The Law of Victory

Law #15 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of Victory: Leaders Find a Way for the Team to Win

With this law, Maxwell highlights the necessity of the single-minded determination a leader must have to achieve his/her goals and to lead the team to victory. He points out that, despite many differences in leader personalities and leadership styles and organizational goals, the one characteristic of victorious leaders is their unwillingness to accept defeat. They push and work to achieve the objective- because there is no ‘Plan B’.

“When the pressure is on, great leaders are at their best. Whatever is inside them comes to the surface.”

In their view:

• Leadership is responsible
• Losing is unacceptable
• Passion is unquenchable
• Creativity is essential
• Quitting is unthinkable
• Commitment is unquestionable
• Victory is inevitable

Three Components of Victory

1. Unity of Vision. Teams succeed only when the team members have a common goal. A team cannot win a championship if the players have different agendas.

2. Diversity of Skills. You can’t have a successful hockey team made up of only goalies…or a successful non-profit with just fund-raisers. You need diversity of skills. Many leaders have a blind spot to this and think that if everyone on the team could just ‘be like him/her,’ then the team will be successful. Recognize how each person contributes with his/her unique skills and show appreciation for him/her. The newer you are to leadership and the stronger your natural leadership skills, the more likely you are to overlook the importance of others on the team---which is a big mistake.

3. A leader dedicated to victory and raising players to their potential. “You’ve got to have great athletes to win, I don’t care who the coach is. You can’t win without good athletes, but you can lose with them. This is where coaching makes the difference.” -Lou Holtz.

You may need to buy time for people to buy in. Do that by focusing on them…adding value to them. This will build your credibility.

Applying the Law of The Buy In to Your Life

1. Take responsibility for the success of the team. Your commitment, passion and dedication must be higher than everyone else’s and unquestioned. Do you currently demonstrate that type of commitment? If not, then examine yourself. If you cannot convince yourself to bring that level of commitment- then of the following is probably true: [a] you are pursuing the wrong vision; [b] you are in the wrong organization; [c] you are not the right leader for the job. – You will have to adjust accordingly.

2. If you are dedicated to leading the team to victory- you must have the right people on the team. Think about the skills necessary to achieve the goals. Write them down. Then, compare those skills to those of your team members. If there is a discrepancy, then you either need to train your team or get new people with the necessary skills.

3. In order to achieve your goals- you must have unity of vision. Do an informal survey to find out what is important to your team members; what do they want to achieve personally and professionally. Ask them to describe the purpose and mission of the team/organization. If there is not a universal understanding of the vision, you need to work on communicating the common goals clearly. Also, work with each team member to show how his/her personal goals can align with the overall team vision.

Reference:

Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 15- The Law of Victory. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007