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The Leadership Handbook: 26 Critical Lessons Every Leader Needs
The most effective leaders across a wide variety of spectrums have achieved their success by beginning their journey with a question few bother to ask: How do I lead myself? As New York Times bestselling author and leadership expert John C. Maxwell says, “A leader never has to recover from a good start.” So when a leader takes root by firmly establishing themselves in their field of expertise, preparing for every risk and failure imaginable, the fruit of their endeavors will spread throughout their career and impact profoundly those in whom they invest.In The Leadership Handbook, Maxwell presents 26 insights intended to help build the leader within not only those aspiring to new positions of leadership but also those veterans who aim to improve upon the steps that led them to the front of the line. Readers will enjoy and benefit immensely from Maxwell’s highly relatable principles, such as:• The Best Leaders Are Listeners• Keep Your Mind on the Main Thing• Don’t Manage Your Time--Manage Your Life• Keep Learning to Keep Leading• People Quit People, Not Companies• And many more!With application exercises and a “Mentoring Moment” to accompany each chapter, The Leadership Handbook presents a road map for a path many may cross but few choose to follow.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
171 people are currently reading
769 people want to read
About the author
John C. Maxwell
999 books5,857 followersJohn 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.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 31, 2018
I rarely read informational texts, however, I did learn some valuable lessons about leadership in this book, while learning a little more about the author, John C. Maxwell. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who plays a leading role in any business, cooperation, or any place in life.
May 20, 2015
People love lists. Lists tell us all sorts of fanciful things about the world, and when it comes to books (and therefore blogs), lists do a great job at sorting information to be shared in a logical format that gets the readers engaged, or at its worst, lets them skip to the numbers they care about most.
Lists, in the case of this book, do quite well with teaching lessons, particularly leadership lessons. The name "John C. Maxwell" has become synonymous with leadership and business acumen, and for good reason. Maxwell is a #1 NYT best-selling author, and has made his mark as an influential, perhaps even declarative, voice in the field of leadership. Maxwell knew, at the age of 17, that leadership was to be his field, and he did well to prepare for it, learning critical lessons along the rocky path.
In his book, Maxwell covers necessary skills that leaders need via lessons to be learned. For each lesson, Maxwell asks questions to reveal a leader's influence and following. By doing so, leaders reading the text will know how the lesson best applies to them, to which Maxwell leads to part two: application exercises.
This book should have been a required reading in my leadership classes in Seminary, but it wasn't. It should have been because it is relevant, informational, and transformative. It's a book that can take anyone, leaders and non-leaders alike, and better improve them to be the best they can be. The book helps seekers identify how to improve themselves, yet keeping a biblical perspective.
Without a doubt, this book is one to have on the shelf, and recommending to be read instead of gathering dust...
Disclosure: I was contracted to write an honest review in exchange for a reviewer copy of the product. The opinions stated in this review are solely my own.
Lists, in the case of this book, do quite well with teaching lessons, particularly leadership lessons. The name "John C. Maxwell" has become synonymous with leadership and business acumen, and for good reason. Maxwell is a #1 NYT best-selling author, and has made his mark as an influential, perhaps even declarative, voice in the field of leadership. Maxwell knew, at the age of 17, that leadership was to be his field, and he did well to prepare for it, learning critical lessons along the rocky path.
In his book, Maxwell covers necessary skills that leaders need via lessons to be learned. For each lesson, Maxwell asks questions to reveal a leader's influence and following. By doing so, leaders reading the text will know how the lesson best applies to them, to which Maxwell leads to part two: application exercises.
This book should have been a required reading in my leadership classes in Seminary, but it wasn't. It should have been because it is relevant, informational, and transformative. It's a book that can take anyone, leaders and non-leaders alike, and better improve them to be the best they can be. The book helps seekers identify how to improve themselves, yet keeping a biblical perspective.
Without a doubt, this book is one to have on the shelf, and recommending to be read instead of gathering dust...
Disclosure: I was contracted to write an honest review in exchange for a reviewer copy of the product. The opinions stated in this review are solely my own.
