The Ultimate Guide to Developing Leaders: Invest in People Like Your Future Depends on It

by John C. Maxwell

What is the secret sauce for every kind of organization?

What is the secret to organizational success? Whether the goal is developing a new product, establishing a new location, launching a new initiative, starting a new team, or improving your existing one, what will determine its success? The leaders! For any team, small business, large corporation, non-profit organization, or government entity, the key to accomplishing today’s goals and achieving tomorrow’s success depends on its present and future leaders.

Few people know more about developing leaders than John C. Maxwell, the bestselling leadership author in history. In the last twenty-five years, he has grown from equipping a handful of leaders in one organization to developing millions of business, government, and non-profit leaders in every country around the world.

In The Ultimate Guide to Developing Leaders, Maxwell teaches everything leaders need to know about how to develop leaders in their team or organization. Readers will learn how

Become developers of people.Identify people with leadership potential.Recruit, train, and motivate emerging leaders.Empower new leaders to lead.Coach new and existing leaders to higher levels of achievement.Teach their leaders how to develop other leaders.Anyone frustrated by leadership limitations in their organization needs to read The Ultimate Guide to Developing Leaders. If they follow the practical steps it offers, they will create a leadership pipeline that will never run dry.

 

Genres: Leadership, Business

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Some of his books have been on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is going to be a less than stellar review, if only because I am going through a really REALLY long audio book slump. I love John Maxwell's works and really want to learn from him, but I am 1) either in full-blown imposter syndrome or I really DO suck as a leader and 2) due to #1, I don't feel like I can/am being a good leader to my Team and I am in no way equipped to create future leaders.

I saw this book being offered on libro.fm at the same time we had an employee temporarily promoted under me, so I thought, this is it. The book that will help me to get out of my head and focused on supporting and developing the supervisors under me so I can have some help and they can move up in their career.

It was a help, but then work sabotaged me and I couldn't be in the office to help guide the new guy, so guess who is moving back down to the rank and file because he didn't feel like he had what it took to do the job? And he CAN. But I can't show that to him while I'm in an office in another state.

Maybe if I was a better leader, I could still guide him from another state. But that's not covered in this book, so I'm out a supervisor under me.

This was a good book, well narrated and thoughtful, but ultimately, if you aren't able to implement the good ideas in said book, you won't get a lot out of it. This is definitely going to be a re-listen for me, I need all of the help I can get.

3, I need to work harder at becoming a better leader but that is not this book's fault, stars.

My thanks to libro.fm and HarperCollins for an ALC of this book to listen to and review.

[Anthony Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great advice, but Maxwell quoted himself so much that I felt like this was a catalog of his previous work.

[Paul Baker]

2025-02-03

Review 2025.01.009

Reviewers Note: It is the beginning of 2025 and one of the skills I desire to grow in is that of writing book reviews (having never done this before). I am doing this so I can better hone my writing (and reading) skills as I seek to think more critically about the books I am reading. I am sharing on Goodreads for my own personal development. I know this will be something I am always growing in so if you actually read these, please be patient with me as I develop this skill. I will also receive constructive criticism if you desire to help me become a better writer (and reader). I plan to use this disclaimer for the entire 2025 year.

The Ultimate Guide to Developing Leaders by John Maxwell
224 Pages

Goodreads shows that I’ve read 24 leadership and personal development books by John Maxwell over the years. His writing style is easy and there are plenty of applicable stories shared throughout his books so I’m not afraid to grab one when they go on sale (Kindle).

This book was short but packed full of advice and direction to help you, you guessed it, develop leaders. A lot of this book was familiar having just read Mr. Maxwell’s “Developing The Leaders Around You” in September of last year (2024-09). I found the same sort of encouragement that I always find in his books. The biggest for me this time was to just keep pushing forward because growth is slow and incremental.

There are action steps at the end of each chapter. I do not typically do those sorts of things because I find it hard to stop in the middle of books to perform a task. But with the new micro-reading skill I am developing, I might go back and do those end of chapter action steps. I am currently focused on developing customer success in my business so if I decide to do that, it will not be immediate.

Leadership is hard but with good mentors and good books, it can be easier. I can recommend this book for those desiring to grow their leadership skills.

[Robert Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple read with several profound actions that can be taken to develop leaders within your organization. I actually found myself taking notes a few times on some of the ideas that Maxwell suggests.

[Alexander Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on leadership, mentorship, sponsoring, and the ultimate goal.

I enjoyed the seven motivations, the partnership principle, how leadership is like learning to swim, and accumulative advantage.

[Matt Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Maxwell Gem

This is a great textbook on leadership and developing leaders. I always find Maxwell’s books to be valuable resources that help me to lead better. This book is no exception. I recommend it.

[Aldo Santoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

maxwell’s book never diappoints

Very concise, clear, “step-by-step” style of writing, easy to understand and contains reflection questions for us to think. Thank you John!

[Claudia Camacho · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. I loved it, very clear and simple examples

[Tim Scholze · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re in a leadership role or have the heart to lead, I encourage you to pick up this book immediately. Its impact on you, your team, and your organization can be transformative. This isn’t just another book—it’s a roadmap that will equip you to develop leaders around you, which is, without question, one of the greatest gifts any leader can offer. By investing in the growth of others, you're multiplying your influence and leaving a legacy that extends far beyond yourself. Let this guide be your tool to inspire, elevate, and build up the next generation of leaders.

[Kayli Aukeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible resource for anyone in a leadership position. It helped me change my frame of thinking in a lot of areas. I will continue to refer to this one over again and again.

[Jeffrey Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Maxwell's books. Good, practical, and helpful info. Anyone desiring to help others should read this book.

[Dennis Sy · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best Maxwell book

one of the best JohnMaxwell book i have ever read So excited to apply the lessons I learned here in our leadership development program

[zoagli · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you call your book the “ultimate guide” to something, you had better deliver. This here is a solid work, but did the world really need it? Still, it’s great to see this actionable knowledge in such a condensed fashion. And I do like the call to action in the subtitle: as a leader, please do invest in your people like your company’s future depends on it.