Published: 1 September 2008
Air & Space Power Journal - Fall 2008

The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization by John C. Maxwell. Thomas Nelson (http://www.thomasnelson.com), P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee 37214, 2006, 336 pages, $24.99 (hardcover).

Much leadership training, including the Air Force’s, historically has focused on leading one’s subordinates—not one’s peers and certainly not one’s superiors. Yet almost all leaders lead in “the middle” as often as they do at “the top.” For this very reason, it is just as important to learn how to lead effectively across (with your colleagues) and up (with your leader) as it is to lead down (with your followers). Despite this importance, however, today’s myriad material on leadership development offers little, if any, guidance to assist one in excelling in the two former leadership situations. John Maxwell’s 360 Degree Leader fills this void by offering insight into these very situations, which leaders at all levels must master to achieve success.

In describing the critical role of leaders in the middle, Maxwell states that they “have a better perspective. They see how any given issue impacts them, but they are also able to look up and down. 360-Degree leaders make the most of this perspective to lead not only up and down, but across” (p. 186). By the same token, he points out that leaders can misuse such a position just as much as they can optimize it. In fact, he declares, “To do nothing in the middle is to create more weight for the top leader to move” (p. 7). Ultimately, the success that leaders achieve in the middle depends upon the degree to which they affect the influence associated with that position: “Good leaders will gain in influence beyond their stated position. Bad leaders will shrink their influence down so that it is actually less than what originally came with the position” (p. 11). Throughout the book, he focuses on how a leader can increase that influence by leading up, across, and down.

Most leaders would likely agree that leading up poses the greatest challenge since they like to lead but don’t like to be led. However, only limited leadership literature and training is available to navigate this difficult environment. On the other hand, Maxwell offers very beneficial guidance in helping leaders excel in leading up. As he does so, he is quick to assert that one should not confuse leading up with “kissing up” for the purpose of getting ahead. Rather, he contends that leaders should focus on who they want to be—not on where they want to be. The former benefits one’s organization while the latter benefits oneself. Maxwell states that when one combines this selfless mentality with a willingness to go the extra mile and build trust—or “relational chemistry”—with a leader, that person can provide optimum support and value to his or her leader and organization.

Regarding another very complex area of leadership—leading across with one’s peers—Maxwell opines that succeeding as a peer-to-peer leader requires “giving your colleagues reasons to respect and follow you” (p. 159). Such respect comes when leaders show their peers that they care more for them than the job those peers can do for the leaders or the organization. Maxwell explains this process by noting that “great leaders don’t use people so that they can win. They lead people so that they all can win together” (p. 167). Such a leadership approach promotes trust. As peers begin to trust a peer leader, they give that person permission to lead them.
The stereotypical aspect of leadership is leading down with one’s followers. Although some leaders may be inclined to dismiss this section for this very reason, Maxwell offers valuable insights into this leadership environment as well by focusing on the people one leads: “Leaders who tend only to business often end up losing the people and the business. But leaders who tend to the people usually build up the people—and the business” (p. 218). He emphasizes that the best way of doing this involves seeing and leading people as they can be—not as they are. To enable one’s followers to fulfill their potential, Maxwell emphasizes the obligation of leaders to mentor and develop their people, quoting Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO: “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” (p. 156).

In addition to addressing points applicable to leading up, across, and down, 360 Degree Leader offers further valuable leadership insights, three of which are especially applicable to the current resource-constrained environment. Regarding the first insight—servant leadership—Maxwell’s belief that leaders should serve the needs of their followers instead of expecting their followers to serve their needs parallels the Air Force’s second core value of “service before self.” The second insight—a leader’s willingness to shift from what has always been done to what should be done—lies at the heart of the Six Sigma and Lean process-improvement concepts inherent in the Air Force’s new initiative known as Air Force Smart Operations 21. Jim Collins describes the third insight—the need for a leader to place as much importance on “stop-doing” lists as “to-do” lists—as a crucial element among the “great” companies he identifies in his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap—and Others Don’t (HarperBusiness, 2001). One cannot overstate the criticality of each of these insights today, when each Air Force member is asked to do more.

Based on the above leadership principles, Maxwell’s 360 Degree Leader offers valuable insights that will assist Air Force leaders at all levels to lead up, across, and down. The Air War College’s Department of Leadership and Ethics has incorporated a small extract from this book into its curriculum, but including 360 Degree Leader at each level of the Air Force’s professional military education would benefit the service’s leaders of all ranks, both enlisted and officer. Such inclusion would befit the emphasis that Maxwell and the Air Force place on developing leaders.

Lt Col Aldon E. Purdham, Jr., USAF
Air Force Fellow
Alexandria, Virginia

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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