The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

304 pages

"The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be."

"Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less."

"Being a trendsetter is not the same as being a leader."

"As long as a person doesn't know what he doesn't know, he isn't going to grow."

"[Your failures] reveal wrong assumptions, character flaws, errors in judgement, and poor working methods... [I]f you fail to learn from your mistakes, you're going to fail again and again."

"Balancing optimism and realism, intuition and planning, faith and fact can be very difficult. But that's what it takes to be effective as a navigating leader."

"When you add value to people, you lift them up, help them advance, make them a part of something bigger than themselves, and assist them in becoming who they were made to be."

"Truth is the foundation of leadership. It is the glue that holds an organization together."

"Attitude is one of the most contagious qualities a human being possesses."

"If you want someone on your side, don't try to convince him – connect with him."

"Enlarging others makes you larger."

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I realize this isn't my usual kind of pick for finding quotes, but I just completed a semester-long class called 'Ethical Leadership' and this was our 'textbook.' I found it helpful and easy to go through so if you are looking into improvement books, this is a good choice. In addition to the 21 laws, there are also self-assessment tests and roadmaps for where you might want to go depending on your results. The book helps you learn about yourself as much as it helps you learn about leadership, which is why I liked it and would recommend it for when you have time. Happy reading (: