Connections Ministry

Law #19 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of Timing: When To Lead Is As Important As What To Do And Where To Go

Maxwell notes that, “Timing is Everything… When to lead is as important as where to go.”

Every time a leader makes a move, there are really only 4 outcomes:

1. The wrong action at the wrong time à DISASTER.

2. The right action at the wrong time à RESISTANCE. “If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgment, even in the little things, people start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake.” Good leadership timing requires:

• Understanding- Do you have a firm grasp on the situation?
• Maturity- Are your motives right?
• Confidence- Do you believe in what you are doing?
• Decisiveness- Can you initiate action with confidence and win people’s trust?
• Experience- Have you drawn upon wisdom from others to inform your strategy?
• Intuition- Have you taken into account intangibles such as momentum and morale?
• Preparation- Have you done everything you must to set up your team for success?

3. The wrong action at the right time à MISTAKE. People who are natural entrepreneurial usually have a good sense of timing. However, they must also know which is the best move to make is at that time.

4. The right action at the right time à SUCCESS. “When the right leader and the right timing come together, incredible things happen.”

“When the stakes are high, the consequences of the Law of Timing are dramatic and immediate…Reading a situation and knowing what to do are not enough to make you succeed in leadership…you must pay attention to timing.”

Applying the Law of Timing to Your Life

1. Does timing play an important role in your strategy as a leader? Review the major actions you have initiated in the recent past and assess how much attention you have given to timing.

2. Spend time analyzing recent failed initiatives for your team/organization to determine if they were secondary to wrong action or wrong timing. To guide you, answer the following questions:

• What was the goal of the initiative?
• Who was responsible for leading it?
• What factors were considered during planning?
• Whose experience did the strategy draw upon?
• What was the condition or temperature of the organization at time of launch?
• What were the market conditions?
• What “leverage” was available and being used?
• What factors were working against it?
• Might the initiative have been more successful if launched earlier or later?
• Why did the initiative ultimately fail?

3. As you consider future plans, consider the list of factors to prepare for the timing [#2 in above section].

“Only the right action at the right time will bring success to your team.”

Reference:

Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 19- The Law of Timing. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007