The 21 Most Powerful Minutes In A Leader's Day Chapter Summary

The assigned book for this course is The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day, by John C. Maxwell. In this book, Maxwell gives a leadership principle and then supplies a relevant Bible supported example to give life to the principle being introduced. The assignment for this week was to read chapters 1, 2, and 3. This paper will summarize what the author discussed in these chapters. The first leadership principle is found in chapter 1, “The Law of the Lid.” In this chapter, Maxwell talks very openly about how leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness (1). There are equal, but opposite, contrasting points here. First, the lower one’s ability to lead, the lower the lid is on …show more content…
Maxwell articulately espouses the connection between leadership and influence, and how the two are inseparable. Why is that? It is through the power of influence that a leader garners the support, or rejection, of his/her followers. Maxwell aptly states that followers in a voluntary organization cannot be forced to get onboard. If the leader has no influence with them, they won’t follow (17). Maxwell uses the Bible story of Joshua found in the books of Numbers and Joshua to validate his point. Through examination Joshua’s journey, aspiring leaders will see that aligning their moral compass to do what is right in the eyes of God, while developing better relationships with subordinates will add value to others. Joshua accomplished this by seeking God continually, aligning himself with another great leader, his mentor Moses, and displaying his undying commitment to his family (19-31). Ultimately, it was Joshua’s influence with others that allowed him to lead God's people to victory