7 Quotes From “High Road Leadership”

The subtitle of this John Maxwell book is “Bringing People Together in a World That Divides.” That is so needed today! Check out my review of High Road Leadership, and may these quotes inspire you to pick up a copy of this book to learn how you can be a part of healing a divided world. 

“Leadership can be a blessing or a curse. It can help people rise to a better life, or it can cause people to fall into despair.” 

“One of the reasons we don’t come together and work with one another is that we no longer see people on the other side as merely disagreeing. We see them as disagreeable human beings. We assume their motives are wrong. And the moment we think a person’s motives are wrong, we lose trust. … Good leaders need to rise above this attitude and help the people they lead do the same. How? We need to possess a strong collaboration bias. We need to bring people together to increase our understanding of each other and broaden our perspective.” 

“We can’t divide people and expect to accomplish positive results. Conversation and collaboration will always come up with better answers than isolation and exclusion.” 

“In my opinion, as a culture we lost our way when we went from simply disagreeing with others to devaluing them because we disagree. That’s when we crossed the line into low-road leadership. It’s one of the reasons so many people are so angry all the time. And when others take the low road with them, they become even angrier. It’s always easier to make a negative point than to make a positive difference.” 

“High-road leaders who value people have a strong, healthy sense of self-worth, yet at the same time they are humble, meaning they don’t think too much of themselves or about themselves too much.” 

“Accepting our humanness and possessing humble confidence does nothing to diminish our leadership ability. In a study of medical students, those who possessed doubts about their ability were just as effective in diagnosing illnesses as their more confident counterparts. Furthermore, the more humble students rated higher in bedside manner, empathy, respect, and professionalism.” 

“The problem with arguing loudly that you are right is that you’re not listening and learning so that you can find out what actually is right. It’s the height of arrogance to believe you know everything there is to know about a subject, that you have looked at it from every angle, and that you possess the only valid perspective.”

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5 Key Parts To A Synergy Relationship

img_1970King David of Israel was a stud! Outstanding song writer, professional shepherd, bear killer, lion killer, giant killer, decorated army general, and ultimately king of Israel.

Near the end of his life we read an extensive list of Mighty Men that supported David. Some of these guys were also giant killers. One guy singlehandedly defeated 300 enemies, another guy defeated 800 bad guys, one guy killed a lion, and on and on the list goes.

I believe it is clear that David wouldn’t have become king without the support of his Mighty Men, and these guys probably wouldn’t have been recognized as “Mighty Men” without David’s support.

This is a classic definition of synergy. Synergy is when the outcome is so much greater than just the addition of the parts. Sort of like 1 + 1 = 5.

All of us can be a part of synergistic relationships, if we will include these five key parts.

[1] Humility

Without humility, you will never let anyone else into your life, and it’s doubtful they will let you in. Humility says, “I don’t have all the answers. I need some help in fulfilling my God-given dream. I have some areas of weakness where you are strong.”

[2] Confidence

Just like humility, without confidence it’s doubtful others would allow you access to their lives. Confidence says, “I have some something I am willing to offer you. I have a God-given strength in an area where you may be struggling.” The Apostle Paul said, all of us have strengths that God has given us that are to be used to help others (1 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:7).

[3] Collaboration

Quite simply, in order for synergy to work, the people in the relationship have to be willing to labor together. Paul used the example of one person planting the seed and another person watering the seed. Both laborers are necessary if there is going to be a harvest.

[4] Patience

The journey with others may be slower and messier than traveling solo, but it’s so much more rewarding (see Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

[5] Investment

Synergy is really about there being a return on investment. But if you’re not willing to invest your time, your learning, your love, can you really expect there to be a synergistic return?

I just wrapped up a year-long investment with a group of guys from my church. What an amazing time! I am definitely better for having been involved with this synergy group, and I believe all of the other guys would tell you the same thing. You, too, can experience this same joy by investing in a synergy group of your own!