The 360° Leader

Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization

Thomas Nelson, 2006

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

What's inside?

Leaders can come from any desk in the company, including yours, if you can manage up, down and across, all 360 degrees.

1×

Editorial Rating

Qualities

Innovative
Applicable

Recommendation

Frequent author John C. Maxwell applies his career counseling formula to another aspect of leadership: how people in the middle of large organizations can add to their company's leadership equation. His popular books rely on long lists of myths, challenges, principles, rules or values. Each one is identified, numbered (Maxwell is a firm believer in the power of numerical orderliness) and accompanied by an example or uplifting story - often making it unclear whether the book is inspirational, instructional or both. In practice, will people refer to these lists, or simply draw from Maxwell's major concepts? Although leadership defies a static definition, getAbstract believes this book may come in handy for enlightened senior and middle managers, as well as for those who are involved in developing up-and-coming managers.

Summary

Lead from the Middle

Most organizations are hierarchical and follow a top-down leadership approach. But in actuality, 99% of all leadership decisions come from the middle of an organization. This presents an opportunity for most people to lead, so you don't have to be a senior executive to make an impact. People can lead from any position in an organization: from the bottom up, top down or across. Those who have the ability to lead in all three dimensions are called "360-degree leaders." They can influence people located anywhere in the organization.

These 360-degree leaders master three basic ways to exert influence. They can "lead up" the hierarchy by working with their supervisors; they can "lead across" the organization's structure by working with their colleagues; and they can "lead down" the hierarchy by directing and motivating their subordinates. In the process, they also need to overcome false perceptions about leadership.

People follow leaders for five reasons:

The leader commands the top position in the hierarchy.
The leader has a relationship with subordinates unrelated to status.
The employee...

About the Author

John C. Maxwell is an expert on leadership. He founded Injoy Stewardship Services and other leadership development organizations. He has written more than 40 books, including Winning with People, Thinking for a Change and Developing the Leader Within You.

Comment on this summary

Sign in to share your opinion
A. G. 3 years ago

This gives a comprehensive advice how to become 360 leader. Leading in this way is not only important for the organization but also for the people working in it. It create an excellent opportunity to have good relations with colleagues across the organization.
J. H. 8 years ago

average summary
Z. E. 8 years ago

Great read!