Customer Reviews

The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have read and then reviewed most of Maxwell's previously published books which offer solid content, if not head-snapping revelations. For The 360º Leader, he has selected an important but neglected business subject: the middle manager who has far more responsibility than authority, who struggles to earn respect from her or his peers while accommodating the needs and interests of superiors, and who frequently feels overworked and under appreciated. That situation is even worse when reporting to the kind of pedant whom Jean Lipman-Blumen describes in The Allure of Toxic Leaders. As usual, Maxwell has organized his material with almost mechanical precision: a separate chapter devoted to each of seven "Myths" in Section I, to each of seven "Challenges" in Section II, to each of seven "Lead-Up Principles" in Section III, to each of seven "Lead-Across Principles" in Section IV...you get the idea. Perhaps because of Covey's influence, seven remains a favorite number to Maxwell and to other authors of business books.

I do not assert that Maxwell has a "cookie cutter" mentality. Rather, to suggest that he demonstrates in this book far greater facility with bromides than he does with insights. He is a conscientious recycler of ideas, especially those expressed in his earlier books. I found much in The 360º Leader that is clever but very little that is original. I appreciate the "Review" at the conclusion of each of the five sections. I regret that he merely lists the seven whatevers without annotations which would have made a periodic review of key points more rewarding.

With regard to this book's title, I think it has far greater potentiality than what Maxwell offers. It is indeed highly desirable for all managers -- not only those in the shrinking middle of once hierarchical organizations -- to maintain a synoptic (i.e. a 360º) perspective on the business world which surrounds them. Peripheral vision is no longer sufficient. Moreover, it is also important to "look" up -- at goals yet to be reached or visions yet to be fulfilled, for example -- and to "look" down to make certain that one's feet are on solid ethical ground. In my opinion, Maxwell fails to demonstrate a 360º perspective on his subject: how to develop (positive and productive) influence from anywhere in the organization.

There is also the matter of how one defines "leadership." Presumably Maxwell agrees with me that it is not dependent on one's rank, social status, title, salary, etc. Rather, it is the result of natural talents and innate qualities which have been carefully developed, indeed nourished. (Maxwell has much of value to say about that in other books.) Add some good luck, fortuitous timing, and a spoonful of "street smarts" and you have someone whom others respect and trust, someone whom others will voluntarily follow. What I think Maxwell means by "leadership" is actually initiative, one of the qualities most highly praised by Napoleon Hill who stressed the importance of "going the extra mile" and by Dale Carnegie when explaining how to win friends and influence people. Maxwell acknowledges neither in this book.

I have indicated my disappointment in a book I was so eager to read. Presumably it will be of interest and value to some people. If so, good for them as well as for Maxwell. However, I suspect there are others who need thought-provoking insights rather than the broad generalities on which so much of Maxwell's narrative depends. To them I strongly recommend James O'Toole's Creating the Good Life and Michael Ray's The Highest Goal. Neither is an "easy read." Fair enough. Neither are many of the situations we face in our lives each day.

John Maxwell hits another home run. If you are a Maxwell addict like me you will enjoy this book. I have almost read every book Maxwell has put out. And if you are anything like me you finish each of his books with things you can implement immediately and something's you know your leaders do wrong and get ants in your pants trying to find a way to help them be a better leader. As you may have read in "Developing The Leader Within You" or in "Developing The Leaders Around You" you know there is some discomfort in having a leader above you with less potential than you have grown to be. This book helps you find a way to shake some of those ants out. This is the how to guide to implementing these two books with some new good stuff for "leading-up." He continues in the format you have come accustomed to. It has many sub-sections to each chapter; this makes the book easy to squeeze in to your busy schedule a paragraph at a time. My only distaste of this book was the section reviews. I did not find them much help. Most of the review sections are the same as the table of contents (granted Maxwell's books have great TOC's) and a quick commercial, reminder, for the website 360DegreeLeader.com. The website required a lot personal information just to create a profile. (Password is in the jacket, so if you buy it used make sure this is still included. The survey was valuable.
-Lee

I do not share the somewhat down reviews of this book, and give it five stars to make that point. Instead of seeing this book as uninspired, I actually see it as reflective, and helpful in showing that we often overlook some of our most potential contributions.

Above all, the book stresses relationships and the nurturing of relationships up, down, sideways, all over. For this alone it is meritorious. The book also concludes with a comparison of the industrial era leaders versus the new leaders who take risks, serve others, nurture outsiders, etcetera.

