Developing The Leader Within You :

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and enjoyable
Review: "Developing the Leader within You" by John C. Maxwell was a very enlightening book to read. It is designed to advise you how to be a leader and where to begin. I also found the book to be a good reminder of things that I should be doing in everyday life when interacting with people. I think sometimes we need to be reminded how important it is to have a positive attitude, integrity, and get to know those with whom you interact; people skills can go a long way. Mr. Maxwell made the book enjoyable by relating the topics to situations and people that he knew.
I enjoyed the research facts of how many people with terminal illnesses were still living due to a positive attitude compared to those who have a negative attitude. It wasn't like some books that try to dictate to you. He also used a mix of Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip and other well-known individuals like Abraham Lincoln to help illustrate his points.
I'm not currently a leader within my company but this gives me a place to start and to practice some of the topics mentioned before I have to. Throughout the book you notice a few topics mentioned over and over showing their importance such as influence, people, and how the leader develops before his followers. I think something else John C. Maxwell does that is great is he has exercises for you to participate in while going through the book. So you're doing more than reading you're interacting. The one thing that is going to stick in my mind is "We are responsible for our attitudes". I sometimes forget its something I do have control over. I was reading this for a class but I would recommend this book to anyone to read, not just for those in the leadership world.

Rating:
Summary: A Leader is Born!
Review: A leader is always Born and as far as the belief goes 'Leos are Born Leaders' - However, the concept of this Book by John Maxwell is Developing a Leader within. This requires a motivation, a vision and an influence as the writer shares the principles of management through real life anecdotes, charts and graphs. A truly inspiring book that reveals wiz ways to excel and be a Leader. Interesting strips portray Leadership qualities with real life examples and sure, this becomes a quick 'glance read' chirping the zeal in to strife for successive climb. I've always recommended Management Quotes book of Pramod Batra and so is this Book on top of my Charts. Influence always make a big difference and this book implies the influential tricks to scale high to be a leader. Maxwell's techniques prove to be genuine stuff and anyways, the picked topics speak wide :

1. Influence - Defining Leadership qualities
2. Attitude - It really makes a big difference
3. Positive Change - foster integrity and self-discipline
4. Priorities - Defining goals
5. Integrity & People - Developing ties

Becoming a person of Influence is another Book of Maxwell that is thought-provoking and a Leadership technique of 'Influence' pays big dividends in longer run. A worthwhile life lesson to boost up self confidence and keep on high spirits with 'Developing the Leadership qualities' by John Maxwell. A sure fire way to adopt the techniques and surface the best in you.

Rating:
Summary: An inspiring inspiration for aspiring leaders
Review: Developing the Leader Within You was a first rate book with an outstanding amount of useful and applicable knowledge. Dr. Maxwell guides the reader through the steps they need to become a leader such as solving problems effectively, learning to appreciate people, developing the right attitude and improving your leadership abilities and various other categories. One of the aspects I found useful was small activities interspersed within the chapters. These proved to be a way to gauge your progress at developing skills and also a nice break from reading the book. One of the most useful sections, to me, was the one on developing people. Dr. Maxwell provided specific ways in which leaders can motivate people and also tactics to avoid because they can de-motivate people. One of the traps I noticed myself falling into was thinking that success was based on luck, not planning. After reading this book I now realize that I do not have to wait around for a lucky break, but I can take action to make success happen. The book was easy to read and stayed away from text book like content. Dr. Maxwell interjected numerous quotes and stories which helped to keep my interest. He chose quotes from Charlie Brown to President Eisenhower to everyday people he encountered. Not only was the content helpful, but discovering fun bits of trivia was exciting. The only fault I found with this book was that Dr. Maxwell was sometimes a little vague in his descriptions on how to address certain issues. But as I read the book and understood his message more fully, I realized that he wants the readers to figure out the solutions for themselves. He provides the framework for us to become better leaders but each of us has to chose the best way for our personal styles. If you want to enhance your leadership ability, become better at working with people, or just improve yourself in general, I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Among the Best of what's on the market
Review: John Maxwell is a renouned author and well respected voice in the whole training and building up of leaders. He is a leader's leader who teaches from his knowledge, experience and everything he's learned in his lifetime.

This book can serve anybody tremendously. Maxwell is a Christian pastor, yet other than the few references he makes to being a pastor, you'd never know it. He writes very practically and down to earth so that anyone from any faith or belief system can benefit from this book. if you are not currently a leader this book won't benefit you much now, but if you've got this stuff down for when you come into leadership you'll have a tremendous advantage in life.

This book made me realize what it is to be a leader. It made me realize that it's not as much what you do but more who you are that is the foundation of true leadership. I believe all leaders and future leaders can benefit greatly by reading this book. If there is one book you'll ever read on the topic of leadership, you should consider making this that book. You will benefit from it and learn a lot of handy tips from it. I first read this book in bible school and am very glad that this was manditory reading. John Maxwell is a fantastic author that has so much to teach. Too much not for others to take advantage of the knowledge he's giving away.

Rating:
Summary: Leadership can be developed
Review: Maxwell provides the tools any aspiring leader can use to develop themselves. By emulating the skills of those who have achieved success, we can develop these skills. This book delivers the message in a clear, succinct way. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Do Not Waste Your Money
Review: This book is a bore and contains no useful information.
The book has so many quotes of others that it seems the author couldn't develop an original thought were he paid to.
Save your money or spend it on something worthwhile - this isn't.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Highly motivating and informational.
Review: What does it take to be a leader? That is a question that anyone who has ever been in any leadership type position (or those who want to be) have asked themselves. The answer is in Developing the Leader Within You.

In this ooutstanding book, Maxwell examines the differences between leadership styles and outlines principles for inspiring, motivating, and influencing others. These principles can be used in any organization to foster integrity and self discipline and bring about a positive change.

In Developing the Leader Within You you will learn how to be effective in the highest calling of leadership by understanding the five characteristics that set "leader managers" apart from the "run of the mill managers."

Maxwell will show you how to develop the vision, value, influence, and motivation required of successful leaders.

You will also learn the ultimate test of leadership: Creating positive change.

Developing the Leader Within You is very possibly the very best leadership book ever. Read it. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: everything you wanted to know about becoming a better leader
Review: Whether you are an established leader or just getting started, there is something in here that will benefit you. By clearly defining leadership and its five levels, Maxwell starts you off with a strong understanding of the type of leader you can become, and how close you currently are to achieving it.

He then brings clarity to the obstacles that may be in your path and shows you how to clear them out of the way. He helps you to set your priorities, check your integrity, learn how to initiate positive change, and become a problem solver. He stresses the importance of attitude, people, vision and self-discipline. In the end, he shows you not only how to develop your own leadership ability, but how to start developing others as well.

Though sometimes choppy in its presentation, with maybe a few too many quotes and cliches, the content here is top notch. If you are a Maxwell reader, you will see repeats of this material in his other books. But then, some things are worth repeating.

Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory