Superintendent’s Thought:  If the leader you are following is following no one, he very well be taking you nowhere.

First and foremost, every Christian leader must be following Christ, and unless you were there when Christ walked this earth, you should be following someone else who is following Christ.  This person is usually a Pastor. The Apostle Paul encourages his followers, not as a manager but as a leader. In this first one, he is managing Timothy, but leading everyone else.

1 Corinthians 4:14-17, NIrV

14. I am not writing this to shame you. You are my dear children, and I want to warn you. 

15. You may have 10,000 believers in Christ watching over you. But you don’t have many fathers. I became your father by serving Christ Jesus and telling you the good news. 

16. So I’m asking you to follow my example. 

17. That’s the reason I’m sending Timothy to you. He is like a son to me, and I love him. He is faithful in serving the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in serving Christ Jesus. And that agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. 

1 Corinthians 11:1, NIrV  

Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.

Philippians 3:17, NIrV  

Brothers and sisters, join with others in following my example. Pay close attention to those who live in keeping with the pattern we gave you.

Second, leadership principles are really God designed laws that impact one’s leadership.  Just because much on leadership was only written in the last half century or so, does not mean these principles have not existed since the beginning.  For instance, just because a planet or a moon of a planet has not yet been discovered in no way suggests it does not exist. How long did gravity exist before it was discovered?  That is a basic physical law. From the best I can tell, it was among the things God created at the first baseball game, you know, “in the BIG INNING,” I mean “In the beginning…”  Even though others had thought about it, it was not until 1687 Sir Isaac Newton was able to identify it and interpret it mathematically.  

To learn, implement and abide by the laws God established with his creation enables you to excel more than others who do not practice such laws.  Learning the laws God has fundamentally made part of anything, whether relationships, business, applied physics, or chemical engineering, liberates the one knowing the principles and applying them to the area in consideration.  

Here is an easy one.  The law of truth. This is not the book, Logic: The Laws of Truth by Nicholas J.J. Smith.  You can get a copy of his 2012 published 544-page opus from Princeton University Press for only $62.50, if you desire.  No, I’m talking about “The Law of Truth” which I just invented here to illustrate the point, but you know it is true. “The Law of Truth” is when one is convinced there is no flaw in what is represented, as in the word “sincere”.  Perhaps you already know, but if not, have you ever wondered why we customarily end letters with “Sincerely,” or we say, “I love you, sincerely”? It is our promise of what we have just represented in print is true, or a promise that our love is genuine, but more on that later.  In understanding the power and import of the “Law of Truth”, what happens when someone breaks that law and tells you a falsehood? What happens to your trust for that person? It at least becomes suspicious, and if that person breaks the “Law of Truth” too many times, they will have destroyed their influence with you.  Yes or no?

Okay, here is the “sincere” legend according to Quora.  There is a folk etymology bandied about that the Latin for ‘without wax’ is ‘sine cera’ which at one point became ‘sincere’. The reasoning behind it was that marble sculptural flaws were covered ‘with wax’, and so, ones ‘without wax’ were more true/valuable. To say, ‘I love you, without wax’ in this case means ‘I love you sincerely’.

In all truthfulness, sincere comes from the Latin root of ‘sincerus’ meaning ‘pure’ or ‘sound’ — which is likely to have come ultimately from the roots of the Latin words for ‘one’ and ‘to grow’ (sin- and crescere, respectively — with crescere being cognate with Ceres, goddess of grain, etc) meaning originally that it referred to an undiluted stock, an unmixed growth/strain — a ‘pure breed’ if you will, of something.

You can read more here: https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-meaning-for-the-expression-I-love-you-without-wax

To be perfectly transparent with you, I believed the folk etymology to be true, until I checked the Internet to be sure there was no obvious “Law of Truth” already being taught, except biblically when Jesus teaches he is, “… the Way, the Truth, and the Life …”, and discovered Quora’s take on the origin of “sincere” or “sincerely”.  I even used it in a sermon illustration 20 or so years ago.

Third, it is an expedient use of one’s time to not re-invent the wheel, every time one wants to utilize it in some way.  In most cases, others have invented much better wheels exactly for the purpose needed. Therefore, to utilize what has been done before is to allow one to advance their specific cause or project at an accelerated rate.  Leadership is no different. Just like shopping for a car or an investment firm, look at their history, examine the model, check the credentials, and decide from whom you will accept teaching on leadership.

With those preliminary remarks, it is my great pleasure to introduce two from the top dozen or so leaders who have impacted my life in leadership development.

The two men, I want you to meet now are John C. Maxwell and Stephen R. Covey.  Even though they had not worked together prior to Stephen Covey’s Foreword for John Maxwell’s book, I have never found them to be contradictory of each other’s work.  These two men, as well as the other dozen or so whom I follow in developing my own leadership, have a long history of successful teaching and practice in leadership development.