My appreciation of this book is influenced by my interview of Alvin Toffler last night at the Lowes hotel in Beverly Hills. The new book that he and Heidi Toffler have coming out, on "Revolutionary Wealth," has many important insights but among those he summarized for me last night were three that help show the value of this book:

1) Sub-state and non-governmental organizations have been as important if not more important than national governments. How we study them, interact with them, nurture our relations with them, will have a lot to do with how promising a future we build.

2) The industrial era corporations and government bureaucracies are broken beyond repair. Entirely new network and localized alternative organizations are emerging or needed, that take a task force approach that fully integrates what have up to now been confrontational forces (e.g. Defense versus State).

3) Decision making is broken also. The scientific method is repressed and under-funded, while decisions are made based on shared assumptions, comfort levels, and consensus, regardless of what the facts are.

This excellent book is on a level with the Tofflers, and in my own view, is a fine primer for middle managers that would like to avoid becoming yes men drones under the dinosaurs, and instead break out to find new paths to moral capitalist success.

The 360° Leader is a very easy to follow and enjoyable book to read. Dr. Maxwell writes in a very personable style using real life stories, analogies, and numerous quotes to provide the reader with great advice on leading from not only the top, but also from the middle and from the bottom of an organization. I was initially drawn to this book due to my interest in 360° performance appraisals; looking for ideas on how to better write them. However, not only did I gain a better understanding of what to look for in writing appraisals, I also now feel I have a better understanding of what I need to be doing to get great 360° performance appraisals myself. The best part of the book is that each section includes either suggestions for leaders or questions leaders should be asking themselves. Dr. Maxwell then provides a step-by-step process for each of the books leadership principles that any leader can immediately use. Many of the suggested steps use real world examples that I could easily relate to; which I plan on using in my own organization.

John Maxwell does a great job explaining being a 360 degree leader.
All his instructions are attainable through hard work. This book has
many examples on improving your Leadership abilities. I especially
like how he breaks each step down in an easy to follow outline. Very
easy to go directly to the subject you need to work on.

As a long time fan I found the audio CD disappointing. Despite clearly stating the program is read by the author on the back of the CD case, it is not. Buyers beware. I have found the book much more enjoyable than the heavily abridged audio CD.

In a number of the self-improvement blogs I follow, one book title kept appearing over and over... The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization by John C. Maxwell. Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to see what the talk was all about. Bottom line is that I found it to be one of the most practical books on leadership I've ever had the pleasure to read. And you don't have to be a CEO to apply the truths...

Contents:
Section 1 - The Myths of Leading from the Middle of an Organization: #1 - The Position Myth - "I can't lead if I am not at the top."; #2 - The Destination Myth - "When I get to the top, then I'll learn to lead."; #3 - The Influence Myth - "If I were on top, then people would follow me."; #4 - The Inexperience Myth - "When I get to the top, I'll be in control."; #5 - The Freedom Myth - "When I get to the top, I'll no longer be limited."; #6 - The Potential Myth - "I can't reach my potential if I'm not the top leader."; #7 - The All-or-Nothing Myth - "If I can't get to the top, then I won't try to lead."
Section 2 - The Challenges 360-Degree Leaders Face: #1 - The Tension Challenge - The Pressure of Being Caught in the Middle; #2 - The Frustration Challenge - Following an Ineffective Leader; #3 - The Multi-Hat Challenge - One Head... Many Hats; #4 - The Ego Challenge - You're Often Hidden in the Middle; #5 - The Fulfillment Challenge - Leaders Like the Front More Than the Middle; #6 - The Vision Challenge - Championing the Vision Is More Difficult When You Didn't Create It; #7 - The Influence Challenge - Leading Others Beyond Your Position Is Not Easy
Section 3 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Up: #1 - Lead Yourself Exceptionally Well; #2 - Lighten Your Leader's Load; #3 - Be Willing to Do What Others Won't; #4 - Do More Than Manage - Lead!; #5 - Invest in Relational Chemistry; #6 - Be Prepared Every Time You Take Your Leader's Time; #7 - Know When to Push and When to Back Off; #8 - Become a Go-To Player; #9 - Be Better Tomorrow Than You Are Today
Section 4 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Across: #1 - Understand, Practice, and Complete the Leadership Loop; #2 - Put Completing Fellow Leaders Ahead of Competing with Them; #3 - Be a Friend; #4 - Avoid Office Politics; #5 - Expand Your Circle of Acquaintances; #6 - Let the Best Idea Win; #7 - Don't Pretend You're Perfect
Section 5 - The Principles 360-Degree Leaders Practice to Lead Down: #1 - Walk Slowly Through the Halls; See Everyone As a "10"; #3 - Develop Each Team Member as a Person; #4 - Place People in Their Strength Zones; #5 - Model the Behavior You Desire; #6 - Transfer the Vision; #7 - Reward for Results
Section 6 - The Value of 360-Degree Leaders: #1 - A Leadership Team Is More Effective Than Just One Leader; #2 - Leaders Are Needed at Every Level of the Organization; #3 - Leading Successfully at One Level Is a Qualifier for Leading at the Next Level; #4 - Good Leaders in the Middle Make Better Leaders at the Top; #5 - 360-Degree Leaders Possess Qualities Every Organization Needs
Special - Create an Environment That Unleashes 360-Degree Leaders; Notes; About the Author

