Brian Johnson (Optimize +1 series) summarizes and reflects on John Maxwell’s concept of "moral authority" from his book Leader Shift. He quotes Maxwell’s definition and argues moral authority is the highest form of leadership influence—earned by consistent, authentic living and sustained by successful leadership—and closes with a personal challenge to cultivate integrity.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Now, I'm a big fan of John Maxwell and his extraordinary books on leadership. So when I saw he had a new book out, I immediately got it. It's called Leader Shift and documents the shifts John has made as a leader over the last 50 plus years of evolving as a leader and working with leaders from every country on the planet. Literally, he's trained leaders on every single country on the planet, which I find incredibly inspiring. So I got the book. I read the back cover and inside flaps and flipped to the table of contents as I usually do. Then I scanned the different chapter titles and was magnetically pulled toward one on moral authority. I actually got goosebumps as I typed that phrase. Moral authority. I flipped open to that section and started the book at the end. Moral Authority. John tells us this is the highest level of influence a leader can have. When we have moral authority, people don't follow us because of our title or position of power. They follow us because we have done the hard work to create a life of integrity in which we embody the virtues we all aspire to embrace. We become what we call radiant exemplars. As John puts it. I quote more Moral authority is the recognition of a person's leadership influence based on who they are more than the position they hold. It is attained by authentic living that has built trust and it is sustained by successful leadership endeavors. It is earned by a lifetime of consistency. Leaders can strive to earn moral authority by the way they live, but only others can grant them moral authority, end quote. He continues by saying I quote again, moral authority is truly the highest form of leadership influence and many people recognize it. It comes from possessing good values. It adds value to others. It inspires people. It helps the leader make the right decisions for the right reasons. It marks a life of words and actions that line up. We know when we're in the presence of someone who has moral authority and we want to follow them. That's today's plus one. How's your moral authority? Here's to a life of integrity that earns us the right to lead. Plus one. Plus one plus one. Moment to moment to moment. Today.
