55 Leadershift Quotes And Lessons From Dr. John Maxwell

As part of my personal growth, today I took part in a online coaching session from Dr. John Maxwell as he taught from his new book Leadershift.  This is some of John’s best work.  You can click HERE or on the image provided to order.

If you are a regular reader of this site then you know I used to work for John and he remains a hero of mine.  So much of what I have accomplished in life is directly attributable to this wonderful man.

The following are 55 leadership quotes and lessons from John and the shifts you must make in leadership to remain successful.  The first four statements are from a pre-coaching video the team sent out.

1. I’m counting my days but I’m not making my days count.
2. The more you love to grow the less the fear of failure will have a grip on you.
3. When I use the word leadershift it is the ability to make positive changes in your life and in the life of the group that you lead.
4. If you want to keep leading you have to keep leading.  And if you’re leading there’s still another mountain to climb.
5. The game doesn’t stay the same.
6. “Yesterday’s home run won’t win today’s game.” – Babe Ruth
7. We must be in the continual process of change.
8. If you’re going to grow, you’re going to continually change.
9. It’s never going to slow down.
10. Forward is shorter. When you think of the future, it’s not as long as it used to be.
11. There is a difference between adaptability and conformity.
12. Adaptability is based on confidence in your ability.
13. We have to continually learn, unlearn, and relearn.
14. In about five years, what you learned in college is going to be outdated and you’ll need to update.
15. Test – Fail – Learn – Improve – Re-enter.This is the cycle of success.
16. Learning is important but did you improve?
17. You’ve got to value yesterday but you have to live in today.
18. My favorite book is the book I’m writing.
19. I’m going to keep writing books as long as the book I’m writing I think is the best I’ve ever written.
20. You want to rely on speed but thrive on timing.
21. Leaders see bigger and quicker than others see.
22. There is a great advantage to see first and getting started before other people.
23. When you see the bandwagon, it’s too late to lead.
24. The bigger picture should keep getting bigger.
25. If what you did five years ago still excites you, you’re in trouble. There’s nothing worse than leaders who are historians.
26. Live in today but think about tomorrow.
27. The future has a way of arriving unannounced.
28. Move forward courageously in the midst of uncertainty.
29. Life expands or shrinks based upon the amount of courage we have.
30. People don’t follow titles or positions. They follow courage.
31. My leadership isn’t based odds. My leadership is based on the right thing, what’s going to help people.
32. I would rather die not arriving at something big than to live arriving at something small.
33. Today’s best will not meet tomorrow’s challenges.Leadershift is all about getting better. Anyone can improve.  Anything can improve.
34. Today’s celebration is tomorrow’s dissatisfaction.
35. My best today can get better tomorrow.
36. The best today is the floor for tomorrow.
37. What you don’t do today is left on the table forever. It’s lost.
38. “I’ve got to find you before I can lead you.” – Bobb Biehl
39. “When I started as a coach I led by assumption and was constantly missing my players… I had to ask them questions.” – Pat Summit
40. If I sit with you I can connect with you.
41. Directing is authoritative. Connecting is collaborative.
42. Directing is all about me. Connecting is more about you.
43. My goal is to find common ground with you.
44. Let people know that you need them.
45. When God gives you a dream bigger than you, you can become overwhelmed and give up…. Or you can get help.
46. One is too small a number to achieve greatness.
47. In the next few years I need thousands of transformational trainers.
48. Would you like to be part of something a lot bigger than yourself that changes lives?
49. Consistenly asking people questions.  I lead by asking questions.
50. As a young leader I assumed I knew what was best for you.
51. Assumption is the mother of all mess ups. Wrong assumptions will create a communication gap.
52. You’ve got to go out of your way to connect with people.
53. The connection question is who moves first?The connector moves first.
54. To be a trustworthy leader is someone people can count on.
55. People don’t want a perfect leader. They want an authentic leader.

John is just incredible and so is his book Leadershift.  I cannot recommend it enough.  Click HERE to pick up your copy today.