Regarding John Maxwell, over the next course of this blog, “From The Superintendent’s Desk”, we will be highlighting the work of John Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Follow Them and People Will Follow You, 10th Anniversary Edition. This blog is not going to attempt to share the whole book.  It will provide a very superficial overview. The intention is to whet your appetite for your personal leadership development and the leadership development of those you lead.  Copyright laws prevent copying large sections of the book at a time, and while I will copy things like the foreword and small tidbits of the book, the rest will either be summary remarks or personal illustrations.  Please do not rely on this blog to satisfy your interest in this book, purchase it, read it, apply its truths, and as the title says, “follow these laws, and people will follow you.”

You may want to simply get the book.  Incidentally, it also has a workbook that can be purchased separately and used individually.  However, about half the workbook is designed to be used in a small group setting.

The narratives John Maxwell uses in the book are relatable and enjoyable reading.  The workbook has a section to evaluate your leadership. It is recommended you take the survey before and after reading the book to see how your leadership has been impacted by the book.  Also, it offers some guidance for getting others to evaluate your leadership.

Here is an excerpt from the introduction in the workbook.  Prior to these statements John Maxwell has been explaining areas where he has grown and edits, he made to the 10th Anniversary Edition.  It is being shared with you here because I want to impress upon you the 4 ideas he includes below.

John C. Maxwell, “SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE” 

“Though I have made adjustments to the laws and updated the ways I teach them, some things have not changed in the last ten years. It’s still true that leadership is leadership, no matter where you go or what you do. Times change. Technology marches forward. Cultures differ from place to place. But the principles of leadership are constant—whether you’re looking at the citizens of ancient Greece, the Hebrews in the Old Testament, the armies of the modern world, the leaders in the international community, the pastors in local churches, or the businesspeople of today’s global economy. Leadership principles are unchanging and stand the test of time.

 As you read the following chapters, I’d like you to keep in mind four ideas:

1. The laws can be learned. Some are easier to understand and apply than others, but every one of them can be acquired.

2. The laws can stand alone. Each law complements all the others, but you don’t need one in order to learn another.

3. The laws carry consequences with them. Apply the laws, and people will follow you. Violate or ignore them, and you will not be able to lead others.

4. These laws are the foundation of leadership. Once you learn the principles, you have to practice them and apply them to your life.

Whether you are a follower who is just beginning to discover the impact of leadership or a natural leader who already has followers, you can become a better leader. As you read and answer questions about the laws, you may recognize that you already practice some of them very effectively. Other laws may expose weaknesses you didn’t know you had. Use your review as a learning experience. The questions and exercises are included to help you apply each law to your life.”

Now, it is my distinct privilege to introduce you to the second man of the top dozen or so people who have impacted my leadership development, Stephen R. Covey, as he provides the foreword for the book.

THE 21 IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF LEADERSHIP

Follow Them and People Will Follow You

REVISED AND UPDATED, 10th Anniversary Edition

By

John C. Maxwell

Foreword by

Stephen R. Covey

FOREWORD

By Stephen R. Covey

When John Maxwell asked me to write the foreword for this 10th anniversary edition of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I was honored and intrigued. During the past two decades, John and I have traveled on parallel paths in our speaking and writing. We have both been called “leadership experts” over the years. We know and respect each other’s work. But in spite of the similarities between our messages, we have rarely spoken to the same audience.

So to recommend this book allows me to introduce John Maxwell and his teaching to members of my audience who have not yet read him. And what better book to recommend than this new and improved version of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership? It serves as a sort of manifesto for his teaching and his life. Study this book and you have gotten to know John Maxwell the person as well as his philosophy of leadership.

When The 21 Laws was first published in 1998, I could see immediately how practical and applicable the laws were. They still are. For over three decades, John Maxwell has earned his reputation as a communicator. And as he says, communicators “make the complex simple.” Rather than an esoteric examination of leadership, this book is more like a foundational instruction manual. With each chapter, you will get to know individuals who did—or some who didn’t—obey the law in question. The law itself is defined clearly and simply. And—most importantly—John will give you specific steps for applying it to the leadership in your office, community, family, or church.

John has told me regarding this revision that he was excited about the opportunity to include the lessons he has learned since The 21 Laws was first written. I know what he means. Leadership is not static, and neither should be books about it. I believe this revised edition will have an even greater impact than its predecessor. Laws have been updated, illustrations refined, and applications enhanced. The foundational leadership concepts have not been abandoned; rather, they have been updated for a new generation of leaders. As good as the original was, this new edition is even better.

If The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is new to you, let me say that you are in for a treat. It will change the way you live and lead. As you read, you will be encouraged and your ability to lead will expand. If you have read the original book, then you will be thrilled with this new edition. You will learn many new lessons as well as being reminded of truths that will serve you well. And by engaging in the new application activities, you will really sharpen your skills.

I trust that you will enjoy and benefit from reading this book, just as I did. In it you will find absolutely amazing, inspiring leadership stories!  — STEPHEN R. COVEY                            

Stephen Covey is the author of 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and

The 8th Habit, and Everyday Greatness

It is my recommendation that you choose to read “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You” by John C. Maxwell as the basis or foundation for developing your leadership from here.

Blessings and peace, fellow leader.