Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The Right Approach: The Laws of Victory and Momentum

Introduction
Good leadership always makes a difference; unfortunately, so does bad leadership. This leadership truth continues as we will be talking about laws 15 and 16 of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, devised by John C. Maxwell.

The Law of Victory
Great leaders are committed to victory and make things happen, period. To make this point I would like to borrow a lesson from Genghis Khan in my book Notorious: Business Lessons from History’s Most Ruthless Leaders. Khan was a brilliant military strategist that built the largest land empire in history in the 12th century. No matter what you think of him, the man knew how to win.

Lesson seven in the book is “Lead from the Front.” One of the most enduring mantras in leadership is “Never ask a follower to do something you are not willing to do yourself.” That certainly applies here; people want to follow a leader that is out front with his sword drawn and not back in the tent (or in our case, one that sits in their office all day). Lead by example is a common thread throughout the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership for a reason; it works.

There are three parts to the Law of Victory that leaders need to embrace:

1. Unity of vision. No matter how talented individual team members may be, without unity of vision everyone is pursuing their own agenda. Look at any number of sports teams that woulda, coulda, shoulda based on the talent of their players but fizzled out with no clear direction.
2. Diversity of skills. Poor leaders build their teams with like-minded employees to themselves. Big mistake; groupthink is the enemy of success and stifles creativity. Diversity of knowledge, education, experience, personality, and strengths will always result in better decision making.
3. Raising team members to their potential. This is another common thread and one poor leaders ignore. Poor leaders feel threatened by others with more knowledge, experience, etc., while great leaders want people smarter than themselves. Getting the right people on the bus is not good enough; getting them in the right seat is just as important.

The Law of Momentum (The Big Mo)
Momentum can be a leader’s best friend. Think of a train slamming into a 10-inch thick, steel-reinforced concrete wall starting 100 feet away from a dead stop. The wall will stop the train. Now take the same train and same wall, only the train has been barreling down the tracks for miles at 70 mph; the train will smash right through the wall. That is momentum.

There are seven key facts about momentum:

1. Momentum is the great exaggerator. When things are going well, momentum makes them even better. When things aren’t going well, momentum makes them seem worse. This is because when you have momentum, you don’t worry about small problems and larger ones seem to work themselves out. Without momentum, even small obstacles seem insurmountable.
2. Momentum makes leaders look better than they are. When you’re winning, people are willing to overlook your shortcomings and forget about your past mistakes. The present and future are what matters.
3. Momentum helps followers perform better than they are. When you’ve got momentum, everyone is excited and motivated. As a result, the team plays better than expectations. The Law of Big Mo boosts everyone’s success.
4. Momentum is more natural to steer than to start. An intrinsic part of the Law of Big Mo is that it’s hard to get going, but once you’re moving, you can control where it takes you.
5. Momentum is the most potent change agent. With enough momentum, any change is possible. People trust leaders with a proven track record and are willing to get on board with your vision once they see that you’re taking them in a positive direction.
6. Momentum is the leader’s responsibility. Creating momentum requires a firm goal, a good team, and motivation, all of which the leader must establish. It is your responsibility to initiate momentum and keep it going strong.
7. Momentum begins inside the leader. The Law of Big Mo starts with a vision that you must believe in. When you do, that belief becomes contagious.

“All leaders face the challenge of creating change in an organization. The key is momentum—what I call the Big Mo. Just as every sailor knows that you can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving forward, strong leaders understand that to change direction, you first have to create forward progress—and that takes the Law of the Big Mo.” —John C. Maxwell

 Follow these guidelines and the Laws of Victory and Momentum and you will truly be surprised at the results. Focus on enhancing your leadership skills to lead by example and the results will be epic.

Steve Williams is an independent certified coach, trainer, and speaker with the John Maxwell team. 

This column originally appeared in the February 2022 issue of PCB007 Magazine.