Leadership Begins in the Heart

Leadership Begins in the Heart - John Maxwell

What can a person do to manage and cultivate good relationships as a leader? It requires three things:

1. Understand people: Marketing expert Rod Nichols says, "If you deal with every customer in the same way, you will only close twenty-five percent to thirty percent of your contacts, because you will only close one personality type. But if you learn how to effectively work with all four personality types, you can conceivably close one hundred percent of your contacts."

2. Love people: Businessman Henry Gruland says, "Being a leader is more than just wanting to lead. Leaders have empathy for others and a keen ability to find the best in people . . . not the worst . . . by truly caring for others." You cannot be a truly effective leader unless you love people.

3. Help people: If your focus is on what you can put into people rather than what you can get out of them, they'll love and respect you-and those attributes are great foundations for building relationships.

Excerpt from The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.