brings success”
The heart of leadership
Counting the cost of leadership
You’ve got to give up to go up
The higher you go, the more you give
up
Law 18 The Law of Sacrifice

32. THE COST OF
LEADERSHIP
“For everything you have missed, you
have gained something else; and for
everything you gain, you lose something.”

33. When to Lead Is as Important as What to Do
and Where to Go
4 Outcomes of leaders move
1. THE WRONG ACTION AT THE WRONG
TIME LEADS TO DISASTER
2. THE RIGHT ACTION AT THE WRONG
TIME BRINGS RESISTANCE
3. THE WRONG ACTION AT THE RIGHT
TIME IS A MISTAKE
4. THE RIGHT ACTION AT THE RIGHT
TIME RESULTS IN SUCCESS
Law 19 The Law of Timing

34. When the right leader and the right timing
come together, incredible things happen

35. *To Add Growth, Lead Followers—To
Multiply, Lead Leaders
“It’s my job to build the people who
are going to build the company “
Law 20
The Law of Explosive
Growth

36. LEADERS WHO DEVELOP
FOLLOWERS
LEADERS WHO DEVELOP
LEADERS
Need to be needed Want to be succeeded
Focus on weaknesses Focus on strengths
Develop the bottom 20 percent Develop the top 20 percent
Treat their people the same for
“fairness”
Treat their leaders as individuals for
impact
Hoard power Give power away
Spend time with others Invest time in others
Grow by addition Grow by multiplication
Impact only people they touch
personally
Impact people far beyond their own
reach

37. A Leader’s Lasting Value Is Measured
By Succession
“LEADERSHIP IS ONE OF THE
THINGS YOU CANNOT DELEGATE.
YOU EITHER EXERCISE IT, OR YOU
ABDICATE IT. “
- Roberto Goizueta
Law 21 The Law of Legacy

38. LEADERS WHO LEAVE A
LEGACY OF SUCCESSION …
•Lead the organization with a “long view”
•Create A leadership culture
•Pay the price today to assure success
tomorrow
•Value team leadership above individual
leadership
•Walk away from the organization with
integrity
A legacy is created only when a person puts
his organization into the position to do great
things without him.

39. Conclusion: Laws of Leadership
Learn them, take them to
heart, and apply them to your
life. If you follow them, people
will follow you.

40. EVERYTHING RISES
AND FALLS ON
LEADERSHIP.