Despite numerous attempts to combine the qualities of managers and leaders, the reader should understand that they can never be the same. Every leader can be a good and professional manager, but not every manager is able to become an effective leader. Today, multiple definitions of leadership are given (Kagay, Marx, & Simonsen, 2015). Leadership is a frequently discussed topic with only a few people actually comprehend its essence. It is the main idea of the book Developing the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell. In this paper, the analysis of Maxwell’s book will be developed to identify the chosen theoretical frameworks, styles, and traits along with the benefits and shortages of the offered approach.
Theoretical Framework and Style
There are many reasons why Developing the Leader Within You is one of the best books about leadership. In addition to efficient inspiration and motivation, the author focuses on theories that determine leadership. According to Maxwell (1993), leaders “know how to get what they ought to want” (p. 19), meaning that goals have to be properly established through research. Theoretical frameworks are the crucial aspects of any research process (Grant & Osanloo, 2014; Stevens, 2017). Maxwell combines the theories of traits, change, identity formation, and development. Such variety of frameworks proves that the author does not define one style. His task is to define as many approaches to leadership as possible. Five levels of leadership promote the progress of a person, including the skill development (position), relationships (permission), purpose accomplishment (production), support (people development), and followers’ fidelity (personhood) (Maxwell, 1993). A leader should succeed at each level.
Leadership Traits
Leadership qualities are identified at each level with the advancement to the next level being possible only after exhibiting excellence at the current level. Maxwell (1993) underlines the importance to know the description of the job and accept responsibility, love people and understand their abilities, establish purposes and evaluate the results, be an example for others and promote development, find out followers and share the experience. At the same time, good leaders should be ready to change and explain their steps to other people, regarding current needs and organizational standards. All these requirements and expectations are closely connected with such leadership traits as creativity, confidence, and positive attitude to everything and everyone involved in leadership and organizational development.
Leadership as a Vocation
Maxwell introduces leadership as the achievement that can be developed but not simply discovered. This book supplies leadership principles that have to be combined with the reader’s desire to acquire the traits of a true leader. Leadership may be proved as a vocation only when a person is ready to admit that much work and evaluations are necessary all the time. The traits of leadership are defined as the raw materials that can be acquired as well. According to Landis, Hill, and Harvey (2014) and Maxwell (1993), leaders may be born and learned with the similar abilities to stay flexible, think quickly, sustain confidence, and create norms. Leaders have to search for new options but not to use the familiar ones just because they are easy to comprehend. Vocational leaders can motivate but not manipulate. Finally, a vocation to be a leader means never to place personal needs above others’.
Followership Inspiration
This book helps to discover the qualities which inspire followership. Maxwell (1993) believes that “he who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk” (p. 1). Therefore, to achieve success and demonstrate good results may be not enough for effective leadership. It is necessary to have followers and make sure that people around can use gained skills and knowledge to sustain growth and development from various perspectives. Such qualities as honesty, confidence, commitment, and enthusiasm cannot be ignored. They help to succeed in communication, delegation, and explanation. Leaders should know their business and their people in order to promote successful growth strategies and become their considerable part.
Shortcomings of the Approach
The approach developed by Maxwell has a number of benefits and significant contributions to leadership improvement. However, its main shortage is the inability to comprehend what work should be done in case one of the qualities or results cannot be achieved at a certain level within the required period. Many questions appear, and Maxwell can hardly cover all concerns and misunderstandings among the readers in the book. The expectations defined by the author have to correspond with the abilities of people and consider the role of possible mistakes or the lack of knowledge and experience.
Conclusion
In general, Developing the Leader Within You turns out to be a good source of information despite its shortcomings. This book contributes to leaders’ development and explains the role of followers in the chosen activities. Sometimes, it is easy to give orders and make other people listen. However, in most cases, to find supporters and followers is a challenge the completion of which becomes the success of leadership and progress.
References
Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2014). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your “house”. Administrative Issues Journal, 4(2), 12-26. Web.
Kagay, R. B., Marx, A. A., & Simonsen, J. C. (2015). Student self-perceptions of leadership in two Missouri FFA chapters: A collective case study. Journal of Agricultural Education, 56(2), 76-92.
Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014). A synthesis of leadership theories and styles. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2), 97-100.
Maxwell, J. C. (1993). Developing the leader within you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Stevens, M. (2017). Understanding core critical concepts: Experimental explorations into the contextualization of knowledge production. In J. P. Dugan, N. T. Turman, & A. C. Barnes (Eds.), Leadership theory: A facilitator’s guide for cultivating critical perspectives (pp. 55-67). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.