The 360-degree leader has integrity: John C. Maxwell

A Book Review by Marivir Montebon

The highest level of leadership is personhood. People follow you because of who you are. This is for people who spent years growing leaders and organizations.  Few make it. Those who do are bigger than life. – John C. Maxwell

This is my greatest take-away from John Maxwell’s The 360-degree Leader*. This is the coming full circle of a leader. Maxwell (b.1947) is an American Methodist pastor, speaker, and author who has written several books, mainly focusing on leadership.

In this book, Maxwell writes that the highest level of leadership is about personhood, which to me, means integrity. Leaders who reach the pinnacle of respect have lived a life of integrity – meaning walking the talk. This is essentially leading by example and not by rhetoric.

As Maxwell noted, the leadership ‘personhood’ is something which leaders have no control over. People surrounding you decide on this – to respect and follow you, based on the kind of person that they see in you.

It’s like being the good shepherd – a servant leader to his or her flock. Always mindful of the safety and nourishment and growth of the sheep. Because of this quality, the shepherd becomes bigger than life. Take the case of Jesus Christ, or Mother Teresa, and the Gautama Buddha. They are 360-degree leaders to me. Their influence have never ceased to shine long after they have gone.

A friend of mine, a CEO in a non-profit here in New York looks at leadership with a heart as the most necessary quality, along with visionary leadership. “One cannot be visionary if one’s heart is not with the people and one’s feet on the ground,” she quipped.

In the formative levels of leadership development, it is the decision of the person to take the lead, wherever her or his station in life or the organization is. Ultimately, influence, not position, is the true measure of leadership.

I agree with Maxwell that strong middle-level leaders provide strength to an organization. Midlevel leaders, in fact, is a healthy source of next-in-line top leadership.

The book ‘The 360-degree Leader’ deconstructs the myths of leadership including the notion that leaders only stem from position, or that it is a destination (going up the ladder), or that only people with positions can influence, and that leadership comes with the freedom to control.

For those wanting to sharpen one’s knowledge and skills as a leader, this book is a must-read and a valuable contribution to leadership development in all facets and categories of human organization. #

*John C. Maxwell. 2005. The 360-degree Leader. Nashville, Tennessee. Thomas Nelson, Inc.