Every year, my team and I attend the leadership summit. This year, there is a shadow hanging over the summit as I outlined here, but I’m still trusting that it will have some incredibly helpful content, just like in past years. To capture what I’m learning and to help you grow as a leader, I always share my notes from each session, so be sure to check back after each session and bookmark them for future use.

The final session of the first day featured a talk from one of my favorite speakers, John Maxwell. His book on leadership was the first book I ever read as a leader at 18 and thought, I can do this. He outlined how to maximize your impact as a high-character leader in our world today. It was fun having my two oldest kids in this session with me and have some excellent discussions.

The following are some takeaways:

1. All leaders see more than others see and before others see.
2. If you can see the bigger picture, you are the leader, but now you have to see before others see.
3. The key to leadership is starting first.
4. Leaders have to ask how I do increase my more and before?
5. Know that there is more “more and before” out there (think abundance). 
6. Creativity and flexibility are crucial in leadership today.
7. Creative people believe there is always an answer.
8. Flexibility says there’s usually more than one answer.
9. Develop a process for finding more “more and more before.”
10. The way you find more is to test.
11. Test -> Fail -> Learn -> Improve.
12. When you know what you want for your future, your mind will begin to think things that will help you get what you need; your heart will feel things that you need, your attitude will help you to believe.
13. Put yourself in places with people who will inspire you to see more “more and more before.”
14. Get people out of your life that drag you down.
15. Be around people who inspire you.
16. Intentionally grow every day so you will have the capacity for more “more and more before.”
17. The only way to guarantee that tomorrow will be better is that you grow.
18. If you’re still excited about what you did 5 years ago, you aren’t growing.
19. Always have a vision gap that requires you to need more “more and more before.”
20. You will fill the vision gap by asking God to send you the right people.
21. You will fill the vision gap by asking God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

The post 2018 Leadership Summit – 21 Leadership Quotes from John Maxwell appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

What is the most important trait for success?

Do you know what separates the winners and the losers when it comes to leadership and succeeding?

It isn’t what you think.

This one thing separates the winners and losers in life.
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I was listening to a podcast interview recently where Thom Rainer was interviewing John Maxwell, and Rainer asked Maxwell what is the most important leadership trait for success, and Maxwell replied, “Consistency.”

I had to rewind it.

Consistency.

If you ever read a biography about an athlete or watch stories on the Olympics about those who make it and win, what you will hear is the story of a person who got up early everyday, ate a strict diet, everyday. Did the same stuff, everyday. Practiced, practiced and practiced some more. They were consistent.

That isn’t exciting, sexy or anything. That isn’t about vision, team building, recruiting or fund raising.

Yet if you think about it, it fuels all of leadership.

It fuels vision. No one will follow you to that next great hill, that next great destination, if they don’t trust you and believe in you. They won’t follow you as far if you are new compared to having a track record. Are you consistent? If so, people will follow you further.

It fuels team building. People want to be a part of a team that has a great track record. They want to be with a leader that has been around and accomplished a lot. They are hesitant to follow someone with a lot of turnover on a team. They want someone – wait for it – consistent.

The same goes with recruiting.

Now comes fundraising. This is crucial in church leadership. Your ministry has a ceiling, and it comes from a variety of places, but one of those places is finances. The leaders who are able to raise the most money have a track record of handling money well. They have a track record of being in one place, having a strong team, strong vision, strong character.

They are consistent.

It fuels leadership.

The most important & overlooked trait of leadership.
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It fuels success.

The most important & overlooked trait for success.
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People may say a lot about you as a leader, but would they say you are consistent? Are you the same person everywhere?

Here’s something that can frustrate you as a leader. You want to start something new, and people don’t want to come along. You think it is them. They just don’t see what you see. They aren’t as spiritual, they don’t have big enough faith. We as leaders tell ourselves all kinds of things about why people don’t get on board with something, and the things we tell ourselves are always about the people.

What if you haven’t been consistent, and people are hesitant? What if the reason people don’t want to give is they aren’t sure you’ll complete the project and stay?

Leadership is vision casting, team building and all those things. But it starts and ends with character and consistency.

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