02_Leadershift: Ladder Climbing to Ladder Building

Three years ago, I was selected to be part of a core group of leaders who would be bringing a different experience to one of the best leadership conferences held twice a year by the Maxwell Leadership Team. There were 6 of us selected and we worked together for months to prepare for this "first time ever" experience with 50+ team members who were also selected to be part of this initiative.

Unfortunately, the International Maxwell Conference (IMC) was canceled that year 2 weeks before we were ready to fly to Orlando due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, I gained a few close friends along this journey and one of them was my friend Denise Watts-Wilson who is a servant leader and a ladder builder. She saw the potential in me as a leader and recommended that I apply to become part of the President's Advisory Council (PAC) for the Maxwell Leadership Team. I had not heard about this opportunity before and got curious why she thought I belonged there... now having served on the PAC for the past 3 years, I know WHY!

Denise is a ladder builder - what does it mean?

There are 4 stages to make the shift from a ladder climber to a ladder builder.

1. Ladder Climbing - "How high can I go?"
2. Ladder Holding - "How high will others go with a little help?"
3. Ladder Extending - "How high will others go with a lot of help?"
4. Ladder Building - "Can I help them build their own ladder?"

Last time I elaborated on the first one which was "Ladder Climbing". In this article, let me tell you more about the next stage of "Ladder Holding".

Kevin Myers says: Leaders should want far more for their people than from their people.

When you want more for others and you are willing to give them some help, it's like holding the ladder for another person, giving them a secure base, empowering them to take moderate risks, and allowing them to climb higher.

I have benefited from many people who were willing to hold the ladder for me as I climbed, especially as a new entrepreneur. Their initial support was key to my success. They made me better. And their help inspired me to want to help others.

John C. Maxwell says that Ladder Holding:

• Begins with a Serving Attitude
• Requires Availability
• Attracts People Who Want To Climb
• Is A Pre-Qualifier for Discovering a Person's Potential
• Over Time Multiplies Effectiveness

I am blessed to have become a Ladder Holder and it began with a Serving Attitude. In Feb 2021, joined the PAC (President's Advisory Council) and served on the JMTouch Committee onboarding new members for 9 months. In Nov 2021, I was asked to be part of a newly formed Committee for the Change Your World initiative and served for 6 months encouraging our members to start facilitating Transformation Values Based Roundtables.

In Apr 2022, I decided to be part of the Systems & Data Committee on the PAC so I could utilize my project management skills and data analysis was exciting to me. I have been serving with an amazing group of servant leaders for the past 2 years and I look forward to what's next!

Recently I have been given additional responsibility and I believe my new role on PAC will help me extend the ladder for others. When we do that, we empower them to climb higher and go to entirely new levels.

In the book Leadershift, John reminds us that "To take them to an even higher level, you need to do more." I want to develop a reputation for investing in others. When I engage with young leaders, I do my best to value them, believe in them, encourage them, and give resources to them.

How do you gauge other's ability to grow? How do you determine whether they can become good or even great leaders? By watching how they perform when given opportunities. By holding the ladder and offering them the chance to climb!

I would love to give you an opportunity to lead a group of 20+ project managers to help develop their speaking skills. We are in the process of chartering a brand new Virtual Toastmasters Club in PMI New Jersey Chapter - if you would like to join us as a charter member and/or take on an officer role, this is a great opportunity for you to showcase your leadership skills in a non-profit organization as a volunteer. Contact Anupama Kinatukara for details and express interest.

Subscribe to this newsletter to get notified when I publish the next edition in 2 weeks and share this with your friends/connections. Let's take steps every day to raise our leadership lid and develop leaders around us!

Let me end with telling you about the first picture you saw in this article, that is my friend Sharon D Green who has been tirelessly serving our team and when she saw me volunteering my time to serve the team... she wanted me to experience a Country Transformation Trip and sponsored me to be able to go to Dominican Republic with John Maxwell. It was a blessing to be training leaders in another language...

I speak 4 languages but Spanish is not one of them, that did not stop me from adding value to the leaders of DR, I had an amazing interpreter who worked alongside me to bring values based lessons to many!

Block time on my calendar to have a conversation on how you could be part of our community - we have a Maxwell Referral Contest going on and I would love to refer you. There is no obligation at your end to join us but you can gather all the information you need about our Maxwell Certification Program so you can decide for yourself whether this is the right fit and right timing for you.

Note that the teachings shared here is an excerpt from the book "Leadershift" by John C. Maxwell. I am starting a new Mastermind group where we study these lessons in depth each week - reach out if you would like the invite to join.