December 7, 2018
First thing first: I did not read this book as the author asked to do - one chapter per week or even per two weeks. He is asking this as he asks me to implement things he is writing in the book in my life. That is perfectly ok. and nice that he thought about this :)
26 lessons are good, some comes from common sense, some I've already read and figure out myself. Generally I liked the way it was structured and how it was provided to me. There are no rules which which I do not agree. There are slight details that I not like - i.e. we are born with talents and we can't change this, I believe we can change and we can be as good as someone else. Of course, there are limitation to it, like "hip power", we can train, we can get better, but some people might have it stronger "hip power" then we do even without practicing. this is how our body is build and this might give some limitation to physical activities, but not in meaning leading, working, managing.
What I didn't like was the part that author ask me to practice. Sometimes he just ask me practice to many things "daily". Like dude, I know we should do this but the way you are putting this put's me off.
26 lessons are good, some comes from common sense, some I've already read and figure out myself. Generally I liked the way it was structured and how it was provided to me. There are no rules which which I do not agree. There are slight details that I not like - i.e. we are born with talents and we can't change this, I believe we can change and we can be as good as someone else. Of course, there are limitation to it, like "hip power", we can train, we can get better, but some people might have it stronger "hip power" then we do even without practicing. this is how our body is build and this might give some limitation to physical activities, but not in meaning leading, working, managing.
What I didn't like was the part that author ask me to practice. Sometimes he just ask me practice to many things "daily". Like dude, I know we should do this but the way you are putting this put's me off.
November 20, 2018
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.]
As I started to read this book, and looked at the table of contents, I felt a distinct feeling of déjà vu. Mind you, this happens often in my life, but it led me to look at what similarities this book had with other books by the same author I have read and reviewed in the past [1]. The fact that this book included 26 principles, at least one of which has been the subject of my own personal reflection [2], led me to discover that this book had indeed been previously published as Leadership Gold, which I was given by some close friends of mine, which sits on my bookshelf even as I write this, and which I gave a mostly positive review of, with some criticisms. In looking at this book again, albeit with less detail than before, seeing as it was a review of already familiar material, my thoughts on the book as a whole have not changed, nor do I feel it necessary to go into the same sort of detail that I previously wrote about in my review of the original book.
Nevertheless, there are a few features of this book that are particularly relevant. The book appears primarily aimed toward young leaders just starting out or more experienced leaders who are serving as mentors of young leaders, and seeks to distill the unsystematic personal leadership wisdom of one John Maxwell in a form that catches attention and encourages thoughtful behavior. The author explicitly instructs his audience to take this book as a secular devotional, with one week devoted to each lesson for young leaders and two weeks devoted to each lesson for mentors, with the end result being a six-month or twelve-month period of study and application. Generally, as Maxwell’s ideas are worthy of reflection and his use of imagery is striking and often picturesque, this would appear to be a worthwhile approach for those readers who wish to take the time to read this book as the author wishes.
Whether this book needs to be in your library depends on a few factors. If you already have purchased or received Leadership Gold as a gift, this book would appear to be largely redundant and unnecessary. If you are new to reading John Maxwell’s books, this book is a fair sample of his approach to leadership in numbered laws, a focus on gaining insight from personal experience, and a lack of interest in systematic data collection or biblical citations. This book, like his writing in general, suffers a tension between the author’s desire to consider himself a credible authority on leadership and his simultaneous desire to be vulnerable and admit his own occasional fallibility in a way that is nevertheless not threatening to his credibility and expertise. If you know his body of work as a whole, you know you will get thoughtfully written material in numbered lists that reflects Maxwell’s personal experience. That is generally enough to be instructed and occasionally amused and sometimes even moved.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
As I started to read this book, and looked at the table of contents, I felt a distinct feeling of déjà vu. Mind you, this happens often in my life, but it led me to look at what similarities this book had with other books by the same author I have read and reviewed in the past [1]. The fact that this book included 26 principles, at least one of which has been the subject of my own personal reflection [2], led me to discover that this book had indeed been previously published as Leadership Gold, which I was given by some close friends of mine, which sits on my bookshelf even as I write this, and which I gave a mostly positive review of, with some criticisms. In looking at this book again, albeit with less detail than before, seeing as it was a review of already familiar material, my thoughts on the book as a whole have not changed, nor do I feel it necessary to go into the same sort of detail that I previously wrote about in my review of the original book.
