On December 6, 2012, Boston Business Concepts
employees Leah,
Josh
and Patrick
attended the John Maxwell leadership conference that focused on the five levels
of leadership. The three were chosen to attend by management based upon sales
performance and execution of outstanding leadership within the office.
From left to right: Leah Martinson, Patrick Futrell and Joshua Matthews
After attending the
conference, Leah, Josh and Patrick were each asked to tell us a little bit
about what they learned and about their overall experience.
Tell us a little bit about your impressions
and what you learned from attending the John Maxwell conference on leadership:
What was your favorite piece of advice?
Leah: “The best piece of
advice given to us was that some leaders are born but others can be made.
Leadership is all about relationships you create with your employees. Without
relationships you will just be a manager and never a leader.”
Josh: “My favorite piece of advice that I learned
was that people do not follow a leader based on their position in the company.
Rather, they follow based on the things that the individual has done for them or
for the company/organization itself.”
Patrick: “My favorite piece of advice was that
leadership is based upon relative individual relationships, rather than
treating everyone similarly.”
What was the most surprising thing
that you learned, or most interesting exercise you did at the conference?
Leah: “The most interesting exercise was when the
spokesman had us take 38 values and then eliminate them until we had a
remaining top 5. It really made me think about what was important to me and
what I wanted to achieve in life. I found this valuable to know the values of
my fellow employees so I know what motivates them long term.”
Josh: “The most interesting thing for me was the
paper airplane exercise. We were each instructed to make our own paper airplane
and then see how far each of our own planes could fly. The top four people in
the preliminary round were allowed to teach larger groups of people about how
to construct a paper plane because theirs flew the farthest; Patrick and I were
two of the top examples! Each group then flew their airplanes to see which
could go the farthest as a collective whole. There was a clear cut winner in the
groupings, but the lesson proved that there was a large amount of advancement
to everyone by working together as a team.”
Patrick: “The exercises I found
the most interesting were the brief reflection periods after the description of
each level of leadership. These discussions allowed the members at each table
to analyze the particular level of leadership in the context of their own work
environment. Through each discussion, I discovered the universality of
Maxwell’s system.”
What do the five levels of leadership mean to you?
Leah: “Each person you lead
starts out on level 1. Even though you don’t want to stay at that level, it is
imperative to create that foundation and build upon it for each level thereafter.
Level 4 is the most important and one that you strive to reach with everyone.
At this level, it becomes a mutually beneficial relationship where everyone has
an effect on each other’s lives in both a professional and personal manner.”
Josh: “Each level means something different to each
person. Although one person could be on a level 2 to you, you could be on a
different level to them. That’s what the different levels of leadership means
to me.”
Patrick: “The five levels are the leadership patterns
that relationships between people follow. Level 1 is the simple relationship
between superior and subordinate, while level 2 adds an element of closeness
associated with a personal relationship that strengthens the connection between
the two. Level three adds an element of respect based on a leader’s production
and passion for what they do, and level four incorporates respect based on the
leader’s personal contributions to his or her relationships. Level 5 is the
rare leader who can replicate other leaders to lead others at level 4.”
After attending the conference, how do you plan to apply what you
learned from John Maxwell to your professional life?
Leah: “The spokesman had us
complete an exercise where we made paper airplanes in two minutes and the top
four who went the farthest would then teach a group of people how to make their
planes. This was interesting because it showed how much more efficient we could
be if we all had the same vision and worked together, rather than to each do a
separate task with the same vision. I realized that clear goals and working
together is what will help my team and I to excel to the next level of
efficiency and performance.”
Josh: “There is not a doubt in my mind that this
conference positively affected my capabilities as a leader with BBC, Inc. I
will apply everything that I learned from this conference on a daily basis in
order to build better and stronger relationship with not only with the
individuals on my own team, but to build better and long-lasting relationships
with the people around me. Without stronger relationships with your peers, it
is near impossible to affect others as you move up through the ranks in a
company.”
Patrick: “The conference
helped me to systematize specific steps that will allow me to move between each
level with each of my relationships. Using Maxwell’s levels of leadership, I
can easily identify at which level my relationships lie and how to move them
forward to optimize my own leadership.”
Jim grew up in Everett, Massachusetts. He attended Everett
High School where he played football and baseball. After graduating high school
in 2006, Jim attended Franklin Pierce University where he received his degree
in Sports Management in 2010. While in college he had an internship with the
school’s Athletic Director for two years, during which he helped manage
sporting events. A very active member of the University, Jim was also a
founding member of the Sports Management Club, of which he was President of
during his senior year.
-001.jpg)
Ally grew up in Northborough, Massachusetts. In high school
she was a member of both the gymnastics and field hockey teams. She attended
James Madison University where she received a Marketing and Business degree.
While in school Ally was able to study abroad in Belgium for one semester.
After school, she interned with a small company in Boston managing social media
accounts and some marketing.