The Law of Magnetism

Law #9 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law Magnetism: Who You Are Is Who You Attract

We all have some idea of the qualities we’d like to see in the people in our organization. Who we attract is not determined by what we want, but by who we are. Birds of a feather flock together.

Where do they match up?
Attracting others like you does not mean you have no differences. People are all individuals. There will always be differences. However, there are some key areas where you will notice that leaders and followers will have a lot of common ground.
1. Generation: Employees in an organization usually reflect the age/generation of the key leaders.
2. Attitude: This is one of the most contagious qualities a human possesses. Both positive and negative attitudes are contagious. Positive people usually do not want to hang out with negative people. A leader’s team usually reflects this.
3. Background: People feel most comfortable with others with a similar background, socially and in business. This can be so strong that organizations that value diversity have to fight against it and be intentional about embracing certain differences.
4. Values: Whether your values are positive and inspirational [eg John F Kennedy] or evil and oppressive [eg Adolf Hitler], you will attract others with similar values.
5. Energy: Energy level is also usually a common thread among those in an organization…which is actually good- High energy people tend to think low energy people are lazy and low energy people think high energy people are crazy.
6. Giftedness: People are attracted to others whom they value and consider to be stronger than themselves. People gifted in the same areas as you will truly value and appreciate your excellence in those area and will be attracted to you.
7. Leadership Ability: This is similar to the Law of Respect- people naturally follow leaders that are stronger than they.


Going Against the Grain
• For those saying: “I am not crazy about the people I am attracting. Am I stuck in this situation?” – The answer is no. If you are dissatisfied with the leadership ability of your team, look at your leadership ability. As you grow as a leader, you will attract/grow stronger leaders. If you are dissatisfied with the character of your team, examine your own character. Developing a stronger character for yourself will not only help your organization, attracting others with strong character, it will improve all areas of your life.
• For those saying: “I like who I am and the kind of people I attract.” – Great! Now, focus on taking your leadership and organization to the next level. Work at recruiting people different from you to supplement your weaknesses. Otherwise, key issues will go overlooked in your organization. It is possible for a leader to recruit others different from him/her, but they are not the people the leader naturally attracts. Thus, this has to be an intentional process.

Applying the Law of Magnetism to Your Life
1. Make a list of the qualities you would like in the people on your team. Next, for each characteristic, place a check mark next to it if you also possess it, or an X if you do not. If you have many X’s, there is a problem, because the people you describe are not the type who will follow you.
2. Think about why you desire these qualities. Are these qualities that you have or do not have? If there is a disparity between your image of yourself and your team, you may have a self awareness problem. Consult with a trusted friend or colleague to try to identify your blind-spots.
3. Based on who you are attracting, you may need to work on your own leadership and/or character [see above/previous section]. Find mentors who can help you. The mentor should be someone you respect, ideally in the same professional field as you and several steps ahead of you in his/her career.
4. If you are already attracting the kind of people you want, now work on diversifying and finding those different from you to complement your weaknesses. Write a list of your 5 greatest strengths and 5 greatest weaknesses. Start to build a profile of someone you would like on your team based on your weaknesses. Add to the profile the values and attitudes similar to yours, as well as someone who has good leadership potential.


Reference:
Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 9- The Law of Magnetism. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007