Nevertheless, there are a few features of this book that are particularly relevant. The book appears primarily aimed toward young leaders just starting out or more experienced leaders who are serving as mentors of young leaders, and seeks to distill the unsystematic personal leadership wisdom of one John Maxwell in a form that catches attention and encourages thoughtful behavior. The author explicitly instructs his audience to take this book as a secular devotional, with one week devoted to each lesson for young leaders and two weeks devoted to each lesson for mentors, with the end result being a six-month or twelve-month period of study and application. Generally, as Maxwell’s ideas are worthy of reflection and his use of imagery is striking and often picturesque, this would appear to be a worthwhile approach for those readers who wish to take the time to read this book as the author wishes.
Whether this book needs to be in your library depends on a few factors. If you already have purchased or received Leadership Gold as a gift, this book would appear to be largely redundant and unnecessary. If you are new to reading John Maxwell’s books, this book is a fair sample of his approach to leadership in numbered laws, a focus on gaining insight from personal experience, and a lack of interest in systematic data collection or biblical citations. This book, like his writing in general, suffers a tension between the author’s desire to consider himself a credible authority on leadership and his simultaneous desire to be vulnerable and admit his own occasional fallibility in a way that is nevertheless not threatening to his credibility and expertise. If you know his body of work as a whole, you know you will get thoughtfully written material in numbered lists that reflects Maxwell’s personal experience. That is generally enough to be instructed and occasionally amused and sometimes even moved.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
December 31, 2020
Lots of useful scattered wisdom and useful techniques for improving your leadership skills, and those of others. My one complaint is that it often rather cursory on its own, referencing other books by the author, which I haven't read. (Maybe I will.) I'm tempted to say, "Add a star if you're already familiar with the author's other works.
December 31, 2018
John Maxwell uses his familiar storytelling style where he illustrates his key points on leadership. I liked the end of each chapter where he includes application exercises and mentoring tips for those experienced leaders who are mentoring their emerging leaders.
June 14, 2020
Excelente libro!
Las lecciones son súper aplicables, claras y motivadoras. Libro obligado para todas las personas que aspiren ser líder o que ya lo sean y quieran seguir creciendo en habilidades.
Las lecciones son súper aplicables, claras y motivadoras. Libro obligado para todas las personas que aspiren ser líder o que ya lo sean y quieran seguir creciendo en habilidades.
June 2, 2017
I am starting this book over again. And will re read is at least twice more in a row.
September 13, 2018
This is THE handbook for anyone who aspires to become a leader, regardless of their stage in life and occupation. This will remain my "go to" resource for years to come.
February 14, 2019
I believe everyone should read this book. This book is not only for people in a leadership position this can be used by anyone. Anyone can be a leader if they choose to be and by taking many of the pionts in the book that leader can be successful. I did enjoy the formatting John Maxwell writes in, it gives you the information and then state the application. It helps reader identify situation where these lessons can be used.
September 10, 2019
great book
February 11, 2020
This was not John Maxwell's best book, but it was still beneficial. I found the final chapter worth reading the entire book.
June 14, 2020
Also for followers like me since we also need to lead our own lives.
June 16, 2020
Quick easy read with lots of things to reflect and act on.
July 17, 2020
This is one to take the checklists and review annually.
January 22, 2025
I think it’s just his writing style that I don’t like. Some of the content was good though.
February 22, 2025
Some good points on being a Team Leader and not just a "Boss"
January 5, 2016
I suspect that I am like many others who, upon hearing the mention of his name, would immediately associate John Maxwell with the topic of “leadership.” The classic and most well-known of his books would (I assume) be “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” But simply type his name into amazon’s search function and you’ll see that that is not anywhere close to the last book that he wrote on the subject. Maxwell’s output on the subject is voluminous and extensive, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with this book, “The Leadership Handbook.” What would he have to say on the subject that he hadn’t said some other way in some other book? What fresh insights are there to be gleaned here?
Perhaps it was my admittedly mixed expectations for the book, but the further I got into the book the more that I found myself enjoying, learning from, and appreciating it. Maxwell himself sums up what differentiates this book from many of his previous ones on page 247, where he says:
"You’ll notice that there has been a significant shift in my thinking…Now, instead of focusing on who I am to become, my focus is on other people…I want to add value to leaders who will multiply value to others."
John Maxwell has gone from wanting to be a great leader himself to wanting to teach others how to be great leaders to wanting to teach others how to teach others how to be great leaders. Thus he suggests two ways of reading the book. The first is to read a chapter a week, spending time to meditate on the lessons and application questions in each chapter. The second is to take 52 weeks to go through the book, spending one week to go over a chapter yourself and then taking the next week to teach that lesson to whoever it is that you are currently mentoring. Each chapter has a “Mentorship Moment” at the end to assist in this process.
