Three Questions People Ask of Their Leader

Written by Dave Rothacker on December 7, 2021

According to John Maxwell, people ask these three questions of their leader:

Can you help me? This is a competence question. Are you competent enough to lead this company?

Do you care for me? This is a question of compassion. Are you concerned for me as an individual? Are you concerned for my needs and wants?

Can I trust you? This is a character question. Are you trustworthy?

Employees aren’t going to their leaders and asking these questions out loud (hmmm, maybe they should). You can bet your bottom dollar however, the answers are guiding their behaviors and actions.

We all have an internal trustmeter. A boss makes a remark that slightly moves the needle in a negative direction. It’s a small ding but it’s a caution signal. Or a boss, addressing his boss, throws you directly under the bus unfairly. It pegs the red area of the trustmeter.

Use Maxwell’s three questions to guide your behaviors and actions.

I will be launching (at least) two John Maxwell masterminds in January. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. Each is based on a Maxwell book by the same name. I recommend reading the book(s) in December.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - The book in which to begin building your leadership foundation on. As we’ve seen here, every person in your company is in need of fundamental leadership education. Go here to sign up

Developing the Leader Within 2.0 - I recommend this mastermind if you’ve already taken The 21 Irrefutable Laws mastermind. That said, it’s not necessary. This book contains fundamental lessons for becoming a good leader. Go here to sign up.