Executive Leadership
Based upon my recent reading of Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power and John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You, I think my leadership style is turning out to be more like Greene’s concepts in that my approach to leading people is strategic and planned. Since I do not aspire to run my own company or influence a vision on a team of people, my leadership style would work more like management.
I say this honestly because the first 6 laws I’ve studied are more appropriate to me than people development and inspiring a vision that Maxwell mentions many times in his concepts (1993, pp. 1-160). This is because the people I currently manage do not need me to push them on their own development. They are strong in their current state of development or they pursue their own continued education.
As with being inspirational, I’ve had two companies of my own and I know after having to run them, that it is something that I no longer wish to do in my future. I think it’s too much administrative work and doesn’t yield enough time for me to be creative and work with my team as closely as I wanted.
In fact, Greene’s 6 laws that I’ve studied so far are already helping me in my current job as a manager of 3 slightly difficult and disgruntled employees. Overall, these employees are not happy with the company and how they have managed their own careers and their emotions are not directed at me. However, they see me as one and the same as the company because I am management. So in order to get the work completed and enhance more positive communication, I’ve already utilized the following Greene laws to make a change in my workplace:
Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
Law 2: Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies
Law 7: Get Others to Do the Work for You, But Always Take the Credit
Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument
Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness
Law 35: Master the Art of Timing
Below is a list of both of the books I mentioned in this post so you can check them out and see more of what I’m talking about. Hopefully soon, I’ll be able to expand more on this theme. Until next time!
References:
Greene, Robert. (09/2000). The 48 Laws of Power [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781101042458
Maxwell, John C. (1993). Developing the leader within you. Nashville: T. Nelson.