In “The Leadership Handbook,” Maxwell seems to be catching sight of the same kind of leadership and discipleship that both Jesus (“Go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you” […by inference including making disciples]) and Paul (“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”) modeled and taught.
Finally, in addition to teaching leadership from his successes, Maxwell teaches from his failures. His honesty about the role that failure has in the growth of a leader is admirable and much needed.
So what’s the verdict? I see this book functioning exactly as it’s billed: as a handbook to slowly work through, refer to, and learn from as leaders seek to grow personally and pass their lessons on to the leaders they are training up themselves. I know that I personally have several immediate applications from it and also that I’ll be returning to it often as a refresher and reminder.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Disclaimer: BookLook Bloggers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.
Perhaps it was my admittedly mixed expectations for the book, but the further I got into the book the more that I found myself enjoying, learning from, and appreciating it. Maxwell himself sums up what differentiates this book from many of his previous ones on page 247, where he says:
"You’ll notice that there has been a significant shift in my thinking…Now, instead of focusing on who I am to become, my focus is on other people…I want to add value to leaders who will multiply value to others."
John Maxwell has gone from wanting to be a great leader himself to wanting to teach others how to be great leaders to wanting to teach others how to teach others how to be great leaders. Thus he suggests two ways of reading the book. The first is to read a chapter a week, spending time to meditate on the lessons and application questions in each chapter. The second is to take 52 weeks to go through the book, spending one week to go over a chapter yourself and then taking the next week to teach that lesson to whoever it is that you are currently mentoring. Each chapter has a “Mentorship Moment” at the end to assist in this process.
In “The Leadership Handbook,” Maxwell seems to be catching sight of the same kind of leadership and discipleship that both Jesus (“Go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you” […by inference including making disciples]) and Paul (“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”) modeled and taught.
Finally, in addition to teaching leadership from his successes, Maxwell teaches from his failures. His honesty about the role that failure has in the growth of a leader is admirable and much needed.
So what’s the verdict? I see this book functioning exactly as it’s billed: as a handbook to slowly work through, refer to, and learn from as leaders seek to grow personally and pass their lessons on to the leaders they are training up themselves. I know that I personally have several immediate applications from it and also that I’ll be returning to it often as a refresher and reminder.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Disclaimer: BookLook Bloggers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.
February 23, 2015
John Maxwell has been writing on leadership since I was in junior high. He’s been at it awhile now, because I’m getting old. His current work is called The Leadership Handbook. The question for a new Maxwell book on leadership is not whether or not the content is quality. That much is assured.
The real question is: if I already have Maxwell’s other books, do I need this one?
Because if you haven’t read up on leadership, you absolutely need to. This one, by boiling down the principles in most of Maxwell’s writings, is a good introduction. I like it better than his 21 Laws book, though that is a matter of preference.
Why is this a good starting point?
Each chapter presents a summary statement of leadership, then gives three ideas to expand it. After that, the chapter presents application exercises and concludes with a one-paragraph “mentoring moment” that encapsulates the ideas from that chapter.
The 26 ideas presented are excellent. There is the unfortunate inclusion of Perry Noble as a positive example of leadership, but Maxwell is examining leadership. Even the aggravating can demonstrate leadership. Leaving aside whether all of Maxwell’s other examples have used their leadership well—I think Noble, for example, has misapplied the idea of rising above criticism—the principles are still useful.
Now, I think this is definitely useful for new readers of leadership principles. Is it of any use to those who have read Maxwell’s prior books?
Yes, I find it useful. First, there are places within this book that Maxwell provides limiting parameters for his leadership principles. While one could read some of his earlier works and justify a self-absorbed leadership, Maxwell is clear in this work that this is not acceptable.
Second, The Leadership Handbook breaks down into nice group study segments. A six-month internship would couple well with reading through a chapter per week.
With the reservation that not every leader that was doing well when Maxwell did his research is still doing well, I can recommend this book to the student of leadership, whether new to the study or long-traveled.
I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for the review.
The real question is: if I already have Maxwell’s other books, do I need this one?
Because if you haven’t read up on leadership, you absolutely need to. This one, by boiling down the principles in most of Maxwell’s writings, is a good introduction. I like it better than his 21 Laws book, though that is a matter of preference.
