What type of leader will you be?

This month in my executive leadership class, we are discussing the topic of leaders and leadership. What kind of leader are you? And what type of leader do you hope to become, one day?

There are two different type of leaders that I have been studying: John Maxwell and Robert Greene.

John Maxwell is the type of leader that believes that the growth and development of the people around him is the highest calling of leadership that there is; that the world needs leaders who use their influence at the right time for the right reasons. However, Robert Greene is the complete opposite.

Robert Greene is the type of leader that only cares about himself and gaining more power, he will use whatever tools he can to manipulate people into getting what he wants.

Once you remove the moral issues behind it, leadership is simply the ability to obtain followers; and John Maxwell and Robert Greene both bring two completely different styles of leadership to the table. 

Overall, I would say that I am the type of leader that is 90% Maxwell and 10% Greene. I want to become the type of leader that people respect, and who follow me; because of who I am and what I represent. I don’t want to be the type of leader who takes advantages of the people who help me get to where I am. At the same time, I have learned to respect Robert Greene as a leader because he brings up a decent point. In his book “The 48 Laws of Power”, I have learned more about what to watch out for as a leader and how to use enemies to help grow a company then I have from reading Maxwell’s book on “Developing the Leader Within You”. Overall, I think that Ray Kroc (the founder of McDonald's) said it best when he said, “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”