It's Papa E's turn to write a review. I recently read Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell. While I'm not much of a fan of the typical leadership genre, I was intrigued by this book for a couple of reasons. First, it seemed to focus on a different aspect of leadership than many current authors in the field. And second, I feel as if I am becoming more skilled in the area of connecting in my job, and thought this would be a natural fit.
First off, I will say that you need to read this book with a grain of salt. Some of the specific examples and skills are hard to relate to, coming from a man who is a millionaire leadership expert. That being said, there are definitely some good anecdotes and some great examples of the principle of connecting.
At the outset, Mr. Maxwell defines connecting as "the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them" (3). He goes on to show how this can be relevant in sales, management, relationships, or even volunteering. He continues to develop this definition throughout the first section into an attitude that permeates your interactions with everyone, and is very others-focused.
In the second section he goes on to describe how you can cultivate and grow in this skill by putting a couple of tools into practice. These include things like finding common ground and keeping it simple.
I definitely enjoyed the book. It was rather refreshing to read a book that tried to cultivate an attitude rather than giving you a grocery list of things you must do to achieve success or be an effective leader.
- Papa E
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