Why is this a good starting point?
Each chapter presents a summary statement of leadership, then gives three ideas to expand it. After that, the chapter presents application exercises and concludes with a one-paragraph “mentoring moment” that encapsulates the ideas from that chapter.
The 26 ideas presented are excellent. There is the unfortunate inclusion of Perry Noble as a positive example of leadership, but Maxwell is examining leadership. Even the aggravating can demonstrate leadership. Leaving aside whether all of Maxwell’s other examples have used their leadership well—I think Noble, for example, has misapplied the idea of rising above criticism—the principles are still useful.
Now, I think this is definitely useful for new readers of leadership principles. Is it of any use to those who have read Maxwell’s prior books?
Yes, I find it useful. First, there are places within this book that Maxwell provides limiting parameters for his leadership principles. While one could read some of his earlier works and justify a self-absorbed leadership, Maxwell is clear in this work that this is not acceptable.
Second, The Leadership Handbook breaks down into nice group study segments. A six-month internship would couple well with reading through a chapter per week.
With the reservation that not every leader that was doing well when Maxwell did his research is still doing well, I can recommend this book to the student of leadership, whether new to the study or long-traveled.
I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for the review.
November 19, 2016
The book, as its title suggests, The Leadership Handbook. 26 Critical Lessons Every Leader Needs, is broken into 26 “lessons.” These are short chapters that you can breeze through quickly, but try to resist the temptation to do so. What should be the goal is slow down and work methodically through them. Having the knowledge is great, but the application of that knowledge is what shows wisdom (this discipline of slowing down and application is what makes you a better leader). Maxwell suggests that emerging leaders read one chapter each week for 26 weeks, and he suggests experienced leaders to take two weeks per chapter — one week for you and one week to mentor someone else about the lesson.
If there was one big obstacle that kept creeping back in for me on not slowing down with the reading of this book was it had that familiar feel of, “I have read this before” and I was very familiar with the lessons and disciplines that were being taught in this book. Then it came to me, I was very familiar with most of this book already due to reading a earlier book of Maxwell’s titled: Leadership Gold. If you the reader are not familiar with Maxwell’s work, you will find the material in this book helpful. However, if you are familiar with his work, you might be disappointed as I was.
Maxwell remains an author that when he comes out with anything new, I will at least review what it is to be over as I hold out for him to bring some new Leadership truths again some day. He is a great story-teller, user of quotes, and has a writing style that I have enjoyed since I started down my purposeful leadership journey back in the early 90’s.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookBloggers.com review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
If there was one big obstacle that kept creeping back in for me on not slowing down with the reading of this book was it had that familiar feel of, “I have read this before” and I was very familiar with the lessons and disciplines that were being taught in this book. Then it came to me, I was very familiar with most of this book already due to reading a earlier book of Maxwell’s titled: Leadership Gold. If you the reader are not familiar with Maxwell’s work, you will find the material in this book helpful. However, if you are familiar with his work, you might be disappointed as I was.
Maxwell remains an author that when he comes out with anything new, I will at least review what it is to be over as I hold out for him to bring some new Leadership truths again some day. He is a great story-teller, user of quotes, and has a writing style that I have enjoyed since I started down my purposeful leadership journey back in the early 90’s.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookBloggers.com review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
June 6, 2015
I enjoy reading leadership books to analyze the characteristics in people I work with. The Leadership Handbook gives great real life examples of leadership, including where leaders can fail. A few of the lessons also apply to anyone (even non-leaders) to help you improve yourself, for example: listening to others, be a connector, never work a day in your life. A good book for leaders and non-leaders alike to move their careers forward and ensure they are achieving meaningful 'work' in their life.
October 9, 2016
Everyone should read this.
Having been a leader myself at different levels with different organizations I find after reading this that it brings new recognition to things I did and things I should have done. I highly recommend that all who are now or hope to be leaders read this book. It,s insights are well worth your time.
Having been a leader myself at different levels with different organizations I find after reading this that it brings new recognition to things I did and things I should have done. I highly recommend that all who are now or hope to be leaders read this book. It,s insights are well worth your time.
June 22, 2016
This book can improve me for leader It easy to read.
December 19, 2016
one of the best leadership/best self help books I have read in a while.
September 25, 2022
كتاب رائع… إستمتعت جداً بقراءته
March 17, 2016
Love, love, love this book!!!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews