Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership

Having read several of Maxwell's books over the years, I knew I was in for a treat before starting this read. However, what grabbed me about this book is that Maxwell and his team decided to take a couple of years and narrow down the questions most asked about leadership and then compile them categorically into a readable format. The result is a real glimpse into the mindset of John Maxwell, known as one of the top leadership gurus in the world. Add to the fact that he is a Christian and served as a pastor for many years and you have a fascinating read and insight into one of the keenest minds on this important subject of leadership. The book is broken down into two parts: 1) Questions I Ask and 2) Questions Leaders Ask Me. Under the two parts the following questions are answered: Questions I Ask 1. Why Are Questions So Important 2. What Questions Do I Ask Myself as a Leader? 3. What Questions Do I Ask My Team Members? Questions Leaders Ask Me 1. What Must I Do to Lead Myself Successfully? 2. How Does Leadership Work? 3. How Do I Get Started in Leadership? 4. How Do I Resolve Conflict and Lead Challenging People? 5. How Can I Succeed Working Under Poor Leadership? 6. How Can I Successfully Navigate Leadership Transitions? 7. How Can I Develop Leaders? The three chapters that were most helpful to me were "What Must I Do to Lead Myself Successfully?", "How Do I Resolve Conflict and Lead Challenging People?", "How Can I Successfully Navigate Leadership Transitions?" I underlined, starred, and marked up so much of this book, I don't know exactly what to include in this review. I do know that if you have any type of leadership role or have a desire to learn leadership, this is a tremendous book. As always with Maxwell's books, this volume is infused with applicable anecdotes and timely quotes. Here are a few of my favorite parts of the book: When I was a young leader, I didn't feel wise enough, strong enough, mature enough, competent enough, confident enough, or qualified enough. When I began to be honest with myself, allow my weaknesses to humble me, and go to God for help, I began to change. I became more open and authentic. I was willing to admit my mistakes and weaknesses. I developed appropriate humility, and I began to change and grow...Before I had been unwilling to be wrong, and as a result I had been unable to discover what was right. Isn't it strange how we must surrender being right in order to find what's right, how humility enables us to be authentic, vulnerable, trustworthy, and intimate with others? People are open to those who are open to them. p.9 If you are a leader, your goal is to lift up your people, not have them lift you up. p.34 If you are a leader, the true measure of your success is not getting people to work. It's not getting people to work hard. It is getting people to work hard together. p. 37 If you are a leader and you are not adding value to your team, you need to question whether or not you should even be the leader. p. 39 Success is a relationship game. p. 43 Successful leaders don't only take action. Good leaders listen, learn, and then lead. p. 49 When team members no longer believe that their leader listens to them, they start looking around for someone who will. p. 52 Asking the question "What do you think?" has often allowed me to lead my organization better than I would have if I had relied only on myself. More than once, members of my team have saved me from making a bad or stupid decision because they saw things I didn't see, relied on experience I didn't have, or shared wisdom they possessed that I lacked. Their thinking has elevated my ability, and for that I am very grateful. p. 59 Insecure leaders want to have tight reins on everyone and everything...in the end insecure leaders limit their people and their organizations. p. 92 If you want to become a better leader, become highly relational. p. 100 It's wonderful when the people believe in the leader; it's more wonderful when the leader believes in the people. p. 125 Good leaders cultivate themselves through personal growth. They also cultivate relationships and grow teams. That too can be slow and difficult work. It usually takes longer than we expect and it's harder than we hope. But there is no such thing as solitary success. Nothing of significance was ever achieved without people working together. p. 141 The bottom line on leadership is that its influence. If you want to lead, you must persuade people to work with you. People who think they're leading but have no one following them are only taking a walk. p. 150 Rewards are motivating. Rules, consequences, and punishment don't do anything to get people going. They merely keep people from doing their worst. If you want people's best, give them incentives for performance. p. 183 Many poor leaders do not respond well to having their methods questioned. p. 204 Good leadership works. It's based on invitation, not intimidation. p. 221 Achievement comes to people who are able to do great things for themselves. Success comes when they lead followers to do great things for them. But a legacy is created only when leaders put their people into a position to do great things without them. p. 258 Your success is more dependent on your ability to find and attract good people than on anything else. p. 261 There's only one way to lead leaders. Become a better leader yourself. Good leaders do not follow poor ones. People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. p. 283

I bought this because I’m interested in improving my leadership and communication skills. The book is easy to read and very practical. Each chapter focuses on different types of questions and how they can improve relationships and decision making. What I like most is that the ideas are simple and easy to apply, not just theory.

"Good Leaders Ask Great Questions" caught my attention immediately upon publication. The art and power of asking questions became a subject of interest for me in the 1990s as I watched the award-winning PBS Fred Friendly Seminars. Friendly utilized the Socratic Dialogue format to explore urgent social and public policy issues. Socratic questioning is disciplined questioning that can be used to pursue thought in many directions and for many purposes, including: to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don't know, to follow out logical implications of thought or to control the discussion. Author John Maxwell in "Good Leaders" adapts this format to great, day-to-day leadership by emphasizing the effective use of questions for: * Getting profound answers with profound questions that can facilitate confidence, wise decision-making, crystal-clear focus in life, prioritization. * Unlocking and opening doors that otherwise remain closed, yielding possibilities that can lead to opportunities, experiences, and understanding people. * Connecting with people. What is asked matters. So does how it is asked. * Cultivating humility. Fear of being unable to say "I don't know" keeps leaders vulnerable and insecure. * Engaging others in conversation. Great questions communicate to others that you value them and tyou want to add value to them. * Building better ideas by providing different perspectives. The true spirit of dialogue is essential to creativity by building on another's observation, not overturning it. * Minimizing faulty assumptions about other people. "Before you attempt to set things right, make sure you see things right." * Challenging mind-sets and getting us out of ruts. The question "why" is a question of discovery. Maxwell's book is segmented into two parts.Part One "Questions I Ask" focuses on "What questions do I ask myself as a leader?" and "What questions do I ask my team." These include (with an explanation of the importance of each): Are you investing in yourself? How do you see your future? How do others see you? Are you generally interested in others? Are you grounded? Are you adding value? Are you staying in your strength zone? Are you investing your time with the right people? How good a listener are you? Do I want to hear what I need to hear? Do I interrupt? What do you think? How can I serve you? What did you learn? What do I need to know? What am I missing? Part Two "Questions Leaders Ask Me" was sourced from questions solicited via twitter, Facebook, Maxwell's blog, and 4000 certified coaches. These include questions like: What must I do to lead myself successfully? How does leadership work? How do I get started in leadership? How do I resolve conflict and lead challenging people? How can I succeed working under poor leadership? How can they successfully navigate leadership transitions? How can I develop leaders? Much in part two is derived from previous books by Maxwell. This is useful as it is a good reminder of fundamental leadership issues, issues which need constant reinforcement. One specific list of questions that will benefit all readers is his list of questions on how people can lead themselves successfully. "Good Leaders" will be useful to those in leadership or aspire to leadership roles. Maxwell shows how a disciplined and thoughtful question-based approach provides an effective tool box for the leader and his/her team. Examples include questions that: * Help others to clarify their thinking, e.g., `Why do you say that?', `Could you explain further?' * Challenge others about assumptions, e.g., `Is this always the case?', `Why do you think that this assumption holds here?' * Clarify evidence as a basis for dialogue and decisions, e.g., `Why do you say that?', `Is there reason to doubt this evidence?' * Provide alternative viewpoints and perspectives and biases, e.g., `What is the counter-argument?', `Can/did anyone see this another way?' * Highlight Implications and consequences, e.g., `But if...happened, what else would result?', `How does...affect...?' * Question the question, e.g., `Why do you think that I asked that question?', `Why was that question important?', `Which of your questions turned out to be the most useful?' Questioning is intimately connected with critical thinking because the art of questioning is important to excellence of thought. Critical thinking and Socratic questioning both seek meaning and truth. Critical thinking provides the rational tools to monitor, assess, and perhaps reconstitute or re-direct our thinking and action. Socratic questioning is an explicit focus on framing self-directed, disciplined questions to achieve that goal. John Maxwell is recognized internationally as a leadership expert and has written many books focusing on leadership. Titles include "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" , "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow," "Developing the Leader Within You." Each sold over a million copies. He has been named to Amazon.com's Hall of Fame. "Good Leaders Ask Great Questions" is as provocative as his earlier titles. it highlights the role great questions play in critical thinking, and it challenges the reader to assess his/her ability to ask great questions. Maxwell continues to ask himself the same questions he discussed in Chapter 2 over and over again. They continue to guide his leadership and help him to harness and be accountable for the gifts and advantages he has been given. Maxwell believes that by asking questions, he can also harness the power of every member of his team. Asking questions begs to be developed and should become a regular discipline...as "Good leaders ask great questions."

This is a rerun of many books I have read before, but it is good positive reinforcement and good food for thought. John Maxwell's overwhelming ego is present (as usual in all his books and tapes), but it is a good read.

Recently finished reading John Maxwell's "Good Leaders Ask Great Questions". First off, I am surrounded by individuals who help my personal growth as a leader by asking me great questions. I often find myself saying "Why didn't I think of that" or "I wished I had asked that". Maxwell provides some very practical counsel on some great questions to ask, many of which are soul searching and prompt self-awareness and growth. On another level, Maxwell's teaching on leadership in general is outstanding. The numerous highlights I made throughout the journey through the book are nuggets of leadership wisdom to carry and remind me during my professional work. Good leaders do in fact ask great questions and Maxwell's book can help the reader begin to more practically lead with questions. Definitely worth checking out

The book is full of God’s wisdom. It’s so helpful and interesting! I love it so much!

To me a lot is common sense but it's a good reminder also a great guide for any manager\leader with any issue. Covers Everything. Couldn't be more grateful for this book. 2nd book I've read in 25 years because I had to for work BUT couldn't be any happier that I had too. it covers EVERYTHING. Difficult employees chapters 7. Dealing with a bad boss above u chapter 8. SO MUCH this book has been a blessing I keep going back for how to thank you John Maxwell. *if your going to read it take your time n keep your mind open even about yourself. It's not to see others issues which you will see n chuckle. Be open for self improvement. I had others read it and 1 week later I was wondering if they truly read it. Let it help you don't read it for others. You'll see others faults but use it for your self improvement. Everyday you should want to be better than yesterday GREAT READ. *a lot of amazing quotes in this book or 1 line motivators READ THIS BOOK NOT MY REVIEW. BUT IT NOW

JCM does not disappoint. Great read. Great questions. They provoked my thinking. They provoked new questions from me. I always come out better after reading a book from JCM. He has been a blessing to my life.