As you can see above, the book is packed with a lot of information, but it's all very practical and applicable. The premise of 360-Degree leadership is that you don't become a leader when you're promoted into a position with the title. You become a leader when people start to follow you. It doesn't matter where you are in the organization, as you'll always be leading in an upward direction (to your superiors), an outward direction (to your peers), and a downward direction (to those who report to you). By using this book to understand the true meaning of leadership, you can start to hone your skills in your current environment, thereby building the bridges and relationships you'll need going forward.

I really like how this book is laid out. Section 1 destroys the common mindsets that middle managers often have towards being an official "leader" (higher than they are now). Upper management have different challenges, and there's no magic decree that makes them expert leaders when they are promoted. Section 2 takes a deeper look into the special challenges of being "in the middle" of an organization. Many things are expected from both directions (and from your peers), and it feels like you don't have the authority to lead as you'd like. But rather than just leave you floundering there, Maxwell covers how 360-Degree leadership is manifested in all directions... how to lead your boss and upper management by learning to lead yourself, how to interact with your peers to build a stronger overall team, and how to lead those who officially look to you for direction. The last direction can be hard, as you may have the title but not the respect and trust of your subordinates. If you strive to become the leader that Maxwell describes, you'll find that people willingly align themselves with you and your leadership "selling" is far easier...

In my working career, I've found that 360-Degree leaders (or whatever you want to call them) are by far the most effective leaders a company can have. People love working for them, things get done, and they're the ones that seem to handle everything with a level of grace and ease not often seen these days. I strongly recommend this book to just about anyone in an organization, as we should all be "leaders" in our own areas, even if you don't have a title that reflects that.

I have such a conflicted, mixed opinion about this book. On the one hand, the concept - leading not only down, but also across and up in your organization - is powerful. The writing is clean, the chapters are short, and there's nothing appalling or upsetting in the book. However, I found the book very tedious to read, and I stretched a typical two- or three-day read into nearly a month.

I do think this would be a great book for a brand-new manager, or for someone who has never managed before. For that category and career-stage, I believe you'd get some strong benefit from this book. However, I'm not sure how well a new manager will be able to digest leading across and up, as most new managers are just trying to survive :-)

For anyone with management experience, it seems hard to imagine that these lessons are revolutionary. If they are, you may be in danger of losing your management role; so put these principles in place fast! Ultimately, I just don't know who to recommend this to.

For the new manager? No. They're in over their head, and need time to learn the basics. This isn't basic; this is beyond basic.

For the experienced manager? No. They've already intuited most of this. They'd be frustrated and bored, as was I.

For the manager not doing well? I'm not sure synthesizing all this material is worthwhile; the manager not doing well is best focused on execution for a season.

For the manager doing really well? No. They're already doing these things, in some fashion, or they wouldn't be doing well.

So I'm just not sure. Good content, good structure, good writing, good illustrations... and I can't find that I'd urge anyone to read this.

Great book . . . just a note to say that it mentions availability of an online leadership assessment, instructing you to look for the access number on the dust jacket flap, but there is no dust jacket on the Kindle edition and therefore no access number. That turns out to be ok, because you can take the assessment anyway by going to the website itself. No number is needed.

When we usually think of great leaders the names that typically come to mind are those such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill or Mahatma Gandhi. But in his book - The 360 Degree Leader - management expert John C. Maxwell states that great leadership can start in your mirror. The premise of this work is that 99 percent of actual leadership occurs from the middle of an organization - not the top. Maxwell goes on to write that virtually anyone who aspires to lead can learn to develop their influence at any level of an organization to become a 360-degree leader, which he defines as an individual who manages effectively across as well as both up and down the organization. The driving skill behind such leadership is the desire to help others, which ultimately helps the 360-degree leader. Soundview endorses the principle message of this book that you don't have to be at the top of a group or business to sill have a significant impact on people and outcomes. This is a worthwhile read!