The subtitle of Maxwell’s book is “Follow them and people will follow you.” Every time I read that, I hear a retort in my head: “Don’t follow them and people won’t follow you.” Revised and updated in 2007 for the tenth anniversary of The 21 Irrefutable Laws, this book is rightly considered a seminal piece of leadership literature.

As the title indicates, Maxwell presents 21 laws of leadership, all independent and yet mutually reinforcing. He can learn a great deal simply by reviewing the 21 laws with Maxwell’s brief explanation of each:

one. The law of the cover: Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness

two. The law of influence: The true measure of leadership is influence: nothing more, nothing less

3. The law of the process: Leadership is developed daily, not in a day

Four. the law of navigation: Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to turn the tide

5. The law of addition: Leaders add value by serving others

6. The law of solid ground: Trust is the foundation of leadership

7. The law of respect: People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves

8. The law of intuition: Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias

9. The Law of Magnetism: Who you are is who you attract

10 The law of connection: Leaders touch a heart before asking for a hand

eleven The law of the inner circle: The potential of a leader is determined by those closest to him

12 The law of empowerment: Only confident leaders empower others

13 The law of the image: People do what people see

14 The law of purchase: People believe in the leader, then in the vision

fifteen. the law of victory: Leaders find a way for the team to win

sixteen. The Law of the Great Mo: Momentum is a leader’s best friend

17 The law of priorities: Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily an achievement

18 the law of sacrifice: A leader must surrender to ascend

19 the law of time: When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go

twenty The law of explosive growth: To Add Growth, Lead Followers – To Multiply, Lead Leaders

twenty-one The law of legacy: The enduring value of a leader is measured by succession

My favorite law, the umbrella under which all other laws fall, is the Law of Process. Leadership cannot be developed in a day or a week. Instead, it grows and perfects itself through a life of self-management, skill acquisition, and relationships:

If you continually invest in your leadership development, letting your ‘assets’ accumulate, the inevitable result is growth over time. What can you see when you look at a person’s daily agenda? Priorities, passion, skills, relationships, attitude, personal disciplines, vision and influence. See what a person does every day, day after day, and you’ll know who that person is and what they’re becoming.

Often when I talk to new lawyers about leadership development, someone in the group will ask why a recent graduate or a lawyer in the first few years of practice should care about leadership development, since they are at the bottom of the totem pole. . . My answer is threefold.

First of all, it is essential to lead yourself and develop a solid foundation in self-management. Second, usually even “bottom-of-the-totem” lawyers soon get the chance to lead something, whether it’s a document review team or a subcommittee. And third, as Maxwell writes, “champions don’t become champions in the ring, they just get recognized there.” If a lawyer waits until a leadership position is on the horizon to start developing good leadership skills, the position may never come along, or if it does, the lawyer will lack the skills necessary to thrive in that position. (By the way, point 3 is well illustrated in Maxwell’s first law, the Lid Law.)

What’s in it for lawyers? While each of The 21 Irrefutable Laws is important to leadership development, perhaps none addresses the profession in the same way as the Law of Explosive Growth. That law holds that leaders who develop leaders create an organization that can achieve explosive growth, because “for every leader they develop, they also receive the value of all of that leader’s followers.” Imagine the potential for tremendous and sustainable growth in a law firm that develops leaders.

Read one chapter a week and apply what you learn. You will undoubtedly grow as a leader and see the difference in your daily life and practice, with clients and in any leadership role you may hold.

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