The Right Way to Lead

“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.“ John 13:15 NKJV

In his book “Developing The Leader Within You,” John Maxwell wrote about the five different levels of leadership, the first of which is positional leadership. The first time I picked up the book and got to the point of these five levels, I couldn’t read further.

I stopped reading the book because I realised that after all my years of leading people, I mostly stayed at the first level—positional leadership. At this level, your position makes you a leader, not your influence on the organisation or the people.

You wield your power by referencing the fact that you’re the one leading in such a position, and so the team has to respect you. I couldn’t take that truth to heart. The more I read the book, the more I realised the minimal impact I had on people.

But I didn’t realise that the book planted a seed in my heart. Over the next few years, I intentionally ascended the levels by building influence. I gradually moved from being the leader who gives orders to someone who gets the buy-in of his team.

As I write this article, I am still at one of the lower levels, but not where I used to be. I picked up the book again in early 2024 to open my mind and understand what I needed to learn and do next.

I’ve led several organisations, and I am very intentional about how I lead my current businesses. I still make mistakes and sometimes beat myself up when I descend to that first level, but I now understand that it’s all part of growth.

I believe this is also true for you—you are most likely leading something or someone. The book can assess even how you lead as a parent or guardian.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book wherever books are sold around you and reading it. It will open your eyes to see how Christ leads us and how we can be more like Him in how we lead others.

We have an example in Christ to follow, and I pray that you become the leader you need to be so you can wield the type of influence that builds God’s kingdom in people’s hearts.