The 360 Degree Leader

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The 360 Degree Leader Often times leadership occurs in small commonly overlooked situations. This may be as simple as one marine taking charge of a police call at the end of a long day, or as severe as leading marines through battle. The 360 Degree Leader By John Maxwell explains how leadership in an organization usually takes place, and how to be an effective leader at any level of an organization. The author argues that there are 3 main ways to lead: Lead- up, lead - across, and lead down. Leading up is one's ability to influence a leader, responding positively to direction, pushing forward and taking initiative while still using good judgement. Leading across is arguably the most difficult way to lead, the ability to set the example and provide dependability and credibility within a group of peers. Leading down is the ability to effect and efficiently lead those below you. This requires finding the strengths and weaknesses of those below you, helping them realize their potential and giving them a vision or goal of what they are trying to achieve. All of these roles are crucial to the success and flow of any organization, and each stage of leadership plays a specific role in teamwork and moving forward as a unit. The book explained each role of leadership in depth, and broadened my horizons of everyones impact on mission success. The speaker argues that a manager's ability to lead sharpens the ability of the followers. This compliments the idea that the majority of leadership in an organization takes place in the "lead-across" stage. It begins with a good example from an individual at the top of an organization, from that point the immediate followers are able to correct and guide each other based off of recognized strengths and weaknesses, allowing the leader at the top to focus on mission success and forward movement of the

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