Laws of Leadership II

This will be the second installment to a series of blog posts dedicated to "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John C. Maxwell. As I go about each day, I have been keeping each law in mind in order to focus on becoming a stronger leader in every aspect of my life. It is important to recognize that leadership ability is strengthened through time and experience, but it will help to have an understanding of what it means to be an effective leader. Simply follow these laws, and people will follow you.

The following is a recap of the first four laws. Upon reading each law, I encourage everyone to reflect on it for a few moments. If interested in a more in-depth explanation of each, the first blog entry can be found under the title "Laws of Leadership".

• Law of the Lid
• Law of Influence
• Law of Process
• Law of Navigation

The fifth law of leadership is "The Law of E.F. Hutton" due to the fact that people listen when the read leader speaks. Maxwell named it after the old E.F. Hutton Financial Services television commercials that would show two people talking in a noisy public place that would suddenly go quiet when they started talking about E.F. Hutton's financial recommendations. Regardless, it stresses a valuable point that exists in every team setting.

The real leader of a group can always be identified by simply observing a meeting. It will become obvious through the actions of everyone in the room. Who are people watching when somebody asks a question? Who do they wait to hear? The person they look to is the leader, and s/he will have influence over the group making him or her a potential asset toward getting objectives accomplished. We can also use this law to determine our own level of leadership simply by asking ourselves the question, "When we speak, are people listening?"

The next law is the "Law of Solid Ground" and emphasizes trust as the foundation of leadership. In order to be a successful leader, there is no room for taking shortcuts or falling short of expectations, especially early on in a new position. Trust is built through competence, connection and character over time. These three things are portrayed through consistency, achieving results, making sound decisions and admitting to mistakes. People will tolerate mistakes, but a direct violation of trust will destroy future relations. Therefore, it is very important to not break the confidence of others... ever.

"The Law of Respect" states that people naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. Respect is gained through actions and past results. It can also be carried through reputation and influence. Once respect is earned by an individual, people will inherently look to him or her for direction. Maxwell's theory is that people naturally want to be more like people they respect. Therefore, people will follow them.

The next law is probably the most difficult to understand, because "The Law of Intuition" combines facts with other intangible factors such as instinct. Leadership intuition is what separates the great from the good. Leaders with exceptional intuition can see things other people can't, make changes and move forward before others even know what's happening. In other words, great leaders are able to think on their feet and adapt to provide an effective alternative to any situation that may arise.