Wednesday's Wisdom: John Maxwell

"John Maxwell is an international recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over 13 million books. His organizations have trained more than 2 million leaders worldwide. Dr. John Maxwell is the founder of INJOY Stewardship Services and EQUIP. Every year he speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and organizations as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point and the National Football League. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, John Maxwell was one of 25 authors and artists named to Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Three of John Maxwell's books, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader have each sold over a million copies."

Today's leadership quote is to encourage you . . . knowing that your job as a homeschool group leader isn't always pretty or easy, but it is important. Serving hard-working homeschooling families is a worthy cause.

There is an old saying: Champions don't become champions in the ring--they are merely recognized there. Boxing is a good analogy for leadership development because it is all about daily preparation.

President Theodore Roosevelt [said]: ". . . The credit belongs to the man whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the greatest enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause."

~from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Thank you for volunteering for such a worthy cause,

Denise & Kristen

http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/

Wednesday's Wisdom: Organize or Agonize

Recently I bought a John Maxwell Leadership Bible like the one that we discovered as described in last week's blog. I have so enjoyed it. In all of Maxwell's writings, as well as this one, he brings out the servant-leader heart. His humble approach to leadership and care for others speaks to my heart.

Within the Leadership Bible, Maxwell pulls out the practical applications throughout the pages and is able to show how to implement these truths in every day leadership life. For example, in this quote below, Maxwell gleans principles from the way Paul handled a tough situation and gives insight from the example that can be used by us as homeschool leaders.

Organization: Leaders Organize So They Don't Have to Agonize

1 Corinthians 14:1-40

Paul wrote to bring order to a church in chaos. The Corinthians were abusing their gifts and calling attention to themselves rather than to Christ. As a leader, Paul had to change this. In fact, 1 Corinthians 14:40 urges them to do everything "decently and in order." What can we learn about organization from this chapter?

1. Identify and pursue your top priorities (v. 1).
   

2. Seek to practice what will benefit the most people (vv. 2-12).
   

3. Communicate clearly (vv. 7,8).
   

4. See things through the eyes of the outsider (vv. 23-25).
   

5. Order activities simply for the purpose of adding value to others (vv. 26-33).
   

6. Make sure everything is done in an appropriate manner (v. 40).
   

Hope these amazing truths give you clarity today. If you are interested in checking out more of John Maxwell's writings, look here.

Denise

Homeschool Group Leader

Wednesday's Wisdom: Developing the Leaders Around You

Last fall, Kristen and I were introduced to the materials of John C. Maxwell in an unusual way. We were at the Texas Home School Coalition Leadership Conference. On the beautiful campgrounds was a quaint prayer chapel drawing the spirit for some quiet times. The little white chapel with gazing windows and a steeple was nestled next to a pretty pond with gardens and a gazebo. Each of us got to spend some time there.

Within one of the corner rooms quietly lay a Maxwell Leadership Bible. We were both so excited to see the wealth of wisdom and knowledge in this green leather-bound book. We had just finished writing our book, One By One, and realized how Maxwell confirmed to us the viability of our experiences and writings. We then discovered Maxwell has so many resources for leaders and their success. Literally, there is a gold mine of truth within his books.

Today I would like to share a passage from one of Maxwell's books, Developing the Leaders Around You. We are asked at times how to help someone become a leader or take over a position, etc. This excerpt gives real-life steps to success in developing the leaders around you.

Easing people into delegation is important . . . if you want them to succeed.
Delegate according to the following steps:

1. ask them to be fact finders only...
2. ask them to make suggestions...
3. ask them to implement one of their recommendations, but only after you give your approval...
4. ask them to take action on their own, but to report the results immediately...
5. give complete authority. This is the final step--what you've been working toward.

That little white chapel that weekend awakened a whole new appreciation within me and Kristen about what it means to lead homeschoolers every day and what an important job it is! You can find our recommendations to help you as a leader, including many John Maxwell books, available here.

May you have a lot of volunteers to develop into leaders,
Denise
http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/