Tammi McClain’s Summary of
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Written by John Maxwell

Introduction:  John Maxwell rewrote the book because he realized a couple of the laws were subsets of other laws so he combined them and added two new laws: Law of Addition and Law of the Picture.
Leadership requires the ability to do more than one thing well. During a break at a conference a college student asked Mr. Maxwell what “1 thing” he needs to know to be a great leader, and Mr. Mawell’s response was “The one thing you need to know is that there is more than one thing!”
No one does all 21 things well. Develop a leadership team. Look for team members whose skills are strong where yours are week so you will complement each other
When reading the chapters keep in mind laws can
1.	Be learned
2.	Stand alone: they complement each other but you don’t need one in order to learn another
3.	Carry consequences with them: apply them and people will follow, ignore them and you won’t be able to lead
4.	These laws are the foundation of leadership-once you learn the principles you have to practice them and apply them to your life
The Law of the Lid: Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness
Golden Arches- Dick and Maurice McDonald- they lacked vision! They created a great restaurant in 1937 but they didn’t see it going past the one they created. It wasn’t until they partnered with Ray Kroc who had an incredible vision for the company that the company began expanding from 1955-1959 they had opened 100 restaurants. 
Although the two brothers were financially secure, they had not reached the true potential of the company because personal success without leadership ability only brings limited effectiveness.
The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to have, the greater your influence needs to be.
The Law of Influence: The True Measure of Leadership is Influence- Nothing More, Nothing Less
If you don’t have influence you will never be able to lead others: example-Mother Theresa
5 Myths about Leadership
1.	Management Myth: Leading and Managing are two different things!
2.	The Entrepreneur Myth: Not all entrepreneurs are leaders: Most entrepreneurs are skilled at seeing opportunities and going after them
3.	The Knowledge Myth: It is not necessarily true that intelligent people are great leaders
4.	The Pioneer Myth: It is assumed that anyone that is out in front of a crowd. Leaders have to not only be out front, but they have to have people intentionally coming behind them following their lead and acting on their vision.. Being a trendsetter is not the same as being a leader
5.	The Position Myth:  Leadership is not based on position-
Leadership is
1.	Character: Who they are
2.	Relationships: Who they know
3.	Knowledge: What they know
4.	Intuition: What they feel
5.	Experience: Where they’ve been
6.	Past Success-What they’ve done
7.	Ability-What they can do
The Law of Process: Leadership Develops Daily, not in a day
It is a lot like investing in the stock market if you hope to make a fortune in a day, you are not going to be successful. Leadership is like investing long term. It compounds.
Leaders are Learners
An Event	A Process	
Encourages Decisions
Motivates People
Is a Calendar Issue
Challenges People
Is Easy	Encourages Development
Matures People
Is a Culture Issue
Changes People
Is Difficult	

Phases of Leadership Growth
1.	I don’t know what I don’t know: Many people fail to even recognize the value of leadership or its importance
2.	I know that I need to know: “To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge”
3.	I know what I don’t know: personal growth plan
4.	I know and grow and it starts to show: began a daily discipline of personal growth
5.	I simply go because of what I know
The Law of Navigation: Anyone Can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart a course
Plan AHEAD! BE PREPARED!
Reflective Thinking
1.	Gives you true perspective
2.	Gives emotional integrity to your thought life
3.	Increases your confidence in decision making
4.	Clarifies the Big Picture
5.	Takes a Good Experience and makes it a valuable Experience
True Navigators Do the following:
1.	Examine the conditions before making commitments
2.	Listen to what others have to say
3.	Make sure their conclusions represent both faith and fact
Predetermine a course of action
Lay out your goals
Adjust your priorities
Notify Key Personnel
Allow time for acceptance
Head into Action 
Expect Problems
Always point to the successes
Daily review your plan

The Law of Addition: Leaders Add Value By Serving Others
We add value to others when we
1.	Truly Value Others
2.	Make ourselves more valuable than others
3.	Know and relate to what others value
4.	Do things that God Values
Law of Solid Ground: Trust is the Foundation of Leadership
Character: 
1.	Communicates consistency
2.	Communicates potential 
3.	Communicates respect
The Law of Respect: People Naturally Follow Stronger Leaders than themselves
Harriet Tubman
A group of people: They will naturally follow the strongest leader
Gaining Respect:
1.	Natural Leadership Ability
2.	Respect for others: When people respect you as a person, they admire you, as a friend, they love you as a leader they follow you
3.	Courage
4.	Success
5.	Loyalty
6.	Value Added to Others
Measure your level of respect: Look at who you attract